Remembering the Nazi Reign of Terror in Poland

by Michelle . · 2009-09-01 14:36:00 UTC
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The first shots of the Second World War were aimed at a small garrison manned by only 180 soldiers, seventy years ago today. The Polish soldiers at Westerplatte still managed to resist German bombardment for seven days, but the country fell under Nazi occupation within weeks.

Not only did Hitler's step into Poland on September 1, 1939 mark the beginning of WWII, it initiated a new phase of Nazi discrimination against Jews and other "undesirables," and paved the way for the realization of the full-blown "Final Solution." In addition to the general targeting of Polish civilians by the German military as a tactic of war, Ordnungspolizei police battalions followed closely behind the German frontline and attacked Polish Jews and Catholics alike.  The Nazi occupation authority established the first Jewish ghetto just a month later.

The Nazis used Poland as a veritable backyard for the bulk of its dirty work, apparently, and ironically, uncomfortable with the thought of conducting the nastier side of the Holocaust within Germany-proper. All six extermination camps were located in Poland, and Jews, Roma, homosexuals, and other targets were transported to Poland from throughout Nazi occupied territory to meet their end. Of Poland's pre-war Jewish population of 3.5million, 90% perished at the hands of the Nazis.

Poland also has the highest number of people recognized by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum as "Righteous Among the Nations" -- those who risked their own lives to rescue Jews from persecution.

The country has literally seen the best and the worst of what people have to offer, which makes today one worthy of pause -- of remembrance of lives lost, not only in the Holocaust but in all of World War II, of recognition for those who did not succumb to the moral collapse around them, and of reflection on both the destructive and the redemptive capacities of humankind.

[Photo of the Battle of Westerplatte from Wikipedia (Creative Commons)]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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