62-603: The Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz was an ethnic-German self-protection militia , a paramilitary organization comprising ethnic Germans ( Volksdeutsche ) mobilized from among the German minority in Poland . The Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz operated before, and during the opening stages of, World War II in the western half of Poland and were responsible for, and took part in, massacres of Poles, along with SS Einsatzgruppen . The Selbstschutz numbered some 100,000 members, who formed
124-753: A National Tribunal in Gdańsk, Poland, held Albert Forster , the Gauleiter of the Gdańsk Region and the Nazi administrator of Pomerania and Western Prussia, responsible for the murders at Piaśnica, as well as for other war crimes. He was sentenced to death and the sentence was carried out on 28 February 1952, in Warsaw. A West German court in Hamburg in 1968 sentenced SS leader Kurt Eimann to four years in prison for his participation in
186-546: A part of an overall Intelligenzaktion by Germany aimed at liquidating the Polish elite. Its main targets were the Polish intelligentsia , which was blamed by the Nazis for pro-Polish policies in the Polish corridor during the interwar period . Educated Poles were also perceived by the Nazis as the main obstacle to the planned complete Germanization of the region. As a result, even before
248-590: A series of mass murders carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II , between the fall of 1939 and spring of 1940 in Piaśnica Wielka (Groß Piasnitz) in the Darzlubska Wilderness near Wejherowo . The exact number of people murdered is unknown, but estimates range between 12,000 and 14,000 victims. Most of them were Polish intellectuals from Gdańsk Pomerania , but Poles, Kashubians , Jews , Czechs and German inmates from mental hospitals from
310-597: Is documented by the broken skulls that have been exhumed from the graves. Estimates and records suggest that a single platoon of the 36th SS Regiment Wachsturmbann "Eimann" , named after its commander Kurt Eimann [ de ] , involved in the massacres was capable of killing around 150 people daily. Witnesses report that on numerous occasions, prior to the executions, the victims were tortured and children, in particular, were treated with utmost cruelty, and often killed by having their heads smashed against trees by German SS soldiers. The most detailed accounts of one of
372-510: Is estimated at between twelve and sixteen thousand, including women, children and infants. Due to the fact that in 1944, the Germans exhumed and burned many of the corpses in an attempt to hide the crime, the exact number of victims is not known, nor are many of their names and national origins. From investigations carried out after the war, three different groups of victims can be identified: Investigations carried out so far (2009) have established
434-451: Is not German and could hinder us in the work of construction. The Selbstschutz took part in the first action of elimination of Polish intelligentsia, the mass murders in Piaśnica , during which 12,000 to 16,000 civilians were murdered. An Intelligenzaktion was a plan to eliminate all Polish intelligentsia and Poland's leadership class in the country. These operations took place soon after
496-616: The Gauleiter of Danzig-West Prussia , Albert Forster , who in a speech at the Prusinski Hotel in Wejherowo agitated ethnic Germans to attack Poles by saying "We have to eliminate the lice-ridden Poles, starting with those in the cradle... in your hands I give the fate of the Poles, you can do with them what you want". The crowd gathered before the hotel chanted "Kill the Polish dogs!" and "Death to
558-665: The General Government and the Third Reich were also murdered. After the Stutthof concentration camp , Piaśnica was the largest site of killings of Polish civilians in Pomerania by the Germans, and for this reason, is sometimes referred to as the "second" or "Pomeranian" Katyn . It was the first large-scale Nazi atrocity in occupied Poland. After the German invasion of Poland , the Polish and Kashubian population of Gdańsk Pomerania
620-505: The Molotschna and Chortitza Mennonite colonies with training and armaments provided by the German imperial army . Before the end of the occupation, German soldiers supervised the creation of several Selbstschutz units, leaving weapons, ammunition, and a few officers to command the groups. Together with a neighboring Lutheran German colony, the young men from Molotschna formed twenty companies totaling 2,700 infantry and 300 cavalry. During
682-737: The NSDAP (Nazi Party), Auslandsorganisation (Foreign Affairs Organization), Gestapo (Secret Police), SD (Security Service) and Abwehr (Defense). By October 1938, SD agents were organizing the Selbstschutz in Poland. Ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship were trained in the Third Reich in various sabotage methods and guerilla tactics. Even before the war, Selbstschutz activists from Poland helped to organize lists of Poles who later were to be arrested or executed in Operation Tannenberg . With
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#1732852150423744-434: The NSDAP (Nazi Party), Auslandsorganisation (Foreign Affairs Organization), Gestapo (Secret Police), SD (Security Service) and Abwehr (Defense). Ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship had been trained in the Third Reich in various sabotage methods and guerilla tactics. Before the war began, Selbstschutz activists from Poland compiled lists of Poles who were to be removed or executed in Operation Tannenberg . The list
806-578: The Russian Civil War , these forces were initially successful in holding back the forces of anarchist Nestor Makhno until March 1919. However, the self-defense groups were ultimately overwhelmed and forced to retreat and disband when Makhno's partisans allied with and were reinforced by, the Red Army . As the Russian Civil War progressed, some Mennonites were integrated within ethnic battalions of
868-544: The Vistula , Piastoszyn , Płutowo , Sępólno Krajeńskie , Solec Kujawski (Schulitz), Tuchola (Tuchel), Wąbrzeźno (Briesen), Wolental near Skórcz , and Wyrzysk (Wirsitz). The majority of the arrested Poles – men, women and youth – were murdered on the spot by Selbstschutz executioners. People shot were finished off by blows delivered by shovels and the butts of assault rifles; they were buried in mass graves when still alive. Mothers were forced to place their children in
930-459: The Wehrmacht and Ordnungspolizei already established concentration camps. There were 19 such locations recorded in the following Polish cities: Bydgoszcz (see Bromberg-Ost ), Brodnica (renamed Strasburg ), Chełmno (see Chełmno extermination camp ), Dorposz Szlachecki , Kamień Krajeński , Karolewo, Lipno (renamed Lippe), Łobżenica , Nakło (Nakel), Nowy Wiec near Skarszew , Nowe on
992-645: The Czech population in the Sudetenland. In the interwar period, the German minority organizations in Poland included Jungdeutsche Partei (Young German party), Deutsche Vereinigung (German Union), Deutscher Volksbund (German peoples Union) and Deutscher Volksverband (German peoples United). All of them actively cooperated with Nazi Germany in anti-Polish espionage, sabotage, provocations, and political indoctrination. They maintained close contact with and were directed by
1054-414: The German attack on Poland later served as one of the reasons for the expulsion of Germans after the war . According to German researcher Dieter Schenk, some 1,701 former members of Selbstschutz who committed mass atrocities were identified in postwar Germany. However, there were only 258 cases of judicial investigations, and 233 of them were cancelled. Only ten Selbstschutz members were ever sentenced by
1116-617: The German courts. This situation was described by Schenk as a "disgrace for the German court system". Selbstschutz Selbstschutz (German for "self-protection") is the name given to different iterations of ethnic-German self-protection units formed both after the First World War and in the lead-up to the Second World War. The first incarnation of the Selbstschutz was a German paramilitary organisation formed after World War I for ethnic Germans who lived outside Germany in
1178-559: The German side of the Polish/German conflicts in the area. In 1921, its organized units resisted the Polish rebellion in the Third Silesian Uprising ; which was aimed at seceding Upper Silesia from Germany. The Selbstschutz were reintroduced during the late 1930s in Poland and Czechoslovakia. The Selbstschutz Sudetendeutsches Freikorps activists worked to indoctrinate ethnic Germans locally and commit acts of terrorism against
1240-567: The Nazi invasion of Poland, German police and Gestapo prepared special lists of Poles which they regarded as representative of Polish culture and life in the region, who were to be executed. According to official criteria, the Polish "intelligentsia" included anyone with a middle school or higher education, priests , teachers , doctors, dentists , veterinarians , military officers , bureaucrats , medium and large businessmen and merchants, medium and large landowners , writers, journalists and newspaper editors . Furthermore, all persons who during
1302-715: The Poles imprisoned in those camps (consisting of men, women and youth) were brutally murdered. After the German invasion of Poland , the Selbstschutz worked together with the Einsatzgruppen to massacre Poles. Commander of the Selbstschutz Ludolf von Alvensleben told the men on 16 October 1939: You are now the master race here. Nothing was yet built up through softness and weakness... That’s why I expect, just as our Führer Adolf Hitler expects from you, that you are disciplined, but stand together hard as Krupp steel. Don’t be soft, be merciless, and clear out everything that
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#17328521504231364-525: The Poles". The Selbstschutz participated in the early massacres at Piaśnica, and many of their members later joined police and SS formations which continued the massacres until the fall of 1940. Organized action aimed at exterminating the Polish population of the region, however, began only after the end of the September campaign, with the Intelligenzaktion in Pomerania (Intelligence Action Pomerania),
1426-577: The Poles. They were founded in places where the Wehrmacht and German police units established camps. There were 19 such camps in the following places: Bydgoszcz (Bromberg), Brodnica ( Strasburg ), Chełmno ( Kulm ), Dorposz Szlachecki , Kamień Krajeński , Karolewo , Lipno ( Lippe ), Łobżenica , Nakło ( Nakel ), Nowy Wiec (near Skarszewy ), Nowe (over Vistula ), Piastoszyn , Płutowo , Sępólno Krajeńskie , Solec Kujawski ( Schulitz ), Tuchola ( Tuchel ), Wąbrzeźno ( Briesen ), Wolental (near Skórcz ), Wyrzysk ( Wirsitz ). The majority of
1488-620: The Russian Volunteer Army . The attempt to defend the villages departed from the traditional Mennonite teaching of nonresistance and was disapproved of by many colonists. Others regarded the collapse of effective governmental authority as sufficient justification for the creation of self-defense units. This sentiment was reinforced by horrific atrocities committed by anarchist bands against Mennonite communities. While Selbstschutz units had some success in protecting Mennonite communities from further atrocities and in providing time for
1550-451: The attempts by the Germans to cover up the massacre, photographs of the events survived. Two local Germans, Georg and Waldemar Engler who ran a photography studio in Wejherowo took part in the massacres as part of the paramilitary organizations. The younger Engler, Waldemar, made a photographic record of the massacre. Both of them were tried and sentenced for war crimes after the war. In 1946
1612-470: The beginning of the Invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, Selbstschutz units engaged in hostilities towards the Polish population and military, and performed sabotage operations helping the German attack on the Polish state. In mid-September, the chaotic and autonomous activities of this organization were coordinated by SS officers. Himmler placed Gustav Berger, a police official from Offenbach , in charge of
1674-450: The beginnings of the executions is late October 1939. However, the date of the first execution is uncertain and disputed among historians. According to Zygmunt Milczewski , this happened on 21 October. Prof. Andrzej Gąsiorowski states that the first person to be killed was the priest, Father Ignacy Błażejewski, on 24 October. Prof. Barbara Bojarska gives the date as 29 October. Former prisoners and witnesses likewise give various dates at
1736-709: The character of the Nazi-era in which it was formulated and organized. In 1938, a campaign was started by local Selbstschutz Sudetendeutsches Freikorps in the Czechoslovakian Sudetenland in order to subjugate the local Czechs prior to the Munich Conference . During the Invasion of Poland of 1939, a number of similar units conducted sabotage actions directed by the emissaries trained in Nazi Germany . These groups were officially merged into one organization,
1798-486: The civil population to flee to areas held by White Russian forces , the abandonment of nonresistance proved to be highly divisive. Some believed that the self-defense actions may have inflamed anarchist atrocities committed against Mennonite civilians. As a result, later church conferences and delegations officially condemned the self-defense measures as a "grave mistake". Selbstschutz militia were also active in Silesia on
1860-630: The command of Alvensleben was 17,667 men strong, and had already executed 4,247 Poles, while Alvensleben complained to Selbstschutz officers that too few Poles had been shot. (German officers had reported that only a fraction of Poles had been "destroyed" in the region with the total number of those executed in West Prussia during this action being about 20,000. One Selbstschutz commander, Wilhelm Richardt, said in Karolewo (Karlhof) camp that he did not want to build big camps for Poles and feed them, and that it
1922-612: The course of the German war against Poland was one of the reasons for the expulsion of Germans after the war . A description of the Selbstschutz ' s involvement, made available by the Polish State Museum in Sztutowo , contains material compiled three years before the war broke out, for the Nazi authorities to use in extermination of the Poles thereafter. Mass murders in Pia%C5%9Bnica The massacres in Piaśnica were
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1984-437: The end of October, and even the first few days of November. The victims were transported to the execution sites by cars and trucks. Usually, they were forced to strip and on some occasions to dig their own graves. They were then lined up on the edge of the ditches they had dug and machined-gunned down, although sometimes regular rifles and pistols were also used. Some of the wounded were finished off with blows of rifle butts, as
2046-601: The ethnic German Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz (Self-Defense Force) of more than 100,000 men. They took part in fighting the Poles as the Fifth Column , but also served as auxiliary forces of the Gestapo , SS and SD during the early stages of the occupation of Poland, and helped the Nazi administration in the newly formed Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia and Reichsgau Wartheland . They served as local controllers, informers, and members of execution squads particularly active in
2108-445: The executions come from witness accounts regarding 11 November, ( Polish Independence Day ). On that day, Germans murdered around 314 Polish and Jewish hostages in Piaśnica. According to the testimony of former Gestapo and later, Smersh agent, Hans Kassner (alias Jan Kaszubowski [ pl ] ), made in 1952, the executions on that day lasted from early morning until three in the afternoon. Men and women were led in fives to
2170-477: The fall of Poland, lasting from the fall of 1939 until the spring of 1940; 60,000 landowners, teachers, entrepreneurs, social workers, army veterans, members of national organizations, priests, judges and political activists were murdered in 10 regional actions. The Intelligenzaktions were continued by the German AB-Aktion operation in Poland . By 5 October 1939, in West Prussia alone, the Selbstschutz under
2232-546: The following year. After the occupation of Ukraine by German and Austro-Hungarian forces in 1918, the German occupying authorities assisted in establishing Selbstschutz units drawn from the numerous ethnic-German communities in southern Ukraine. The Selbstschutz assisted in serving German security interests in Ukraine following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Russian Mennonite men were included in this program and members were drawn from
2294-422: The forests around Wielka Piaśnica. Piaśnica Wielka is a small Kashubian village located around 10 km from Wejherowo. The forests around it were chosen by the Germans as the site of the mass murders because it was easily accessible by bus and truck, it had a nearby rail line, and at the same time, it was located far enough from other villages and centers of population. The most commonly accepted timeline for
2356-499: The forests in August 1944. Chained and bound, they were forced to dig up the graves, remove the bodies and burn them in specially prepared forest crematoria. After six weeks of this work, the prisoners were murdered by the SS troops who supervised them, and their bodies were burned as well. Local German civilians participated in further covering up any traces of the burning of the bodies. Despite
2418-539: The greater part of the German minority "fit for action". In the interwar period, the German minority organizations in Poland included Jungdeutsche Partei (Young German Party), Deutsche Vereinigung (German Union), Deutscher Volksbund (German Peoples Union) and Deutscher Volksverband (German Peoples Association). All of them formed a fifth column actively cooperating with Nazi Germany in anti-Polish espionage, sabotage, provocations, and political indoctrination. They maintained close contact with and were directed by
2480-458: The head of the civil administration in the new Gau . It is difficult to estimate the extent and impact of VS activities, as Polish authorities were not able to properly gather evidence once the invasion started, and much of the German documentation related to those activities did not survive the war. The existence of a large paramilitary organization of ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship that engaged in widespread massacres of Poles and helped in
2542-529: The interwar period had belonged to Polish cultural and patriotic organizations such as Polski Związek Zachodni [ pl ] (Polish Union of the West) and Maritime and Colonial League . As a result, between the fall of 1939 and the spring of 1940, in the Intelligenzaktion Pommern and other actions, Germans killed around 65,000 Polish intellectuals and others. The main site of these murders were
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2604-599: The killing of the German mentally ill at Piaśnica (but not the Polish intellectuals and citizens also murdered there). Richard Hildebrandt , Higher SS and Police Leader in Pomerania, was sentenced to death by a Polish court in Bydgoszcz for his part and role in organizing the murders. A British military court in Hamburg in 1946, sentenced Max Pauly , the former commander of the Stutthof Concentration Camp and also
2666-416: The mass murder of ethnic Poles. For example, they took part in the massacres in Piaśnica , the first elimination "aktion" of Polish intelligentsia. Between 12,000 and 16,000 civilians were murdered there. The Intelligenzaktion was aimed at eliminating Poland's leadership in the country. The murder operations began soon after the attack on Poland and lasted from the fall of 1939 until the spring of 1940. As
2728-449: The names of about 600 of the 12,000 to 14,000 murdered. There were three groups which were primarily involved in carrying out the massacres: The headquarters of the command in charge of carrying out the ethnic cleansing was in a villa on Krokowska St. in Wejherowo . After the extermination action was ended in the spring of 1940, the organizers and perpetrators began the process of covering their deeds. Trees and bushes were planted on
2790-462: The organization and district commanders in occupied zones made by the German army were put in place — West Prussia , Upper Silesia and Warthegau . While the SS leadership was limited to overseeing the operations, local units remained under the control of ethnic Germans who had proven their commitment at the beginning of the war. The Selbstschutz set up locations for massacres of interned Poles. At times, they were organized in places where
2852-496: The outside. Despite these arrangements, the local Polish and Kashubian populace was able to observe the numerous transports going to the forests and could hear the sounds of gunfire. The last transports to the site were seen in the spring of 1940 and contained mostly patients from mental hospitals from within the Third Reich, in particular from Stettin (Szczecin) and Lauenburg (Lębork). The total number of victims, killed in an area around Piaśnica of about 250 square kilometers,
2914-406: The pits where they were shot together. Before executions women and girls were raped.(...) [The atrocities] evoked horror even in the Germans, including some soldiers. Terrified at what they saw in the town of Świecie two of them felt compelled to submit a report (now in German federal archives). After the German invasion of Poland , the Selbstschutz worked together with the Einsatzgruppen in
2976-405: The previously dug graves and shot. Some of the victims were buried alive. One of those killed was Sister Alicja Kotowska , the head of the convent in Wejherowo. Witnesses report that as she was being transported from the prison to the execution site, Kotowska huddled and comforted Jewish children who were also being taken to be executed at Piaśnica. During the post-war exhumation, Alicja's corpse
3038-630: The rebirth of Poland. In 1921, the units of Selbstschutz took part in the fights against the Polish Third Silesian Uprising . The third incarnation operated in territories of Central and Eastern Europe before and after the beginning of World War II notably in Poland , the Free City of Danzig , Czechoslovakia , Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union . This Selbstschutz organization took on
3100-422: The result of Nazi genocidal policy, in 10 regional actions 60,000 Polish teachers, entrepreneurs, landowners, social workers, military veterans, members of national organisations, priests, judges, and political activists were killed. The Intelligenzaktion was continued by the German AB-Aktion operation in Poland . In West Prussia, the Selbstschutz organization led by SS-Gruppenführer Ludolf von Alvensleben
3162-479: The site of the graves, and German police restricted access to the area in the following years. In the second half of 1944, during the Red Army's offensive, Nazi authorities anticipated the evacuation of the German military and civilian personnel. During this time, an organized action was undertaken to destroy evidence of the massacres. Thirty-six prisoners from the concentration camp KL Stutthof were chosen and brought to
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#17328521504233224-512: The territories occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary following the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk . The purpose of these units was to protect local ethnic-German communities and, indirectly, to serve German security interests in southern Ukraine. Another iteration of the Selbstschutz concept was established in Silesia and aimed at returning Polish-inhabited territories back to Germany following
3286-464: The wave of mass murders of Polish intelligentsia during Operation Tannenberg and other more local and vengeful atrocities. The killings of Poles and Jews ascribed specifically to members of Volksdeutsche Selbstschutz is estimated at the minimum of 10,000 men, women and children. The force was disbanded in winter 1939/40 and the majority of its members joined the German SS or Gestapo by the spring of
3348-576: Was 17,667 men strong, and by 5 October 1939 had already executed 4,247 Poles. Notably, Alvensleben complained to the Selbstschutz officers that too few Poles had been shot. German officers had reported to him that only a fraction of Poles had been "destroyed" in the region, with the total number of those executed in West Prussia during this action being about 20,000. One Selbstschutz commander, Wilhelm Richardt, said in Karolewo (Karlhof) that he did not want to build big camps for Poles and feed them, and that it
3410-416: Was an honour for Poles to fertilize the German soil with their corpses. There was visible enthusiasm for activities of the Selbstschutz among those involved in the action. Only in one case a Selbstschutz commander was relieved of duty after failing to finish his job with "only" 300 Poles executed. The total number of Selbstschutz members in Poland is estimated by historians at 82,000. The organization
3472-406: Was an honour for Poles to fertilize the German soil with their corpses. There was little opposition to or lack of enthusiasm for the activities of the Selbstschutz among those involved in the action. There was even a case where a Selbstschutz commander was relieved after he failed to account for all the Poles that were required, and it was found that he executed "only" 300 Poles. The organization
3534-589: Was distributed among Nazi death squads as the Special Prosecution Book-Poland (Germ. Sonderfahndungsbuch Polen). Immediately after the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz engaged in attacks against the Polish population and the army, and performed sabotage operations helping the German advance across the Polish state. In mid-September, the chaotic and largely spontaneous activities of this organization were coordinated by SS officers. Himmler 's protégé Gottlob Berger
3596-414: Was immediately subjected to brutal terror. Prisoners of war , as well as many Polish intellectuals and community leaders, were murdered. Many of the crimes were carried out, with official approval, by the so-called " Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz ", or paramilitary organizations of ethnic Germans with previously Polish citizenship. They, in turn, were encouraged to participate in the violence and pogroms by
3658-498: Was not identified but a grave was found containing a rosary of the kind worn by sisters of her order. The grave where the rosary was found is now the site of a memorial. In 1999 Alicja Kotowska was beatified by Pope John Paul II along with 107 other martyrs . The area around the forests where the massacres were taking place was surrounded with police and paramilitary groups in order both to prevent any victims from escaping and also to preclude access to any potential witnesses from
3720-460: Was ordered to be dissolved on 26 November 1939, but the changeover continued until the spring of 1940. Among the reasons were instances of extreme corruption, disorderly behavior and conflicts with other organizations. Members were instructed to join Schutzstaffel and Gestapo instead. In the summer of 1940, the new Sonderdienst battalions were formed in place of Selbstschutz and assigned to
3782-513: Was ordered to be dissolved on 26 November 1939 in favour of service with the SS , yet the work continued until the spring of 1940. Among the reasons for dissolution were the Selbstschutz ' s extreme corruption, disorderly behaviour and conflicts with other organizations, as well as excessive use of force. The existence of a large paramilitary organization of ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship who engaged in widespread massacres of ethnic Poles in
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#17328521504233844-399: Was placed in charge of the organization. District commanders from the army in occupied zones were put in charge at West Prussia , Upper Silesia and Warthegau . While the SS leadership was limited to overseeing the operations, local units remained under the control of ethnic Germans who had proven their commitment at the beginning of the war. Selbstschutz organized concentration camps for
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