AfterNazi Germany'sinvasion of Poland in 1939, theWehrmacht, or German armed forces, recruited members from Poland's 2.2% ethnic-German minority, but did not enlist ethnic Poles on racist grounds. When Germany began losing the war in 1943, the Wehrmacht forcibly conscripted ethnic Poles, who were commanded withracist policies against them.[1]
Nazi Germany regarded Poland's ethnic-German minority as racially superiorVolksdeutsche, and ethnic Poles assubhuman. In addition to murdering 3 million Polish Jews in theShoah, Germany carried out genocide against the ethnic Poles; at least 1.9 million were murdered, especially those in influential and leadership roles, while the rest were exploited for their labor, including in the military.[2][1]
The Wehrmacht High Command did not trust the ethnic Poles under their command, who, when taken prisoner by the Allies, tended to enlist in the Polish Army in exile.[1] Nearly 90,000 Poles forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht subsequently fought against Nazi Germany in thePolish Armed Forces in the West. ByVictory Day 1945, nearly a third of the Polish soldiers in the West had formerly served in the German military.[3] On theEastern Front, prisoner-of-war camps for Wehrmacht soldiers were a substantial recruitment pool for thePolish Armed Forces in the East.[4]
The term "grandfather in the Wehrmacht" has become aslur in Poland.[1] Having served in the German military or being a descendant of such an individual has led in Poland to repression, discrimination, and ostracization. Even in the 21st century, such persons are often seen as not being an integral part of the Polish national community.[5]
Some Polish citizens of diverse ethnicities served in theWehrmacht and theWaffen-SS, in particular inparts of Poland annexed by Germany such asUpper Silesia. Service in the German military was universal in nature in these areas, however, assessing the number of ethnic Poles involved is difficult due to the fluidity of national identity. At the low end, Polish estimates often place the number of native Poles who served at 250,000. Ryszard Kaczmarek of theUniversity of Silesia in Katowice produced a conservative estimate of at least 295,000 based on documentary evidence; however, he considers this very low and is inclined to assume category IIIVolksliste were mobilized as much as males in the Old Reich, which leads to a maximum estimate of 500,000.[6] Early 1944 estimates by thePolish underground are similar, at 400,000-450,000 Poles fromReichsgau Danzig-West Prussia and Silesia.[6]
German authorities assumed those classified as category IIIVolksliste were in fact mostly ethnically Polish, and marked their military documents with "Pole".[6]
Various factors contributed to Poles serving in the Wehrmacht. From the Nazi perspective, racial theory sawKashubians andSilesians asVolksgemeinschaft. Serving in the Wehrmacht was not motivated solely by a desire for collaboration, but often resulted from the need to adapt to a complex and changing situation, and in some cases was done for opportunistic reasons.[6] In 1943-1945, German losses at the front led to liberalization of the Nazi racial rules and mass recruitment of Poles.[6]
In the annexed areas, registration asVolksliste was not only encouraged by the German authorities, but also by thePolish Underground State andCatholic Church who wanted to preserve the Polish character of these lands by preventing mass deportation of their inhabitants. Thus, in theKatowice district, 1.4 million people registered in theVolksliste. The number of residents who refused registration was relatively negligible.[5]
There was also a German storm brigade known as theVolksdeutscher Selbstschutz formed by theGerman minority in Poland. Many of its members were trained in the Third Reich. As soon as the war started, theSelbstschutz engaged inwidespread massacres of Poles and Jews inWest Prussia,Upper Silesia andReichsgau Wartheland, together with theEinsatzgruppen.[7]
On theWestern Front, Polish prisoners were first encountered by the allies inprisoner-of-war camp forAfrika Korps soldiers. After realizing that a high number of prisoners were Polish, the British and thePolish Armed Forces in the West created a special section aimed at recruiting POWs to serve the allied cause. Recruitment efforts intensified in the summer of 1943.[3]
In January 1944, afterHenry Maitland Wilson expressed concern over the lack of Polish replacement troops, GeneralWładysław Anders assured him replacements would be recruited at the front lines. In thePolish II Corps, there were 2,500 ex-POWs by June 1944, a number which rose to 18,500 by 1945.[3] Anders' optimism was well-founded, and thanks to POW recruitment the Polish army in the West ended the war as a larger formation than it had started as when theItalian campaign began.[8] Aside from recruits from the Wehrmacht, the Anders Army also absorbed 176 former soldiers from the14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician).[9]
Ultimately, nearly 90,000 Poles formerly employed by the Wehrmacht served in thePolish Armed Forces in the West. ByVictory Day in 1945, nearly a third of Polish soldiers in the West had formerly served in the German military.[3][8]
On theEastern Front, prisoner-of-war camps for Wehrmacht soldiers were a significant recruitment pool for thePolish Armed Forces in the East.[4]
Germans treated those Poles who havedeserted their armed forces and then subsequently been captured not as POWs but as deserters, to be put on trial.[10]: 38
Having served in the German military or being a descendant of such an individual ("grandfather in the Wehrmacht") has led in Poland to repression, discrimination and ostracization. Even in the 21st century, such persons are often seen as not being an integral part of the Polish national community.[5]
During the2005 Polish presidential election,Donald Tusk was attacked by theLaw and Justice party'sJacek Kurski on account of Tusk'sgrandfather having served in the Wehrmacht.[5][3]
Tony Halik - Incorporated into the Wehrmacht LW in 1943.[11] (Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia)
Sylwester Kaliski - In September 1943 he was incorporated into the Kriegsmarine. (Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia)
Edmund Giemsa - DuringWorld War II he was forced to join theWehrmacht but deserted and joined theFrench Resistance from where he joined the Polish Army.(Gau Upper Silesia)
Leon Piesowocki - In 1943, he was called up to serve in the Wehrmacht and sent to Bourg-en-Bresse in France, and then to the vicinity of Livorno in Italy, where he deserted and joined the Allied troops. (Reichsgau Wartheland)
Adam Baworowski - During World War II he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht. Shortly before his death, according to some sources, he gave up his seat on the plane that came to pick up wounded soldiers to another, more seriously injured colleague. He died during theBattle of Stalingrad in 1942. (Reichsgau Wien)[12]
Albin Siekierski - Despite not being a citizen of the Reich, he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht and sent to the Eastern Front. He was wounded in the Battle of Kursk. (Gau Upper Silesia)
Gerard Cieślik - In December 1944, he began serving in the Wehrmacht. At the beginning of 1945, he was sent to a unit in Denmark, where he lived in a church and was tasked with protecting one of the bridges.[13] (Gau Upper Silesia)
-W znienawidzonym mundurze. Losy Polaków przymusowo wcielonych do wojska niemieckiego w okresie II wojny światowej - [Accessed 19/1/2021] In Polish, but with many articles and books on the matter.
-Deutsche Volksliste [Accessed 19/1/2021] In German.