C zesła w M a d ajczyk
DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION IN 1942 AND 1943
IN THE LIGHT OF GERMAN DOKUMENTS
On N ovem ber 28, 1942 at 3 o’clock in th e m orning th e deportation
sta rte d in the Zamość region 1. T he first stag e (N ovem ber 1942 — M arch
1943) covered 116 villages, th e second (Ju n e — A ugust 1943) — 171 vil­
lages. The Nazi authorities had intended to deport 10 000 Poles from those
villages. However, they actually m anaged to deport only about 50 000.
T he Reich com m enced th e dep o rtatio n cam paign a t th e tim e of th e
g re a te st successes, w hen it seem ed th a t G erm any was on the eve of victo"
ry. T he cam paign s ta rte d a fte r th e fantastic p lans of th e Nazi coloni­
zation of the conquered eastern territo rie s had been com pleted. T hrough
th e colonization the Nazis intended to build th e re a w all of p easantry,
com posed chiefly of G erm anic population, to consolidate th e ir conquests
in the East. Among other things th ey w ere p lanning to re se ttle the P a ­
lestine G erm ans in the Crimea. They w ere preparing, on a large scale,
th e rese ttlem e n t of 3 m ilion D utch people and for th a t purpose th ey
organized, in J u ly 1942, the N ederlan dsch e O ost C om pagnie.
Sim ultaneously, th e G erm anisation of th e an n ex ed Polish territo rie s
w as in progress. In th e G eneral G o u v e rn e m e n t 2 th a t w as th e period
of intensified ex term in atio n of Jew s. In the L ublin D istrikt, for instance,
th e ex term ination of Jew s w as n e a rly com pleted in N ovem ber 1942.
T here w ere 250 000 of them in A pril 1941, 190 000 in m id- 1942 and
20 000 tow ards the end of 1942 3.
1 T he Zam ość region, d u rin g the occupation, com prised th e follow ing kreise:
Zam ość, B iłgoraj, Tomiaszów, H rubieszów .
2 A bbr. GG.
3 A . E i s e n b a c h, H itle r o w s k a p o lity k a e k s te r m in a c y jn a Ż y d ó w , W arszaw a
1953, p. 295.
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C. MADAJCZYK
PREPARATION OF THE DEPORTATION OPERATIONS
As early as in N ovem ber 1941 the Nazi au thorities in the L u b lin
D istrik t m ade th e ir firs t a tte m p t at deporations. The operation covered
over 2000 people from 6 villages. G erm ans from M oldavia w e re rese ttled
in th e ir place.
It can be supposed th a t the absence of resistance w as th e n taken by
th e occupants as an encouragem ent for th e fu tu re.
D uring the 8th N urem berg Trial, W alter H uppenkothen, chief of the
Sicherheitspolizei a t L ublin in 1940— 1941, stated in his evidence th a t since
th e spring of 1941 (the S taff of Globocnik, th e SS and Police com m ander,
p len ip o ten tiary for consolidation of G erm anism in the L ublin D istrikt,
had been very busy w orking out a plan of an SS and Police netw ork,
T hey w ere to be the v e ry first colonization centres located in landed
estates and villages. H im m ler, w ho w as not only th e SS and Police Comm ander-in-C hief b u t also Commasary fo r consolidation of G erm anism ,
w as already show ing his in te re st in th a t w o rk and w ould freq u en tly
v isit L ublin 4. The p rep aratio n s w ere backed by th e policy of th e highest
N azi authorities. A ccording to F ra n k ’s account contained in his diary,
H itle r decided in 1941, before the w ar w ith the USRR, to tra n sfo rm the
GG te rrito ry into a G erm an country, w ith in some 15 or 20 years. F ra n k ’s
ad m in istratio n sta rte d th e necessary p reparations. S tre e t-n a m e s w ere
G erm anized, special G erm an d istricts established in various towns.
A plan w as d ra fte d for a reform of the ag ra ria n s tru c tu re of the GG, so
as to ad ap t it to th e a g ra ria n system of th e Reich and to th e colonization
needs. The prep aratio n s m ade by H im m ler’s S taff w ere progressing
independently.
D uring H itle r’s v isit to Cracow on M arch 13— 14, 1942, th e question
of deportations w as discussed a t tw o conferences. T he re le v a n t infor­
m ation is contained in th e confidential rep o rts of th e In te rn a l A ffairs
D ep artm en t of th e GG ’governm ent’ 5. A ccording to th e firs t of them ,
a p a rt from dem anding th a t th e ’historically G erm an’ c e n tre of L ublin
and the m ark et sq u are at Zam ość should be given, a fte r reconstruction,
to G erm an officials, H im m ler p u t forw ard another dem and — th a t in th e
confiscated Polish estates in the Zamość d istric t G erm an peasant fa­
m ilies from M oldavia should be resettled.
According to the second rep o rt H im m ler had p resen ted his plans fo r
th e G erm anization and rese ttlem e n t cam paign fo r th e com ing years.
4 Nuremberg Trial no. 8, vol. 39. Verteidigung doc. Creutz, no. 22. State­
ment on oath.
5 Trial of the major war criminals before the International Military Tribunal
Nuremberg, vol. XXVI, PS — 910.
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H e intended to germ anize th e H ighlanders, Lem ks land H uculs 6. G er­
m an s from Spisz, for instance, w ere to be la te r rese ttled in these te rri­
tories. H im m ler th o u g h t th a t during the first five- year p lan a fte r the
w ar, the end of w hich he expected shortly, th e n e w e a ste rn territo rie s
should have been colonized. L ater, th e first w ave of G erm an se ttle rs
was to sp read to the Crim ea and th e Baltic countries.
Je d en alls w ollte m an zunächst eine stroke A nsiedlung längs des
Sans und des Bugs vornehm en, sodass die frem dvölkischen Teile Polens
eingekesselt w erden. Es habe sich bisher im m er erw iesen, dass diese A rt
d e r U m schliessung am raschesten zu der gew ünschten N ationalisierung
führe.
F ran k speaking on M arch 18 to the NSDA P leaders in the GG,
re fe rre d to the talk s w ith H im m ler 7, suggesting th a t the realization of
a large scale colonization could be sta rte d only a fte r th e w ar. W hen
speaking to the Nazi Y outh lead er A xm ann (on J u n e 7) he used e x p re s­
sions such as th a t the GG was the G erm an L ebensraum , ju st like W ürtem berg, Eaden, Brandeiburg or Bavaria. F ra n k claim ed th a t Cracow,
W arsaw , Lvov, L ublin or Radom should be in teg rated into G erm an com ­
m u n ity ju st like are V ienna or H am burg 8.
A little later, on Ju n e 12, 1942 H im m ler, w hen giving his opinion on
th e first version of th e G eneralplan Ost, ordered th a t th e com plete G erm anization of Estonia, L atvia and the GG should be included in th e
tw e n ty -y e ar plan.
H e m ost em phatically sta te d th a t th e proposal contained in th e first
version th a t the action in th e GG an d th e O stland should be lim ited only
to a n etw o rk of th e SS and Police posts, d id not correspond to his ideas
o r w is h e s 9. So, H im m ler had gone fa rth e r th a n during his talk s w ith
F ra n k in M arch. H e confirm ed the above m entioned a ttitu d e of th e
com plete G erm anization of th e GG in his speech to th e SS an d Police
com m anders in the occuppied southern territo ries of the USSR, on Sep­
tem b er 16, 1942 10.
A t th e sam e tim e he also ordered to p re p a re a rese ttlem e n t area for
43 000 V olksdeutsche in the Z hitom ir region n .
6 Regional Polish and Ukrainian ethnic groups.
7 Frank’s Diary, Tagebuch, 1942/1, p. 193.
8 Ibidem, p. 489.
9 Nuremberg Trial, no. 8, vol. 25, doc. 2255.
10 Archiwum Głównej Komisji Badania Zbrodni Hitlerowskich. (Archives of
the Central Commission for Investigation of Nazi Crimes (abbr. AGŁKBZ H)
Files of the Regional Commission for Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Cracow
relating to the case of Frank’s depuity, chief of the GG government Joseph
Bühler (abbr. Bühler’s Files) vol. 7,‘ p. 137.
11 Ibidem, p. 127..
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C. MADAJCZYK
G reifelt, th e chief of th e S tabshauptam t, asked th e SS R eichsführer
on J u ly 3, 1943 to d eclare th e GG a resettlem en t area 12. To his le tte r h e
a ttach ed a r e p o r t 13 to th e effect th a t in th e GG th e Poles whose farm s
w ere u n d ercu ltiv ated or neglected w ere to be deported in autum n. He
proposed to replace them , as w ell as th e V olksdeutsche w ho had been
tra n s fe rre d in 1940— 1941 from th e L ublin and Chelm regions to th e
Reich, W ith G erm an colonists. T hey w ere to be re se ttle d in the vicinity
of th e Police stations and in com pact groups. The approval of the GG
re se ttle m e n t p ro je c t w as se n t by telegram on H im m ler’s behalf, on Ju ly 8.
H im m ler w as su p p o rted by B orm ann, the NSDA P leader. In a le tte r to
Rosenberg, on J u ly 23, he gave him the guiding principles for ru lin g th e
conquered ea ste rn territo rie s. T hey re fe r to the Nazi policy as regards
Slavs, w hich included Poles as w ell. In B orm ann’s opinion no care fo r
protection of th e ir h e a lth or for th e ir education was necessary. Die Slaven
sollen f ü r uns arbeiten. Sow eit w ir sie nicht brauchen m ögen sie sterben.,.
An V erpflegung bekom m en sie n u r das N otwendige. W ir sind die H e rre n ,
w ir kom m en z u e r s t 14.
T he already m entioned p lanning b u reau a t L ublin h ad been b u ilt up.
I t w as still headed by Globocnik, a favourite of H im m ler’s, chief of s ta ff
of th e O peration R einhard for exterm ination of Jew s. Colonization plans
no t o n ly for th e GG b u t also fo r E uropean Russia w ere w orked out there.
H im m ler continued to show m uch in te rest in them and w ould now com e
to L u b lin ev ery fo u r o r six w eeks 15. He presented the general lines of th e
G erm anization policy in th e Ju n e— Ju ly , 1942 issue of th e D eutsche
A rb e ite rp a rte i. U nsere Aufgabe ist es, den O sten nich t im a lte n Sinne zu
germ anisieren; dass heisst den d ort w ohnenden M enschen deutsche S p ra­
che u n d deutsche Gesetze beizubringen, sondern d a fü r zu sorgen, dass im
O sten n u r M enschen w irklich deutschen, germ anisches B lutes w o h n e n 16.
On A ugust 4, a t a session of th e GG governem ent in Cracow 17 called
specially to discuss the L ublin D istrik t problem , F ran k em phasized th a t
th e D istrik t had a very special p a rt to p lay in H im m ler’s plans.
12 Nuremberg Trial no. 8, doc. no. 4876 a ,Schnellbrief’ from Greifelt, dated
July 3, 1942, to the Chief of Himmler’s personal Staff Brandt.
13 Ibidem, doc. nr 4877..
14 AGIjKZBH, Buhler’s Files, vol. 7, p. 75, fragment of a letter dated August
19, 1942 from Bormann quoted by dr Markulla, one of Himmler’s collaborators.
Dr Markulla’s remarks reveal that the conflicts among the Nazi leaders were
reaching farther. The circles close to Himmler intended to liquidate the Rosenberg’s
Ministry for annexed easitern territories as well.
15 Nuremberg Trial no 8, vol. 39, doc. Creutz, no 23, Statement on oath.
16 Nuremberg Trial no 8, vol. 25, p. 299, doc. 2915 PS.
17 Frank’s Diary, Tagebuch, 1942/III, p. 821-3.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
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K ruger, th e SS and Police com m ander in th e GG and acting commisairy
for consolidation of G erm anism in th e GG, rep o rted th a t H im m ler had
already forw arded th e general directives on th e fu tu re colonization of
th e d istrict. H im m ler intended to re se ttle the V olksdeutsche from Bosnia,
M oldavia, Serbia, Leningrad, th e B altic states, V olhynia and o th e r E uro­
pean countries in the L ublin and Zam ość K reise. A to tal of 10 000 fam i­
lies composed of 60 000 persons w as to be resettled. F ran k agreed to th a t
and dem anded th a t the operation should cause no disturbances. H e also
dem anded th a t th e rese ttlem e n t p lan should be su b m itted to him by
Septem ber, so as the deportation operations m ight s ta rt in m id-N ovem ­
ber, th a t is at the m ost convenient tim e, in his opinion. F ra n k suggested
th a t H im m ler’s atten tio n should be invited to th e fact th a t in G alicia
as w ell th e re was p lenty of fertile lands and th a t colonists should u r ­
gently be settled there. The session was concluded w ith th e adoption of
the p la n for construction of a G erm an settlem en t a t Lublin.
It tran sp ires from th e la te r speeaches of F rank, delivered on A ugust
15, 1942 th a t he w as back to his a ttitu d e of G erm anization of Polish
territo rie s by s ta g e s 18. W hile approving of th e necessity to G erm anize
th e GG and to m ake it a p u rely G erm an Siedlungsland he w as m aking
a reserv atio n th a t th a t could not be done at the m om ent because of th e
difficulties created by the w ar. Polish railw aym en, Polish w orkers in arm
factiores, Polish peassants — w ere a t the m om ent irreplaceable. T hat had
no thing to do w ith sparing the Poles and w as ra th e r a cold- blooded
reckoning th a t the enorm ous contributions to th e Reich w e re possible,
provided th ere w ere no disturbances.
A ccording to F rank, Cracow w ith 30 000 G erm ans living th e re already,
was to becom e a G erm an city. T here w ere 100 000 G erm ans in W arsaw .
A t a sports festival Przem yśl and Radomsko w ere proclaim m ed places of
residence for th e H itlerjungend: Lassen Sie e rst einm al den K rieg beendet
sein, F ra n k shouted, dann w erden die M ilionen deutscher M enschen hier
einstrôm en und eine neue H eim at finden 19. H im m ler opposed in principle
th e idea of w aiting for the end of the w ar. He thought the G erm an adm i­
n istratio n both in the GG and in the occupied Soviet territo rie s w as not
enough determ ined or ru th less in the im plem entation of the Reich policy
and th a t th e chief p a rt should be given th ere to th e SS and Police. His
influence w as incom parably g rea ter and he was driving at an integ ratio n
of the GG w ith the Reich for adm inistration purposes, as a G au 20. It tra n s­
pires from a num ber of F ra n k ’s statem ents th a t H im m ler’s idea
18 Frank’s Diary, Tagebuch, 1942/III, p. 860—867 and 895—897.
19 Frank’s Diary, Tagebuch, 1942/III, p. 895-7.
20 Ibidem, 1942/III, p. 163.
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C. MADAJCZYK
w as, a t th e tim e, v e ry n e a rly realized 21. F ran k , fo r his p art, considered
th e independent GG a form m ore convenient, fo r th e duration of the w ar,
fo r exploitation of th e te rrito ry and th o u g h t th e in teg ratio n p lan s w ere
p re m a tu re and less advantageous to G e rm a n y 22.
A lthough both F ra n k and H im m ler w ere in agreem ent as to the u lti­
m ate aim w hich w as th e colonization of th e GG,, th e tactical differences,
by no m eans restric te d to th e Polish affairs, resu lted in sh arp conflicts
b etw een them as w ell as betw een F ra n k an d th e new ly appointed M inister
of Ju stice T hierack and th e M inister of In te rn a l A ffairs. In connexion
w ith these conflicts F ra n k w e n t to B erlin in A ugust and p resen ted his
resignation. A t th a t tim e he w as released from his position of both leader
of th e Nazi L aw yers Union a n d p resid en t of th e G erm an A cadem y of
Law. His position, as he stated him self, was w eak 23. H itler did n o t accept
F ra n k ’s resignation. F ra n k agreed to c a rry on, realizing a t the sam e tim e
th a t H itler had adopted a still m ore ru th less course of policy, based upon
m ethods of violence, com plete destruction of legality, concentration camps
an d fre e h a n d fo r th e Police. To such an e x te n t H itle r show ed th a t he
saw no need to keep up appearances th a t he aroused some objections
of F rank. In view of th e tendencies of th e B erlin c e n tral authorities to
tak e over th e prerogatives of th e GG gover n em ent, losing his hope to
m ain tain the sta tu s quo, F ra n k him self suggested integration of th e GG
w ith th e Reich 24.
In the sum m er of 1942, unusually high quotas of agricultural products
w ere, to be com m andeered. The Reich was to receive over 750 000 tons
of grain from th a t source. The enorm ous im position had not only its eco­
nom ic aspect. It constituted a h in t a t starvation and F ran k m entioned
th a t line of th e Reich policy in his Decem ber s p e e c h 25.
October w as dom inated by feverish p reparations for the d eportation
operations in the Zam ość region. On O ctober 10, 1942 th e Reich S ecurity
C entral Office inform ed O b erstu rm b a n n fu h re r K rum ey, chief of th e Lodz
R esettlem ent C entre, by telegram , of th e orders issued by H im m ler during
21 Ibidem, 1942/1V, p. 1310. There were suggestions to create 3 Gaus: Cracow,
Warsaw and Lvov.
22 In connexion with this prob ably, the Reich was not paying iback its growing
debts to the GG, estimated by Bühler at the beginning of 1943 at 3000 million
zlotys.
23 Frank’s Diary, Tageibuch, 1942/III p. 961.
24 Frank’s Diary, Tagebuch, 1942/III, p. 981-2. Abschliessende Betrachtungen
zur Entwicklung des letzten Vierteljahres of August 28, 1942.
25 Starvation methods in a classic form were applied by the occupants in
Greece.
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his several h o u rs’ visit to C ra c o w 26. T he re s e ttle m e n t of 17 000 Slovenes
and L o rrain ers in the L ublin D istrik t had to be speeded up, so as it m ight
be com pleted before C hristm as. A p a rt from th em 10 000 V olksdeutsche
w ere to be resettled. T he follow ing p relim in ary directives how to deal
w ith the e x p a tria te d Poles w ere issued by H im m ler. F o r children up to
10 ’education cam ps’ w ere to be organized. Those accepted as valuable
from th e racial point of view w ere to be directed to the Reich. F o r people
over 60 th e R entenddrfer w ere to be created. Those classified as group
4 w ere, on H im m ler’s orders, to be sent to a concentration camip and group
3 was to go to forced labour in the Reich or in the E a s t27, w hile group 2,
was to be se n t to Lodz for exam ination. On H im m ler’s directives the total
n u m ber of Poles to be e x p a tria ted was increased by the Reich Security
C entral Office from 73 000 to 140 000. Besides, H im m ler dem anded an esti­
m ate of the n u m b er of Poles to go to th e Reich and of those to be sen t to
concentration camps.
As early as on O ctober 11, K rum ey sent a telegram answ ering the ques_
tion 28. W orking on th e experience of the deportations in th e Poznań region,
he expected that. 29 p e r cent, of the deportees w ould go to ch ild ren camps,
12 p e r cent, to th e R entenddrfer, 21 p e r cent, to concentration camps, 15
p e r cent, to forced labour (w ithout families), 22 p e r cent, for tra n s fe r to the
E ast (group 3 w ith fam ilies) and 5 per cent for G erm anization.
On O ctober 23, K ru g e r received from G lobocnik a re p o rt on th e state
of p reparations for colonization of the L ublin region and forw arded it by
a m essenger to H im m ler 29. The rep o rt described the sta te of preparations
for the period from the J u ly H im m ler’s decisions to Septem ber 15. Globoc­
n ik com plained that, so far, he had no t been provided w ith th e necessary
forces to ex ecu te the resettlem en t and th a t he had not received a decision
as to w h ere th e Poles w ere to be deported. G erm ans from C roatia and
Bosnia w ould not be ready for rese tte m e n t before D ecem ber. The a rriv al
date of the L o rrain ers and L uxem burgers had no t yet been fixed. In con­
nexion w ith th a t Globocnik suggested, as a solution, to begin in th e Zamość
K reis the so called ’little re se ttle m e n t’, covering 2500 fam ilies (the
D eutschstam m ige from the L ublin D istrik t,G erm ans from Russia, M olda­
via and R um ania). He w as how ever, rem ark in g th a t the resettlem en t, for
the tim e being, of the colonists from the E ast alone, w ould be undesirable.
26 Z. K l u k o w s k i: Zbrodnie niemieckie w Zamojszczyźnie [The Nazi Crimes
in the Zamość region], Warszawa 1947, p. 61-2 (appendices).
27 In a speech om June 20, 1940 Rosenberg proposed to resettle Poles in
Byelorussia while the Generalplan Ost envisaged resettlement of aibout 20 million
Poles in western Siberia.
28 Z. Kl u k o w s k i, op. cit., p. 63.
29 Bühler’s Files, vol. 8, p. 218—224. The report was delivered to the SS
Reichsführer on November 1.
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In the circum stances Globocnik suggested to supplem ent, in fu tu re, the
colonized villages w ith colonists from the W est. He also plan n ed to th in out
th e Polish population in the tow ns constituting the cen tral resettlem en t
points (Lublin, Zamość, K rasnystaw ) w ith the dead-line date fixed for
spring 1943. It can be seen from the progress of the deportations th a t th a t
dem ands had not been approved.
We do not know H im m ler’s reply to this report. N evertheless, th a t was
some so rt of ’little resettlem en t’ w hich w as eventually p u t into effect,
owing to the delay in preparations which, in tu rn was to a g reat e x te n t
a result of th e intensified fighting on th e eastern front.
The continuing G erm an offensive at S talingrad posed before th e Nazi
authorities a serious problem of railw ay rolling stock. On O ctober 26 th e
tasks for the M inistry of T ransport w ere specified in a telegram from th e
Reich S ecurity C entral Office to K rum ey, on th e subject of evacuation of
Poles from the Lublin, Lvov and Radom D istrikts. S ta rtin g from N ovem ­
ber 2, 1942, tw o train s a w eek w ere to d e p a rt from Zamość each taking
1000 people to Berlin, and th ree trains to Oświęcim (A uschw itz)30. It
tran sp ires from the telegram th a t is was originally intended to send to
a concentration camp 3/s of those deported beyond the GG territo ry .
In the course of fu rth e r preparations, as it can be seen from a secret
telephone m essage of O ctober 31 from S S -G ru p p en fü h rer M üller to the
SS-Reichsfü h rer, the principles of segregation of the Polish population to
be ’evacuated’ w ere definitely sp e c ifie d 31. Polish fam ilies classified as
group 1 and 2 w ere to be directed, in principle, to a camp at Lodz to be
G erm anized. O nly a few of them w ere to take over the farm s left em pty
because of the lack of colonists. O ut of groups 3 and 4, children up to 14.
old and sick people w ere to be accom m odated in certain Polish villages
called the R entendörfer 32. They w ere to be some sort of reservations for
Poles. M üller refe rrin g to K rü g e r’s attitu d e w arned against sending
children of the deported Poles to the G erm an educational institutions,
as it had been advocated by H im m ler, as th a t m ight resu lt in a conside­
rab le intensification of the resistance m ovem ent. Only a sm all n u m b er
of polish children whose p aren ts would be classified as group 3 or 4 was
to be accepted as suitable for G erm anization. The deported people, able
30 AGŁKBZH, Biihler’s Files, vol. 9, p. 7. Copy of the telegram.
31 Ibidem, p. 8—9, Copy of the letter.
32 T . B r u s t i n - B e r e n s t e i n in the article Zagadnienia gospodarcze GG
[The GG economic problems] rightly invites attention to the fact that the accomo­
dated old people and children, deprived of a proper care or protection were dying
out very quickly. That was, after all, a certain form of extermination; Biuletyn
Żydowskiego Instytutu Historycznego’ [’ Jewish Historical Institute Bulletin’],
No. 9—10, 1954.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
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to w ork, and those classified as group 3 w ere to be directed to factories
of m ilita ry im portance in the Reich to replace the ex term in ated Jew s.
F inally, M üller suggested to abandon the idea of directing a p a rt of Poles
for rese ttlem e n t in the U kraine, in View of th e intense activity of p artisan
’b ands’ in th a t te rrito ry and to the danger of th eir being reinforced by
the deportees joining unp.
T he fu rth e r definition of th e segregation principles is contained in
secret order no 1, issued by K rüger, dated N ovem ber 10 33. A p a rt of sm all
farm ers classified as group 3 was to be left as labour force. Those clas­
sified as group 3 w ere to be sent to the B rzezinka camp. His n e x t order,
of th e sam e d a te re la te d to the deportations of U krainians from the Z a­
mość region 34. The U krainians w ere n o t to be deported b u t tra n sfe rre d
to P olish villages in the so called U krainian R esettlem ent A rea and r e ­
se ttle d th ere on farm s equivalent in size to t h o s epreviously owned.
T he th ird o rd er issued by K rü g e r contained the principles of ex p ro p ria­
tion of landed estates w hich w ere to be converted into th e SS and Police
posts 35. The ow ners w ere to receive from th e tru stee s th e custom ary r a ­
tions and accom modation. The agricultural w orkers w ere lo be left in the
estates.
On N ovem ber 12 H im m ler issued order no 17H setting up the first
resettlem en t area in the G eneral G o u v e rn e m e n t36. The order ran: Die
K reishauptm annschaft Zamość w ird zum ersten deutschen S iedlungsbe­
reich im G eneralgouvernem ent erk lärt. It was to be a n ew ’safe m o th e r­
la n d ’ for the rese ttlers from Bosnia, for th e endangered V olksdeutsche
from th e occupied Soviet territories, for the o th er groups of rese ttlers
to be specified by H im m ler and for the V ilksdeutsche and D eutschstäm ­
m igen from the GG. H im m ler ordered, first of all th a t the tow n and the
Zamość kreis should be colonized by G erm ans before sum m er 1943.
F inally, the o rd e r nam ed those responsible for the execution of th e re ­
se ttle m en ts and requested the plan of the area affected by th e d e p o rta ­
tions to be su b m itted for H im m ler’s approval.
Am ong the last docum ents know n to us, dating from the period p re ­
ceding th e deportations, are the secret ’D irectives for th e A ssem bly
Cam p for Poles in connexion, w ith the dep o rtatio n operations in th e Za33 AGŁKBZH, Bühler’s Files, vol. 9, p. 11, Copy of the order.
34 Ibidem, p. 14. Copy of the order.
35 Ibidem, p. 15. Copy of the order.
36 The German text of the secret order runs: Allgemeine Anordung No. 17C
des Reichrführer — SS, Chef der deutschen Polizei und Reichskommisar für die
Festigung deutschen Volkstums über die Bestimmung eines ersten Siedlungsberei­
ches im Generalgouvernement. Vide Bühlers Files, vol. 8, doc. no 2562.
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C. MADAJCZYK
mość d istrict’ forw arded by K rum ey on N ovem ber 21 87. They contain
a n u m b er of technical details of th e deportation operations. To pacify
th e Polish population an official announcem ent 38 w as to be d istributed,
presenting the deportation operations as a m obilization of forces ’againts
Je w ry and Com m unism ’. O nly children up to 6 m onths old w ere to be
left w ith th e ir m others. T he o th er children, according to K rum ey, w ere
to be p u t u n d e r th e ca re of relatives. People earm ark ed for th e Reich
w ere allow ed to ta k e w ith them a m axim um of 20 zlotys p e r person.
V ery im p o rtan t a re th e confidential ’D irectives concerning th e de­
p ortation of Polish landow ners’ issued by the Zamość b ranch of the
R esettlem entz C entrale a t Lodz and dated N ovem ber 21, like th e p r e ­
viously m entioned K ru m ey ’s directives 39. The deportees w ere to be tre a te d
decently b u t rigorously. ’In cases of active resistance fire arm s should
be used’. A deportation operation w as to last up to an hour. I t w as re­
com m ended to reinforce the ’evacuation detachm ents’ so as to m ake
them capable of prev en tin g the a tte m p ts a t destroying or settin g fire to
th e abandoned property. The directives also stip u late d th a t th e w eight
of luggage m u st n o t exceed 30 kilogram s fo r an a d u lt person.
D uring th e period from N ovem ber 25 to D ecem ber 1, 1942 F ra n k w as
in th e Reich. It is im possible to establish w h eth er he left a fte r having
been inform ed about th e deportations due to begin in a few days, o r w as
it r a th e r th a t H im m ler and his m en took advantage of F ra n k ’s absence
to face th e adm inistration w ith a fa it accompli. In th is w ay th e depor­
tation operations w e re commenced, w ith o u t consulting th e GG adm ini­
stra tio n b u t taking for granted its previous sanction, given in A ugust.
DEPORTATIONS
On th e n ig h t of N ovem ber 28 th e deportations of Poles from th e Z a­
mość region started . By M arch 1943 — 116 villages w ere d e p o p u la te d 40.
T he intensity of the operations as reg ard s th e individual villages is
illu strate d by th e follow ing table:
37 AGŁKBZH, Bühler’s Files, vol. 9.
38 Z. K l u k o w s k i , op. cit., p. 69. The idea was probably abandoned because,
as it is noted by Polish sources, the Polish Committee at Zamość, by an official
order’ sent a telephone message to all its branches on November 28. to pacify
the population.
39 Ibidem, p. 71.
40 Z. K l u k o w s k i , op. cit., p. 9.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
85
Former
Nov. 42
Dec. 42
Jan. 43
Feb. 43
March. 43
Zamość district
Tomaszów district
Hrubieszów district
12
15
—
35
—
—
—
+
26
_
—
26
_
—
2
According to the data from the G erm an sources, by th e end of 1942
the deportations affected 33832 persons out of w hich only 9771
w ere actually captured. Tw o thirds had m anaged to escape. From th e
G erm an sources it can be seen th a t as early as on N ovem ber 30 Globocnik called atte n tio n to the fact th a t one th ird of the deported popu­
lation was escaping and ordered to p rev e n t it in the f u tu r e 41. People
w ere escaping no t only during the deportations. A rep o rt dated De­
cem ber 16, 1942 su b m itted by H. K inn and relatin g to a p a rty of de­
portees escorted to Oświęcim, reveals th a t out of 644 escorted — 14 had
escaped. Besides, he rep o rted th a t the Oświęcim cam p com m and had
dem anded th a t only Poles fit to w ork should be sent.
F ra n k expressed official a ttitu d e to the deportation operations in
a speech delivered on D ecem ber 14, 1942 at th e w orking session of the
NSDAP political leaders. He began w ith a w arning as to the confidential
c h aracter of th e discussed m atters. H ere are some excerpts from the
speech:
Sie w issen F ra n k said dass innerhalb d er P a rte i im allgem einen
absolut die M einung v e rtre te n w ird, dass die A ussiedlung der Polen,
ih re V ernichtung oder ihre B ehandlung lediglich als A rbeitsw esen A us­
druck u n serer Polenpolitik ist. Sie w issen auch, dass in w eitem Um fange
in die T at um gesetzt w urde. N un zeigt sich aber in zunehm enden Masse
auf diesem G ebiet eine ungeheure Erschw erung.
Es w äre vielm ehr w ünschensw ert, dass sich die Reichsinstanzen,
die P a r te linstanzen und die territo ria le n Instanzen endlich einm al üb er
ein en W eg k lar w erden. Es geht näm lich n ich t an, dass die einen sagen:
alle Polen, ganz gleich w elcher A rt, w enn sie arbeitsfähig sind, m üssen
in den A rbeitsprozess eingeschaltet w erden. H ier k lafft ein diam etraler
G egensatz. Man könnte sagen: alle Polen, die hier im A rbeits einsatz
stehen, können w ir behalten, alle Polen, bei denen das nicht der Fall
ist, können w ir ausrotten. D arin liegt n u r die eine grosse Schw ierigkeit,
dass eine A usrottung von M ilionen m eschlicher W esen am V orausse­
tzungen geknüpft ist, die w ir zu r Z eit nicht erfüllen können.
41
Archiwum Ministerstwa Spraw Wewnętrznych [Ministry of Internal Affairs
Archives] (AMSW), Lublin Gendarmerie Files, File 114, copy of the letter.
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86
C. MADAJCZYK
Da gilt es nun, im einzelnen zu verhandeln, aufzuklären zu erfahren,
w elche R ichtung das Reich verfolgt. Sollen w ir au sro tten oder aufbauen,
soll die A rbeit h ier oder im Reich geschaften w erden, sollen w ir A rb ei­
te r abgeben oder sie hier behalten. Sollen w ir die Polen v e rh u n g ern
lassen oder sie ernähren?
In th e conclusion of th e speech F ra n k said th a t some m om ents, very
difficult for the Reich, m ight still come in the course of the w ar and th a t
h is aim w as to m ain tain order in the GG up to th e victory day. In con­
nexion w ith th a t he expressed his doubts w h e th e r it had been advisable
to have sta rte d th e deportations at th a t tim e and dem anded for the
NSDA P the rig h t to co- decide in these m a tte rs 42.
F ifteen days a fte r F ra n k ’s speech, on D ecem ber 29, K rum ey, acting
on inform ation supplied by Globocnik, subm itted by w ire to the Reich
S ecurity C entral Office his fu rh e r intentions as reg ard s deportations 43.
Tow ards the end of F e b ru ary 1943 m ore deportation operations w ere
to sta rt. ’E vacuation’ of 9000 people from Zamość w as to ta k e place in
m id -Jan u ary b u t it did n o t m aterialize. To m ake possible the tra n sfe r
of the U krainians deported from th e form er Zamość K reis to the for­
m er H rubieszów K reis it had been planned to m ove in Ja n u a ry 3000—
4000 Poles from there, w hich was actually done, although num ber of the
detained w as considerably sm aller. On D ecem ber 29, the Reich S ecurity
C entral Office ordered K rum ey by w ire to send Polish priests c ap tu red
d uring th e deportations, to a concentration cam p and n o t to th e R en­
ten d ö rfer 44.
The docum ents dating from J a n u a ry 1943 already ad m it th e facts
of Polish resistance against deportations 45. One of th e docum ents is
a special order of th e Police com m ander in the L ublin D istrikt, dated
J a n u a ry 6, 1943 46. One h u n d red Polish police constables w e re detailed
to p ro te c t the bo rd er of the Zamość region. They w ere to p rev e n t Po­
lish a n d U krainian deportees from returning, to fig h t th e ’bands’ on the
border of the deportations area and to p rev e n t ro b b ery and sabotage.
T here are som e c le a re r indications of th e p a rtisa n activity in an order
of th e officer com m anding the 1st M otorized G endarm erie B attalion,
dated J a n u a ry 2 7 47. I t stated in p a rt:
42 Frank’s Diar- Tagebuch, 1942/IV, p. 1328—1340.
43 Z. K l u k o w s k i , op. cit., p. 72.
44 Ibidem, p. 73.
45 The very fimt act of resistance was an operation, on December 9, against
the German colonized village Nawóz, where 13 farsmteads were burnt out and
several Germans killed. As a reprisal, the Germans murdered about 170 people
of Kitów.
46AMSW Lublin Gendarmerie Files, vol. 66, p. 40.
47 Ibidem, p. 35 Only a fragment. of the order is preserved.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
87
Die im E insatzraum befindlichen deutschen U m siedlungsdörfer sind
in letz te r Z eit durch stark e B anden der W B 48 überfallen, E inw ohner
g etö tet und D orfteile abgebrannt sowie die L andw acht z. T. erm ordet
w orden. Diese M ordbrem er setzen sich aus den ungesiedelten Bevöikerung skr eisen, die bei der U m siedlung nicht erfasst w erden konnten
und sich hauptsächlich an der O stgrenze des K reises Z. au f h alten, zu­
sam m en. Sie und ihre H elfershelfer sind im Einsatzgebiet der K reise Z a­
mość und H rubieszów nach den R ichtlinien der K am fanw eiseung fü r die
B andenbekäm pfung im O sten — besonders Abschn. E — zu be­
käm pfen 49.
The progress of the resettlem ent cam paign in the Zamość K reis was
rep o rted by K rü g er a t a session of th e GG governm ent on Ja n u a ry 25,
1943. He em phatically assured th a t th e re w ere no doubts as to th a t th e
GG area should and w ould be colonized by G erm ans, w ithout postponing
th e operations till a fte r the w a r 50.
The L ublin D istrikt deportations w ere to be, in the initiators opinion,
th e first stage of the colonization. They w ere to serve as the firs t expe­
rim en t to find out the difficulties, th e size of Polish resistance, th e eco­
nom ic and political consequences etc. From th e propaganda p o in t of
view th e operations w ere n o t successful. D enn der Pole h at gesagt: nach
dem d er Ju d e v ern ich tet w orden ist, v ersu ch t m an m it den gleichen Me­
thoden, den Polen aus diesem R aum e herauszubringen und ih n ebenso
zu liquidieren wie den Juden. As a u n unfavourable factor K rüger con­
sidered th e im possibility to give th e Poles a pacifying explanation.
He announced th a t if a Pole proved m inderw ertig he would disappear
in a concentration camp a n d if he proved w ertvoll he w ould get, a lle ­
gedly, th e sam e as a G erm an colonist. A ccording to K rü g e r’s inform a­
tion it w as H im m ler’s w ish th a t the G alicia D istrik t should also be colo­
nized in th e n e a r fu tu re. He had even fixed groups of colonists fo r th a t
area. If th ey h ad n o t been rese ttled so far, i t w as b u t fo r th e conviction
th a t re se ttle m e n t could n o t have been u n d ertak en sim ultaneously in two
d ista n t p a rts of the G eneral G ouvernem ent.
A t the above m entioned session the D istrikt Governors rep o rted the
q u iet and orderly progress of th e ’in te rn al resettlem en t’ of th e G erm ans
from poorerd to m ore fertile ex-P olish lands and in com pact settlem ents.
Z örnner, the Lublin G overnor, opposed the deportations because of the
48 Abbr. for Wiederstandsbewegung.
49 Directives were entitled Kampfanweisung für die Bandenbekampfung im
Ostein, dated November 11, 1942. In chapter ,,E” concerning the fight with partisans
and their helpers, Himmler ordered the most rigourus treatment of those groups,
recommending,, among other measures, collective punishmentt.
50 Frank’s Diary, Arbeitssitzungen 1943, Polizeisitzung January 25, 1943.
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88
C. MADAJCZYK
u n rest and th e re se ttle m e n t of Slovenes because he considered th em th e
m ost hostile to G erm any. A fear could be felt th a t the re se ttle rs w ould
m ake the adm in istratio n tasks m ore difficult as th ey would first of a ll
ca re for th e ir farm s and w ould be attacked by partisans. G overnor
Fischer revealed the fact of u n rest am ong the W arsaw D istrik t Poles,
p a rticu la rly because of deportations of th e Zamość children, b ru ta lly
separated from th e ir p aren ts 51.
In a secret le tte r of F e b ru ary 16, refe rrin g to the objections w ith in th e
GG ’governm ent’ and am ong th e G overnors, K riiger subm itted to the S'S
R eichsführer a suggestion of a tem porary suspension of th e depor­
tations 52.
Of a g rea t im portance is a ’R eport’ on the Polish rising in the Zam ość
region, dated F e b ru ary 16, 1943, w orked out by a G endarm erie m ajor
from Zamość 53. It w as sta te d th ere th a t the resistance leaders rec ru ite d
from intelligentsia and from ex-servicem en. The landed estate ow ners
w ere usually to be found in th e ir estates, b u t n e a rly all Polish teachers
had disappeared. The m ajo rity of the insurgents w ere peasants. T hey
w ere arm ed w ith 1939 arm s. The rep o rt estim ated th a t in the woods,
accessible only w ith difficulty, the m ovability and b e tte r know ledge of
th e locality favoured the ’bandits’ w hilhe those encountered in b u ilt-u p
areas w ere killed to the last.
A t a conference of the G overnors on F e b ru ary 22 B ühler annouced
th a t th e rese ttlem e n t operations continued. F ra n k dem anded th en th a t
the L ublin D istrik t authorities should subm it to him a re p o rt on th e
operations and th e ir economic effects. He cautiously added th a t although
it was the F ü h re r’s w ish th a t the G erm an colonization of the GG should
gradually begin, ’the p resen t h ard tim es’ did not favour th at. Conse­
quently, in his conclusions from th e conference he p u t forw ard a de­
m and for suspension of the re s e ttle m e n t54.
An extensive stu d y w ritte n for F ran k by Zorner, th e chief of the L u­
blin D istrikt, en titled A usw irkungen der U m sidlung im K reise Z a­
mość 55 and d a te d F e b ru ary 24, 1943, was a reply to the G overnor Ge­
n e ra l’s dem and. Z orner, adm itting th a t he had no accurate figures
51 Frank’s Diary, Arbeitssitzungen 1943, p. 13—19, 32, 38-9.
52 AGŁKBZH, Bühler’s Files, vol. 9, p. 222, Photocopy.
53 AMSW, Lublin Gendarmerie Files, vol. 76 Erfahrungsbericht über den
Aufstand der Po’en im Kreise Zamość’, Anfang, Februar 1943, Roneoed text. The
report was worked out after a large scale ,round-up’ of a group of escapees near
Krasnobrod. Due to the help of partisans the defence had been broken through
and the deportees had escaped. The operation took place between February 4
and 12.
54 Frank’s Diary. Tagebuch, 1943/1, p. 129.
55 AGŁKBZH, Bühler’s Files, vol. 9, p. 236—264. A copy.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
89
available, rep o rted th a t 9000 G erm ans from M oldavia had been resettled
up to N ovem ber 26, 1942 56. A ccording to the re p o rt th e m ajo rity of Po­
les had been directed to th e Oświęcim concentration camp, the m inori­
ty — to w ork in the Reich. T hat was, how ever, incorrect in the light of
other docum ents. The U krainians w ere being tem p o rarily resettled in
35 or 40 villages of the H rubieszów K reis, from w here the Poles had been
deported to the Reich.
The deportations, in the opinion of the occupation au th o rities of the
D istrikt, caused among Poles and U krainians:
— a feeling of insecurity and a fear of being tre a te d like Jew s,
— economic insecurity, as the g re a te r p a rt of th e Polish deportees
was being sent to forced labour at Oświęcim,
— a fear of separation of fam ilies 57.
T hat resu lted in a m ass exodus of farm ers who, taking w ith th em th e ir
livestock and im plem ents, departed along th e side lanes, u n d er the cover
of darkness or fog, to join th e ir relatives or th e ’bands’ in th e woods.
Only 25000 of them w ere captured, although double th a t n u m b er had
been expected. All over th e district tens of thousands w ere w aiting,
ready to escape.
Es ist selbstverständlich, states the rep o rt in question, dass ein w e­
sentlicher Teil der F lüchtlinge, die nichts m ehr zu verlieren haben, zu
einer V erstärkung der B anditen im Süden des D istrik ts beigetragen hat.
Man kann schon von einer m ilitärähnlich organisierten Volksbew egung
sprechen, die geschlossene A bteilungen der Polizei v erlustreiche K äm pfe
verw ickelte, ja sogar zurückschlag.
Z örner also em phasized the G erm an casualties due to the ’bandits’
operations, nam ely 37 n ew settlers killed and 16 w o u n d e d 58. In the
56 Figures are inaccurate. The Volksdeutschen from Russia. Serbia, 300 families
from Luxemburg (to 133 out of which Globocnik was refusing the resettlement in
the Lublin region, as they were hostile to Germany) had also been brought 'there.
(Nuremberg Trial, no 8, vol. 29, dec. no 2400).
57 It is emphasized in the Polish protocols of questionning the witnesses of the
Zamość region deportations that heartrending scenes tocik place in the camps when
children were separated from their parents. Very often the Gestapo men could
separate children only after beating the parents unconscious.
58 On January 28 Kruger informed Himmler about an attack on the village
of Cieszyn. Apart from the aibove mentioned number of killed he reported 15
Landvoacht also killed. He reported at the same time that he was preparing
a revenge (Grossrazzia), probably even with the use of aircraft to break the
resistance. In his reply Himmler advised that the proposed reprisals should be
executed with full severity, so as to make sure that the attack would be the last
one. He permitited extermination of whole Polish villages, if necessary (Nuremberg
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90
C. MADAJCZYK
opinion of the D istrik t au th o rities th a t was ’a significant act of rev en g e’
of the expelled peasants. T he n u m b er of arson cases in th e new ly reset­
tled villages w as increasing considerably. B etw een 9 and 28 D ecem ber
1942, in the Zam ość K reis the ’b an d its’ se t fire to 125 buildings, using
am ong o th er m eans, incendiary am m unition.
A ccording to Z orner th e economic effects of th e deportations in th e
H rubieszów K reis w ere: slaughter of the livestook, falling m ilk deli­
veries, stoppage of tra n sp o rt of tim b er for m ilitary purposes. T here w as
a shortage of seed corn in the Zamość and H rubieszów K reise. In the
opinion of th e L ublin G overnor it w as not w orth-w hile for the Poles to
w ork as th ey th o u g h t they would eventually be deported a fte r all.
In Z o rn er’s opinion the slogans of the resistance m ovem ent and of the
Bolsheviks w ho m aintained th a t th e Polish p ro p erty was insecure, have
now been confirm ed. The ’bands’ activities have been considerably in ten ­
sified in the B iłgoraj, K raśnik, P u ław y and Zamość K re is e 59. Accor­
ding to the report, 'Uneasiness p ersisted am ong th e Poles because the
G erm an colonists from the Zamość K reis w ere coming to th e K rasn y ­
s ta w K reis forcibly to exchange th eir band horses and c a rts received
in th e ir farm s tak en over from th e Poles, fo r b e tte r ones. T hat originated
from a cle a r suggestion th a t th e Poles w ould need no horses o r carts as
th ey w ould be deported n e x t year in any case. The D istrik t authorities
ad m itted th a t th e Poles w ould n o t believe in th e deportations rem aining
lim ited to the so far affected areas. M oreover, th ere w as even some unea­
siness am ong th e U krainians, although th e y were, tem porarily, a little
b e tte r tre a te d fo r tactical reasons. A ccording to Z o m e r’s rep o rt, th a t
th reaten ed w ith the disappearance of the Polish - U krainian antago­
nism s, so cleverly fom ented by th e occupants.
W hile th e re w as no noticeable increase in th e n u m b er of candidates
for th e V o lk sliste 60, e ith e r before or a fte r th e deportations, a conside­
rab le n u m b e r of Poles w e re joining th e O rthodox C hurch to secure for
them selves a m ore to le ra n t treatm en t.
T he re p o rt ends w ith a dem and fo r an im m ediate suspension of the
deportations, although it adm its th a t they are advisable in principle.
A t the beginning of M arch Globocnik w orked out his re p ly in which
h e re fu te d Z o m e r’s opinion on th e situ atio n and all his reproaches.
Trial, no 8, vol. 30 — Documents, doc. no 2780). Himmler’s wish that the attack
should be the last one had not come true. The German colonists’ villages continued
to burn.
59 Except for the Zamość Kreis, that was the area of the particularly intense
activity of the communist People’s Guard.
60 At the beginning of 1944 5300 Volksdeutschen and 10 500 Deutschstämmingen
were to be in the Lublin region (Nuremberg Trial no 8, vol. 28, doc. 4005).
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)91
O n M arch 17 K rü ger forw arded G lobocnik’s reply to H im m le r61.
It seems th a t th ere was not m uch tru th in it. Globocnik sta te d th a t till
M arch only 40 crim inals had been sent to Oświęcim from among th e de­
portees and th a t 6000 had been directed to the Reich, w hereas th e p re ­
viously m entioned rep o rt from H. K inn concerning the first transport
to Oświęcim gave a n um ber of those se n t theire as 650 62. Globocnik
denied th a t th e deportees h a d been joining the partisans, although th a t
h a d alread y been confirm ed in a n u m b er of previously quoted reports
V ery significant is G lobocnik’s explanation w hy some people ’of alien
o rig in ’ had been left in the dep o rtatio n areas. Those left w ere either
farm in g very poor lands intended for afforestation, or a sm all p a rt of
a little b e tte r lands intended for th e G erm ans from th e Reich, m erited
d u ring the w ar, in order to m ix the V olksdeutschen w ith the Reichsdeutschen, or finally because of th e lack of m anpow er in th e am algam ated
villages. Globocnik suggests in conclusion th a t cooperation w ith G over­
n o r Zo rn er is impossible.
A re p o rt su b m itted to th e SS and Police com m ander in the W arsaw
D istrikt, dated F e b ru ary 26, 1943 gives some m ore details of the depor­
tatio n s m ethods. The rep o rt was w ritte n by an SS inspector, a S tu rm b a h n fü h rer w ho had visited the p arts of the W arsaw D istrikt situated
on the eastern bank of the V istula in o rder to p re p a re accom modation
fo r th e Polish deportees qualified fo r th e R entendôrfer. He rep o rted
in te r alia, th a t in J a n u a ry 1019 deportees had been brought to Siedlce.
O u t of th em 15 people had died and 2 had been sh o t during th e journey.
A t Siedlce, 23 m ore died. From another tra in ’a larg e n u m b er of corpses’
h a d been unloaded. The re p o rt ad m itted th a t fam ilies h ad been sepa­
ra te d a t Zamość. Sim ilar inform ation is contained in a rep o rt en titled
A usw irkungen der U m siedlungsaktion Zamość in D istrik t W arschau. The
a u th o r of the re p o rt points out the large num ber of dead children found
in th e train-loads of the deportees directed to the R entendôrfer from
w h e re the Jew ish population had been rem oved. The deaths w ere caused
m ostly by cold and starvation.
It is generally know n th a t th e Nazi policy v ery often ignored pacts,
declarations or conventions. So, it is not su rprising th a t the deportations
w ere being executed a t th e tim e w hen Goebbels sen t a circular le tte r (of
61 AGŁKBZH, vol. 962, z. exhibits in the case of Nazi crimes in the Lublin
region (criminal case of J. Sporrentoerg), Exhibit No 36.
62
J. Szczepanowski, ex-prisoner of Oświęcim, seated that the second train from
the Zamość region (draft No 102 000) arrived at Birkenau shortly after Christmas
(Buhler’s Files vol. 9, p. 33/34. Court evidence). The number of trains to Oświęcim
l ower than that planned is explained by the state of chaos in the supplies for
the eastern front in December (Frank’s Diary, Regierungssitzungen 1943, p. 26).
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C. MADAJCZYK
F e b ru ary 15, 1943) in w hich he announced the new G erm an a ttitu d e to
th e tre a tm e n t of the E uropean peoples residing beyond th e Reich. T he
exterm ination, p lu n d e r and discrim ination policy w as to be abandoned.
SUSPENSION OF THE DEPORTATION OPERATIONS
H im m ler inform ed K rü ger on M arch 3 th a t SS B rig ad efü h rer W äch­
ter, th e G overnor of Galicia, had called on him, on F ra n k ’s orders, w ith
a suggestion th a t the resettlem ents operations should be suspended.
H im m ler p u t fo rw ard a n um ber of suggestions as regards the L ublin
D istrikt. P robably in connexion w ith Z ö rn er’s accusations th a t the de­
p o rtatio n s had confirm ed th e resistance m ovem ent and th e C om m unist
contention th a t the Polish p ro p erty was unsafe, h e suggested th a t the
deported Poles should be resettled in th e S ta te farm s. They w ould get,
if possible, slig h tly b e tte r p roperties th an those they owned, b u t n o t
in th e Zamość or K rasn y staw K reise. A t the same tim e he decided to
suspend, for the d u ratio n of the w ar, classification of the deportees into
four groups, as it had resu lted in some dangerous m en tal associations
and the deportees thou g h t th ey w ould be tre a te d like Jew s. A ccording
to H im m ler th e resettlem en t could continued in th is m anner, w ithout
expropriation b u t w ith tra n sfe r of people. Finally, th e rese ttlem e n t in
Galicia w as to be u n d e rta k en should th e presence of V olksdeutschen
th ere prove necessary 63.
P robably in connexion w ith various opinions on the re su lts of th e
resettlem en t cam paign, H im m ler requested som e d a ta from Globoonik.
These w ere supplied m ostly as appendices to a le tte r dated M arch 3 64.
They are of various im portance. In the appendix F eststellungen die sich
aus der U m siedlung e rg e b e n 65 Globoonik m ade excuses th a t the new
se ttle rs w ere farm ing b etter.
A nother appendix w as headed G erm anen—U m siedlung 66. Globocnik
suggested th ere th a t the G erm anic population should volu n tarily settle
down in the L ublin region. In connexion w ith th a t he asiked H im m ler
for appropriate orders.
The appendix headed Z ahlen ü b er angesetzte D eutsche und Um ­
s ie d le r67 gives some statistical data. 14 300 G erm ans had been resettled .
63 AGŁKBZH, vol. 962 z. Secret letter.
64 The appendices bear a rubber stamp of the Persöhnlicher Stab of the SS —
Reichsführer.
65 AGŁKBZH, Bühler’s Files, vol. 9, p. 195, Photocopy.
68 Ibidem, vol, 9 p. 197, Photocopy.
67 Ibidem, p. 207—8, Photocopy.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
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6 509 ex p ro p riated Poles h ad been resettled in 40 am algam ated villages
as lab o u r force in 1413 farm steads. They w ere, according to Globoonik’s
suggestions, to be rem oved in the fu tu re. According to his estim ate the
Zam ość K reis could take 10 000 m ore colonists, the L ublin K reis
10 000 m ore as well, and the K rasn y staw K reis 19 000 m ore. The sug­
gestion p u t fo rw ard in connexion w ith the robberies com m ited by th e
new se ttle rs in the K rasn y staw K reis, th a t th a t K reis as w ell should
be covered by th e d eportation operations, w as confirm ed once m ore.
In another appendix — M assnahm en fü r die w eitere U m sied lu n g 68
G lobocnik suggests som e tactical m easures to give an answ er to the opi­
nions th a t th e deportations are causing u n rest and destroying th e agri­
c u ltu ra l production. O ne of th e m easures w as to be th e circulation of
th e new s th a t the deportations had been suspended, w hile th e tim e fixed
fo r th e n e x t w ave of deportations — a fte r the sow ing cam paign — w as
to be k e p t s tric tly secret. Globocnik w rites th a t the Poles w ould c u lti­
v a te and sow u p th e lands and the new settlers, w ho m ight have not
enough tim e for the spring farm w ork, w ould gather the crops. He also
proposes to conduct th e re se ttle m e n t under the slogan H erstellung der
S icherheit in den B andengebieten and w ith th e w iew to enable ’good
elem en ts’ from am ong th e Poles to re se ttle voluntarily. T he slogan w ill
come to the fore in the Ju n e — J u ly W ehrw olf cam paign, described later.
G lobocnik finally proposes th a t the deported Poles be given certificates
as to the p ro p erty left behind. H e explains the reason fo r this: Es soil
d en A usgesiedelten n u r das G efühl gegeben w erden, dass sp ä te r einm al
eine V ergütung ihres zurückgelassenen E igentum erfolgt.
In the M assnahm en zur B eruhingung der F rem dvölkischer beider U m ­
s ie d lu n g 69 w orked out by Globocnik as well, it is suggested th a t a pro­
m ise of com pensation be m ade. As reg ard s th e deportation m ethods it is
suggested to ’w eed out’ th e villages earm ark ed for resettlem en t of G er­
m ans and to leave only ’tru stw o rth y ’ people there. Sim ilar action was
recom m ended by Globocnik in th e villages outside th e resettlem en t area,
b u t endageired by ’banditism ’. In this m an n e r fre e farm s w ere to be
c reated and tru stw o rth y Poles from the rese ttlem e n t area w ere to be
offered ’v o lu n ta ry ’ tran sfers there. So, th e m ethods w ere becom ing
m o re subtle. F o r th e second tim e, th e previously re je c te d proposal is
rep e a te d th a t th e deported Poles, and p a rtic u la rly U krainians, should
be re se ttle d in th e U kraine, as th a t form of rese ttlem e n t connected w ith
th e allocation of n ew land w ould considerably facilitate th e dep o r­
tations.
68 Ibidem, p. ,186—7, Photocopy.
69 AGŁKBZH, dec. 211 from Document Centre, Photocopy.
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94
C. MADAJCZYK
Finally, the last note of Globocnik — B ehandlung F re m d v ö lk isc h e r70.
dated M arch 15, 1943. It refers, d eliberately or not, to the talks betw een
H im m ler and W ächter. Globocnik strongly opposes th e suggestion to
sw itch to a m ore com prom ising policy to w hich th e occupation adm ini­
stratio n was supposed to be inclined. A t the sam e tim e h e declares
him self categorically opposed to the re tu rn of land to the U krainians
in the Galicia D istrikt, w hich w as favoured by H im m ler, as rese ttled
to day th ey w ould have to be exp ro p riated to m orrow , to m ake room fo r
the Germ ans.
T here is no m aterial available w hich w ould allow to establish
w h e th e r the above described Globocn ik ’s rem arks w ere in any w ay
connected w ith H im m ler’s reply given to K rü g er on M arch 12, 1943 71.
To the suggestion of a tem p o rary suspension of the operations th e SS —
R eichsführer replied th a t the difficulties should not w o rry th em as the
operations w ould b ring about an im provem ent of the situ atio n in con­
sequence of th e elim ination of th e so called ’anti-social elem ents’. Ho­
w ever, he recom m ended fo r th e fu tu re th a t fu rth e r resettlem en t opera­
tions should be u n d ertak en in consultation w ith th e heads of th e districts.
The fact th a t the operations w ere not resum ed before the h arv est­
tim e seem s to prove th a t he eith er had accepted G lobocnik’s suggestion
as to th e economic advantages connected w ith th a t postponem ent, or had
been influenced in his decision by som e other elem ents, out of w hich one
seem s p a rticu la rly likely: th e Nazi intentions connected w ith th e K aty ń
affair and its political consequences 72.
From m id-A pril to the end of May 1943 the W arsaw G overnor
Fischer was A cting L ublin G overnor as w e ll73. F rom th a t tim e dates
70 AGŁKBZH, Bühlens Files,, vol. 9., ,p. 210—212. Secret letter, Photocopy.
71 Ibidem, p. 223—224, Photocopy.
72 Schöngaint, the Sicherheitspolizei commander in the GG, staited at a session
of the GG government on April 20, 1943, that the Germans, owing to the Katyń
graves, had gained a chance to win the Polish population for the German aims.
Schöngert’s expectations proved unjustified. Nevertheless they showed, together
with numerous other statéments by the Nazis, that it was intended to use the
Katyń affair and the breaking - off of diplomatic relations between the USSR
and the Polish government in London to the benefit of the Reich. It was, at least,
to divert the attention of Poiles from other matters such as ejg. the resistance
movement.
73 The change seems to be an expression of Frank’s dissatisfaction at the loss
of Zörner’s prestige. It is impossible to establish whether it was connected with
the decision taken on March 5 1942 at Hitler’s Headquartes that Zörner should be
relieved of his post. Globocnik, the SS and Police commander was to become
Governor and retain his other functions. How strong was his position is showed
by the fact that while in the other districts the Governors were plenipotentiaries
for the NSDAP affaire, in the Lublin Distrikt Globocnik was a plenipotentiary
(AGŁKBZH, doc. 662).
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
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K ru g e r’s in fo rm a tio n 74 rep o rted at a w orking session th a t it was
H im m ler’s in tention com pletely to colonize the Zamość K reis and the
city of Lublin w ith th e Volksdeutschen. 12 000 people from the D niepr—Bogen w ere to b e tra n sfe rre d to G alicia to th e farm s abandoned in 1939
by the rep atriated Volksdeutschen. A bout the same tim e F ra n k sent
a le tte r to the Chief of the Chancery, reporting on the situ atio n in the
GG (the G hetto rising, the increasing num ber of attacks on G erm ans etc.)
and on the session of the GG governm ent devoted to the a ttitu d e to the
Poles. He declared him self in favour of a m ore to le ran t course, w hich
w as categorically opposed by H im m ler and B o rm a n n 75. Thus, he adm it­
ted th e failure of the strong-hand policy in Poland in itiated by him
in 1939. In view of the deteriorating position of the Reich, th a t attem p t
at a change in tacticts w as aim ed at restitu tio n of order in th e GG.
An appendix to the program m e of the planned F ra n k ’s v isit to the
Zamość K reis in May, 1943, on the occasion of the installation of G er­
m an bailiffs, tells w hat the Zamość region was supposed to iook like
u n d er the Nazi ’New O rder’ 7G.
Villages w ere to be organized on a m ilitary p a tte rn . The SS-m en
vested w ith u n restric te d pow er w ere to be placed a t the head of n early
all la rg e r villages. The D eutschstam m ige group was to be m ixed up w ith
th e groups of th e Volksdeutschen, to be eventually absorbed.
Of c ertain im portance for the fu rth e r deliberations is the fact th at
a fter a talk betw een F rank and H itler (May 6—7, 1943) in B erlin F ra n k ’s
position was visibly strengthened 77.
A num ber of decisions of great im portance w ere taken on May 12
d u rin g a talk betw een th e chief of the S tatsh au p tam t and H im m ler 78.
H im m ler insisted on th e continuaton of the resettlem en t operations
74 Frank’s Diary. Anbeitssizungen 1943, April 15, 1943, p. 258.
75 AGŁKBZH, Bühlers Files, vol. 11, p. 33—35, Photocopy of a Frank’s letter
to Lammers, dated April 20, 1943.
76 AMSW Gendarmerie Files, vol. 69. A letter from the plenipotentiary of the
Reich Commissary for consolidation of Germanism in the Lublin Distrikt to
the Distrikt. Police commander, dated May 7 1943.
77 Frank’s Diary, Tagebuch, 1943/11, p. 286.
In Goebbel's diary entries can be found, d'ated March 3, May 7 and May 10,
mentioning his talks with Hitler. On those occasions Hitler revealed his intention
to dismiss Frank and to replace him with Greiser. Goebbels noted on May 22 that
the Führer had changed his mind and decided 'to keep Frank for some time, to
try him out.
78 Nuremberg Trial, No 8, vol. 29 Documents doc. 3181. Greifelt’s note of his
report to the SS-Reichsfiihrer on May 12, 1943.
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C. MADAJCZYK
’w ith in th e existing possibilities’ 79. The e x p ro p riate d Poles w e re to be
given o th er accom m odation in exchange. G lobocnik’s suggestion th a t th e
Poles should be given a so rt of prom ise of com pensation w as reje cte d
by H im m ler a lim ine, as reg a rd s th e an n ex ed territories. W ith reg a rd
to th e GG, w h ile h e did n o t oppose th e suggestion in principle, h e said
th e question should be su b m itted to H itler, as it re la te d to th e general
policy in Poland. D uring the described talk H im m ler accepted 80 the sug­
gestion th a t the people from L orraine should be resetled in th e L u­
blin D istrik t ’on a v o lu n tary basis’. He advised to tr y and persuade as
m any of th em as possible to agree to th e resettlem en t. M en who w ere
not inclined to m ove to the Lublin D istrikt, w ere threaten ed w ith a for­
ced labour cam p. H im m ler and G reifelt also debated the question of de­
p o rtatio n of A lsatians who, in th e ir opinion, w ere strongly resistin g
th e ir m ove to the East. The L ublin D istrik t w as probably contem plated
as th e re se ttle m e n t area fo r th a t case as well.
O n M ay 25 F ra n k se n t a le tte r to H itler, concerning th e sciope of the
GG ad m inistration com petency a n d th a t of th e com m issaries for conso­
lidation of G erm anism . The chief them e of th e le tte r is th e question of
deportations of Poles, p resen ted in th e lig h t of th e rep o rts of th e Police
com m ander and of Z ö rn er’s re p o rt dating from F e b r u a r y 81. F ran k
em phasized th a t to provide accom m odation for th e V olksdeutschen
in th e conquered e a ste rn territo rie s w as a noble a n d u rg e n t task fo r the
G erm an authorities. He also agreed th a t h u m an itarian reasons should
p lay no p a r t in th e 'deportation question. H e said, how ever, th a t it
should be decided w h e th e r th e dep o rtatio n operations w ould have not
been m ore advisable a fte r th e w ar, w hen th e w a r difficulties or th e eco­
nom ic consequences w ould no longer co n stitu te an obstacle. On th e other
hand, he rep e a te d th e suggestion th a t th e cooperation betw een th e GG
ad m in istratio n an d the Com m issary fo r consolidation of G erm anism
w ould facilitate m any m atte rs and th a t the effects in the sphere of ’secu­
r ity ’ and food supplies w ould be n o t so fa r- reaching. He saw th e reason
fo r ’breach of p eace’ in th e m ethods used during th e deportations.
M änner, F rauen, K inder und G reise w u rd en vielfach ohne die ge­
rin g sten K leidungs — u n d A usrüstungsstücke, in M assenlager abgeführt
und d ort ohne Rücksicht auf Fanmilienzusammenhänge in G ruppen
79 The previously mentioned Muller’s statements also confirm that Himmler
had revoked his decision concerning the suspension of deportations. He adds that
that happened during his visit to Lublin.
80 The relevant note is of an earlier date — April 12, 1945 (Nuremberg Trial,
no 8, vol. 30, doc. 5307).
81 AGŁKBZH, Buhler’s Files, vol. 11, doc. 2202, Letter 13/43 gRs — 22,
p. 40—41.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
97
von A rbeitsfähigen, M inderarbeitsfähigen und A rbeitsunfähigen in b e­
sondere K inder und Greise) ausbe schieden. H ierbei w urde jede
V erbindung zwischen Fam ilienzusam m engehörigen dursch n itten , sodass Schiksal der einen G ruppe der anderen jew eils u n b ek an n t blieb.
Diese M assnahm en riefen erklärlicherw eise bei der von A ussiedlung
betroffenen B evölkerung eine unbeschreibliche P anik h ervor u n d fü h r­
ten dazu, dass schätzungsw eise die H älfte der auszusiedelnden Bevöl­
k erung sich den planm ässigen A ussiedlung entzog. Sie ist in ih re r V er­
zw eiflung aus dem A ussiedlungbereich geflüchtet und h at in erheblichen
Umfage zur V erstärkung der im gesam ten D istrikt L ublin seit geraum es
Zeit vorhandenen und m it fortschreitend grösserer F rechheit und S tä rk e
a u ftrete n d en B anditengruppen beigetragen.
F ra n k goes on to say th a t th e resistance m ovem ent has sp read to th e
areas unaffected by the resettlem ent, p articu larly because th e colonists
had robbed th e ’alien’ population of im plem ents necessary in farm ing.
Diese chaotische Lage — F ra n k w rites — w urde noch v ersch ärft durch
die von der Ordungspolizei im D istrik t L ublin in die W ege geleiteten
S ühnenm assnahm en zu r A bw ehr w e ite rer A ngriffe auf die Volksdeut­
schen Dörfer. Diese S ühnenm assnahm en bestanden u n te r anderes aus
M assenerschiessungen U nschuldiger, inbesondere von F ra u e n und K in­
dern sowie G reisen im A lter von 2 bis 80 Jah ren . Diese M assnahm en
besitzen nach der E rfah ru n g en fü r die vilefach u n te r bolschew istischer
L eitung stehenden B a n d ite n k reise 82 n u r geringe, abschrekende W ir­
kung. Sie steigern aber die E rb itteru n g und den Hass d er unschuldig
davon Betroffenen...
In the sphere of the economic problem s connected w ith the dep o r­
tations F ran k stressed his an xiety about the fu tu re h a rv e st and his fear
of falling supplies of agricultural products for the Reich as w ell as of
hunger in the GG. He w rites th a t the continuation of the re se ttle m e n t ope­
rations, as envisaged by the Com m issary for consolidation of G erm anism ,
th re a te n s w ith m ore disturbances in production. Basing his opinion on the
p resented m aterial he asked H itler to define the scope of his com petency.
Lam m ers, the chief of H itle r’s Office forw arded the le tte r to H im m ler
on Ju n e 4, asking for his view s 83.
M eanw hile, a w orking session w as held a t L ublin on M ay 28, atten d ed
by F r a n k 84. Fischer, th e acting L ublin G overnor, s ta te d w hen opening
th e debates th a t the u n rest am ong th e Polish population, p a rticu la rly
82 He was wrong, as they did not prevent the activity of the Peassant Battalions
and Home Army units also operating against the German settlements.
83 AGŁKBZH, File 962 z, No 2202, Secret letter.
84
Frank’s Diary, Tagebuch 1943/1, 28—29 May 1943.
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C. MADAJCZYK
in th e ru ra l p a rts of th e W arsaw D istrikt, h ad visibly grow n. Sim ilar
statem en ts w ere heard, a few days earlier, a t a session in th e Radom
D istrikt. D uring th e session extensive m aterials w ere quoted rela tin g to
th e resistance m ovem ent in th e L ublin D istrikt. Fischer declared him self
in fav o u r of suspension of th e previously prep ared deportations, for se­
c u rity reasons. Globocnik cleverly re fe rre d to those dem anding ’th e se­
c u rity ’ and announced not deportation bu t ’m opping u p ’ operations
against ’b an d it’ villages. He intended to conceal th e fu rth e r deportation
operations behind th a t technical definition.
D uring th e P arteikundgebung a t L u b lin on M ay 28, F ra n k said about
th a t tow n th a t it w as one of th e m ore b eau tifu l G erm an tow ns and
assured th a t th e G erm ans w ould never w ith d ra w from th ere . D uring
th a t visit to L ublin F ra n k installed W endler, the fo rm er Cracow G over­
nor and a d istan t relativ e of H im m ler, in the office of the L ublin Go­
vernor.
A t a session of th e GG governm ent in Cracow on M ay 31, attended
by K altenibrunner, K rü g e r inform ed th a t H im m ler had agreed to the
deportation being continued a fte r th e secu rity in th e GG had been
assured. 12 000 G erm ans from Russia w ere to be rese ttled in Galicia
in J u n e 85.
CONTINUATION OF DEPORTATION OPERATIONS
In sp ite of th e reservations from various quarters' the dep o rtatio n
and pacification operations w ere resum ed in Ju n e 1943 u n d er the p re te x t
of com bating the ’bands’. As early as on Ju n e 3 Globocnik issued an
order concerning th e B a n d iten b ek äm p fu n g 86. Localities situ ated w ith in
an a re a re fe rre d to as ’p erm an en tly ban d it-in fested ’ o r d ev astated by
th e Police operations w e re to be m opped up. M en from 15 to 45 years
old w ere to be handed ov er to th e Sicherheitspolizei. I t w as intended
to use w om en and ch ild ren as a lab o u r force on the spot o r a fte r de­
portation.
T he V erm erk se n t b y Globocnik to H im m ler’s personal S taff defines
th e principles of th e W ehrw olf I o p e ra tio n 87. T he agricu ltu ral popula­
tion of the zone B iłgoraj—Tarnogród, Bełżec, Tomaszów, up to Zam ość
an d th e tow n population of Zam ość and Tom aszów w as to be evacuated.
The a re a to th e so u th a n d n o rth of th e Biłgoraj woods w as to be given
85
The final decision was taken by Himmler on May 12 during his previously
menti oned talk with Greifelt. The Germans were to be resettled in the formerly
German villages and in the area to the west of Lvov.
86
AMSW. Lublin Gendarmerie Archives», vol. 115, letter I, No 1513/9/208/43.
87 AGŁKBZH, Buhler’s Files, vol. 9, p. 188—189,- Photocopy.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
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to U krainians. Should the num ber of them in the deportation zone be
insufficient, th ey w ere to be tran sferred from th e H rubieszów Kreis
w hich w ould thus become an area free for G erm an resettlem ent. The
area to the south of the deportation zone w as free as well and th e Volks­
deutschen and D eutschstäm m ingen could be resettled there. 30 000
people w ere to be directed to the Reich.
In th is m an n er a G erm an resettlem en t area w ould be m ade ready for
fu rth e r colonization, an area su rrounded by U krainians who w ere to
co nstitute a bridgehead. This a rran g em en t was intended to intensify
and spread the antagonism s betw een Polish and U krainian population
and to use th e U krainians, very often nationalists, as th e first line of
defence against th e Polish partisans. Globocmik hoped th a t in the new
situ atio n a Polish a tta c k would only be possible from th e n o rth w here
th e defence of the resettlem en t area w ould be easier. His hopes proved
unjustified. T he rese ttled U krainians, about w hom the Polish sources
say th a t th ey w ery often behaved quite decently or even friendly,
th reaten ed by the Polish resistance m ovem ent w ere not at all inclined
to play th e assigned role. A fter a s h o rt sta y th ey w ere fleeing back to
th e ir form er fa rm ste a d s 88.
The pacification and deportation operations affected various p a rts
of th e Zamość region to a varying degree. 171 villages w ere affected,
w ith the population of 60 000. The progress of the operations which,
w ithin th e G rossaktion, comm enced on Ju n e 24 and lasted till m id -Ju ly
(later only isolated cases) is illu strate d by the following table 89:
Districts
Biłgoraj
Tomaszów
Zamość
Hrubieszów
June
July
August
24
65
—
1
43
—
1
28
1
_
8
—
A G erm an Police rep o rt estim ated th a t 50 p e r c e n t of th e population
had been captured 90. The deportations w ere not less b ru ta l th an before.
A p a rt of th e deportees w as sen t to the cam p of M ajdanek.
88 This transpires from the report Sicherheitsverhdltnisse im Kreise Biłgoraj.
89 Z. K l u k o w s k i , op. cit., p. 10. The number of villages is not strictly
accurate as it was difficult to establish the dividing line between the deportation
operations and those of an exclusively pacification character.
90 AMSW, Lublin Gendarmerie Archives, vol. GG. Report Sicherheitsverhdlt­
nisse irn Kreise Biłgoraj worked out by the Gendarmerie Zug Biłgoraj, dated
December 8, 1943.
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100
O. MADAJCZYK
The m ajo rity of the G erm an sources om itted th e facts tran sp irin g
from the Polish s o u rc e s 91 th a t is the b ru ta l c h aracter of the d ep o rta­
tions. As regard s this m a tte r a re p o rt adressed to the SS and Police chief
of the W arsaw D istrikt, dating from F eb ru ary 1943, had been quoted
from the G erm an sources. Besides, during th e 8th N urem berg T rial
J. M üller, w ho from D ecem ber 1941 to th e end of 1943 w as acting Sipo
com m ander a t L ublin sta te d in his evidence th a t during the dep o rtatio n
w urden so unm enschliche Vorgänge festg estellt th a t the Sipo and th e
K ripo organs had allegedly fe lt com pelled to re p o rt th a t to th e ir c e n tral
au th o rities in Berlin.
D uring th e dep o rtatio n and pacification operations F ra n k sent, on
J u n e 19, 1943, a n extensive m em orandum to H itler explaining his a tti­
tude to the proposal p u t forw ard by the ’Sw ord and Plough’ (Miecz i Pług)
organisation, concerning the common fight againts the USRR. The m em o­
randum analysed the Nazi policy in the GG and its dam aging results, and
suggested th at, in the in te re st of the Reich, th ere should be a tactical change
to a m ore to le ran t course, w hich w as to be m ade easier by the K aty ń
affair. F ra n k refe rre d to th e deportations, declaring him self in favoair
of calling an end to them . H e quoted th e previously rep o rted inform a­
tio n on the w in ter deportations. He a d m itted th a t d u rin g the d e p o rta ­
tions some erhebliche V erluste had happened, p a rticu la rly as regards
old people and children and th a t th e operations had been received by th e
Polish people as the beginning of deportations of Poles from th e GG.
T he Poles expected to sh a re the fate of th e Jew s.
In m id- Ju n e, how ever, probably during a visit of F ran k at Him m le r’s H eadquarters in E ast P russia on Ju n e 23 92 an agreem ent o r com ­
prom ise on th e deportations question w as reached. A secret le tte r from
th e SS—R eichsführer H im m ler to Frank, d a te d J u ly 3, re fe rre d to that,
It reads (in extenso):
S ehr g e e h rter Parteigenosse D r F r a n k 93
Ich d arf in diesem Brief, so wie w ir es m ündlich v e rre in b a rt
haben, zum ganzen Siedlungsproblem im G eneralgouvernem ent S tel­
lung nehm en:
1.
Es m uss unser B estreben sein, die östlichen G renzgebiete des G e­
neralgouvernem ents als ersten m it einer deutschen B evölkerung zu v e r­
91 Vide Z. K l u k o w s k i , op. cit.
92 Frank’s Diary, Tagebuch, 1943/III, p. 639—640.
93 AGŁKBZH, Buhler’s Files, vol. 11, p. 75—77. letter R/Bn 47/117/43g dated
July 3, 1943, Photocopy made by the Office of Chief Counsel for War Crimes from
document No 2444. The lisft of those receiving the copies of the letlter is omitted.
It contained, among others, Greifelt, Kruger, Wendler, Globocnik and Lammers.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
101
sehen. D afür kom m en der D istrik t L ublin und die frü h e re n deutschen
D örfer des D istriktes Galizien in B etracht.
2. W ir sind uns einig, dass diese A nsiedlung w ährend des K rieges
n u r in einer F orm sta ttfin d e n darf, die in keiner W eise die Ruhe des
Landes und die w irtschaftliche L eistung des G eneralgouvernem ents
e rn sth aft beeinträchtigt. Selbstverständlich dürfen w ir bei diesem V or­
haben auch n ich t überängstlich sein und m üssen bei grosstm öglichsten
B edacht und grösster Ü berlegung die eine oder andere kurzfristige
Schw erigkeit in K auf nehm en.
3. Im D istrik t L ublin nehm en w ir uns bis Anfang des Ja h re s 1944
die Besiedlung des K reises Zamość und die D eutschw erdung d er alten
H ansastadt L ublin als Aufgabe vor.
4. D urch die G rossaktion „W ehrw olf” ist eine erhebliche A nzahl von
Hof stellen südlich des B ilgorajer—W aldes von B evölkerung fre i gew or­
den. In diese Höfe w erden in den nächsten W ochen die B auern und klei­
n en L an d w irte d er K reises Zamość u n te r V ergrösserung ihres bisherigen
Besitzes (z. B. von 3 bis 4 H ek tar auf 6 H ektar) eingew isen und um gesie­
delt. Die U m siedlung geschiet in der A rt der freundschaftlichen Um ­
siedlung; zum Teil geradezu in der F orm der B elohnung fü r bisheriges
W ohlverhalten. W ir erreichen ausserdem dam it, dass der zweifellos
vorhandene H aas d er A usgesiedelten bezw. der N achbardörfer der A us­
gesiedelten sich au f polnische und ukrainische N achfolger ric h tet und nicht
auf D eutsche.
Es ist anzustreben, dass diese durch Polen und U krainer aus dem
K reise Zam ość neu zu besiedelden D örfer völkisch gem icht besiedelt
w erden, sodass w ir in dem G ebiet ein G leichgew icht zw ischen U krainern
und P olen bekom m en u n d dam it dieses G ebiet leichter beherrschen
können.
5. In den durch den Abzug der ukrainischen u n d polnischen Bevöl­
k erung des K reises Zam ość leergew ordenen H ofstellen w erden nun m eh r
laufend D eutsche angesiedelt. U nter diesen D eutschen befinden sich
V olksdeutsche, zum Teil bereits der eine oder andere germ anische
B auer, H andw örker oder U nternehm er, fe rn e r die gem äss F ü h rerb efeh l
im O sten einzusetzenden Elsässer und L othringer und in ih re r Substanz
sehr gute slovenische Siedler aus O berkrain und U ntersteierm ark.
G leichzeitig m it der Besiedlung des flachen Landes m uss die restlose
D eutschw erdung d er S ta d t Zamość vor sich gehen. H ierbei ist der Weg,
die S ta d t selbst in der B evölkerungszahl allm ählich herabzudrücken und
die k lein er gew ordene S ta d t m it D eutschen anzureichern, als d er b rauch­
barste zu begehen.
6. Die andere A ufgabe, die D eutschw erdung der S tad t L ublin stelle
ich m ir folgenderm assen vor:
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102
C. MADAJCZYK
L ublin h a tte im Ja h re 1939 ru n d 140 000 E inw ohner und h a t h eu te
an ziviler B evölkerung 89 000. An deutscher ziviler B evölkerung ru n d
5000 E inw ohner. A usserdem eine deutsche G arnison von ebenfalls ru n d 4
bis 5000. Das B estreben m uss n u n sein die polnische B evölkerung der
S ta d t L ublin d au ern zu verrin g ern . Als Nachziel m öchte ich die H e ra b ­
m inderung d er E inw ohnerzahl auf ru n d 60 000 stecken. Diese Zahl w ird
am besten erreich durch friedliche U m setzung von P ensionisten und
sonstigen F am ilien au f das polnische flache L and oder in kleine rein pol­
nische L an d städ te und durch V erm ittlung von A rbeit in an d eren G ebie­
te n das G eneralgouvernem ents oder auch ins Reich. Schon dam it w ürde
die deutsche K opfzahl von L ublin m it heute ru n d 9000 deutschen M enr
sehen von ru n d 10°/» au f 15°/o ansteigen. G leichzeitig h at das H ereins­
tröm en ein er deutschen Bevölgerung zu erfolgen. Ich glaube, dass w ir
bis A nfang des Ja h re s 1944 als erreichbares N ahziel auf 20 bis 25 °/o
d eu tsch er B evölkerung in d er S ta d t L ublin kom m en können. A nfang
des nächsten J a h re s w äre dann die Ü berlegung zu treffen, w obei ich vor­
schlage, dass w ir uns dann in d e r Zw ischenzeit besprechen, L ublin im
F rü h ja h r 1944 nach A bschluss einer w eiteren Etappe, in d er ein d e u t­
scher B evölkerungsanteil von 30 bis 40 °/o e rreich t w erden m üsste, zur
d eutschen S ta d t zu erk lä re n m it einem deutschen O berbürgem eister
u n te r gleichzeitiger E rric h tu n g ein er ordentlichen Polizeidirektion. Ich
glaube, dass die dringende E inrichtung und E rrich tu n g d e r san itären A n­
lagen d e r S ta d t L ublin u n te r V erw endung des reichlich vorhandenen
M aterials des W arschauers G hettos m öglich ist.
7.
V oraussetzung fü r alle diese M assnahm en ist die von uns bespre­
chen totale Z usam m enarbeit zw ischen V erfahren einerseits und SS und
Polizei anderseits und ein absolut u n b ü rokratiches V erfahren bei der
D urchführung aller u n serer gem einsam en absichten.
H eil H itler
Ih r
gez. H. H im m ler
I t seem s th a t th e expression gem einsam en A bsichten w as n o t grossly
m isused by H im m ler. In spite of th e lack of consistency in the a ttitu d e of
the G overnor G eneral on J u ly 8 F ra n k w as inform ed by K rüger about the
progress of th e pacification operations. On Ju ly 22 Franik ©aid a t a session
of th e GG ’governem ent’ th a t in th e te rrito rie s d eclared ’th e bands
h a u n ts’ th e deportations h ad been necessary an d th a t the ’evacuation’
o rd ers h a d been issued a fte r a consultation betw een him and th e SSr
R e ic h sfü h re r94. A t th e sam e tim e, although he announced a t th e above
m entioned session th a t th e deportations had been generally suspended
94 Frank’s Diary, Regierungssitzungen, 1943, p. 74.
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
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for the duration of the w ar, he asked H im m ler to forbid fu rth e r depor­
tations 95.
On A ugust 5, 1943 G overnor W endler in Cracow categorically req u es­
ted from Globocnik th a t th e dep o rtatio n operation fo r w hich railw ay
w agons had already been ordered, should be s to p p e d 96.
W endler’s telegram to Globocnik, of A ugust 5, and a num ber of other,
e a rlie r facts w ere closely connected. Am ong these facts I c o u n t a visit
of von dem Bach w ho h a d earlier, on A ugust 2, trie d to m ed iate w ith
F ran k betw een W endler and Globocnik. D uring the talks Bach approved
th e view th a t th e secu rity m easures tak e n in the Zamość reg io n had
brought no results, and prom ised to stop deportations 97. F ran k dem anded
th a t all Police operations should be stopped w eder u n te r dem Them a
B andenbekam pfung noch u n te r dem T hem a U m siedlung sta ttfin d e n and
th a t G lobocnik should im m ediately be released from his p o s t98.
On A ugust 4 and 5 talk s w ere held w ith dr K ubiyoviteh, leader of the
U k rainian nationalists in the G G " . In view of th e rep risals of the
Polish resistan ce m ovem ent he dem anded th a t th e U krainians should be
tran sferred to com pact settlem ents and th a t th e recently sta rte d deporta­
tions of the U krainian peasants from the H rubieszów K reis should be
stopped. F ra n k assured him th a t larg e scale Police operations h a d been
suspended and th a t he w ould discuss w ith him the m atters in detail in the
presen ce of th e L ublin G overnor W endler. The discussion took place th e
n e x t day. I t had been decided th a t th e U krainian se ttle rs w ould be w ith ­
d raw n from th e endangered areas. K ubiyevitch’s suggestion concerning
th e exchange of the Polish and U krainian population to c re a te ethnically
uniform regions, had been rejected.
It is likely th a t the A ugust decision concerning the suspension of
fu rth e r deportations was also influenced by K ovpak’s raid w hich had
reached G alicia in July. In the opinion of Becker, the Police com m ander
in the GG, the raid req u ired a tra n sfe r to Galicia of th e Police forces
co n centrated in th e L ublin region.
The docum ents of th e R esettlem en t C entre use th e expression th a t the
action w urde vorzeitig abgestoppt. The A ugust preparations for the fu rth e r
deportations allow a hypothesis th a t Globocnik did not th in k the W ehrwolf cam paign com pleted and intended to resum e it, expecting a quick
defeat of K ovpak’s group which, how ever, proved illusionary 10°.
95 libidem, Tagebuch, 1943/IV, p. 774.
96 AGŁKBZH, BüMer’s Files, vol. 9, p. 190, Telegram.
97 Frank’s Diary, Tagebuch, 1943/IV, p. 801.
98 Ibidem, Tagebuch, 1943/IV, p. 778—9.
99 Ibidem, p. 809—810.
100 Ibidem, p. 835—839.
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104
C. MADAJCZYK
It is significant th a t during the W ehrw olf cam paign H im m ler did
probably take some step s to p rep are reserves for the colonization area.
T hat was m entioned in a le tte r from S tabshauptam t addresed to the per­
sonal S taff of th e SS-R eichsfiihrer, d ated J u ly 7, 1943, suggesting the
resettlem en t in th e Ciechanów region of th e colonists p rep ared for the
Zamość region 101. The C iechanów region w here th e proposed resettle­
m en t of the Volksdeutschem from L ithuania did not m aterialize, was
originally intended for colonization by G erm an peasants from East
P russia 102.
T he tem porary in ten tio n of H im m ler to sh ift the colonization to the
o th er Polish territo rie s b u t n o t to stop it suggests th a t it w as n o t only
a resu lt of the m ilitary situation, particu larly on the eastern front. The
Nazis began to lose th e ir cook- sureness only when, a fte r th e defeat
in A frica and th e unsuccesful offensive of J u ly 5— 11 the re tr e a t on the
eastern fro n t h ad sta rte d . T he re tre a t lasted till Septem ber and took the
G erm an arm ies back to th e D niepr.
The shift to th e o th er Polish territo rie s w as probably caused by the
economic and political consequences of the deportation cam paign, p a rti­
cularly pain fu l a t th e tim e of m ilitary setbacks, and by the blows deli­
vered by the resistance m ovem ent. R esettlem ent of th e V olksdeut­
schen 10S, n o t too closely bound to G erm anism , could prove a failure.
T h at H im m ler w as doing th a t u n d e r th e p ressu re of th e situ atio n could
be clearly seen from his talk w ith S perren b erg posted to the L ublin region
during the Nazi 1943 offensive on the e a ste rn front. In th e course of the
talk H im m ler recom m ended a good care for the se ttle rs and expressed
the hope by the end of 1944 the d istrik t w ould have been e n tirely G er­
m anized 104.
On Ju ly 10 H im m ler, as it tran sp ires from his note, had a talk w ith
H itler on th e possibility to maike use of th e cap tu red general Rowecki.
On th a t occasion H itler m ade a sta te m e n t on the Polish question, ge­
n erally in line w ith H im m ler’s attitude. In his speech delivered on No­
v em ber 18, 1943, to the GG Police, H im m ler w as still m entioning th e GG
as a n area to be colonized by G erm an peasants — prom otors of the G er­
101 AGŁKBZH Doc. 511, PS—9 entitled Ansiedlung von Umsiedler im Regie­
rungsbezirk Zichenau.
102 Ibidem, A letter from Himmler to the Gauleiter and a letter from the
Reich Commissary General for consolidation of Germanism to the Gauleiter of
East Prussia Koch, dated July 7, 1943.
103 It clearly transpires from the Sicherheitspolizei reports from September
1943 (Bühlers Files, vol. 11, p. 101).
104 AGŁKBZH — ’Files concerning’ Nazi crimes in the Lublin region, vol. 4,
Report on questioning of Gruppenführerer J. Sperrenberg (December 13—16 and
19, 1949).
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DEPORTATIONS IN THE ZAMOŚĆ REGION (1942—1943)
105
m an r a c e 105, although F ran k confirm ed at the Septem ber conference
of the W ar Econom y S taff and the GG D efence Council th a t the com ­
pulsory rese ttlem e n t and d eportation cam paign had been abandoned 1G6.
FINAL REMARKS
In th e lig h t of the Nazi docum ents a n u m b er of conclusions of a m ore
general c h a ra c te r can be form ulated. T here a re two as<pects of the Za­
mość region problem . It can be, on the one hand, tre a te d as a problem of
local im portance and as such com prises the deportation cam paign, its
m ethods and consequences. On the other hand it is a problem going fa r
beyond th a t and concerning th e fate of the Polish population in the GG,
of the Polish nation. The research resu lts p e rm it to define th e Nazi
plans as regards Poles and the degree of th eir relation to the G eneralplan
Ost. O ut of all eastern territo rie s conquered by the Reach the G eneral
Gouvernememt w as occupied for th e longest tim e. T herefore, th e plans
regarding th e Polish territo rie s are characterised by an advanced degree
of readiness. T he plans w ere affecting m ore th a n the fate of th e Polish
population, as a p a rt from the V olksdeutschen also some people from
Lorraine, L uxem burg and the N etherlands w ere to be resettled in the
L ublin D istrik t. The Nazi intentions to colonize the GG w ith G erm an and
G erm anic population w ith in 15 to 20 years are of not less im oprtance
th an the Zamość region deportations them selves. In the Polish territo ries
the L ublin region w as a fu rth e r stage of the deportation operations com­
m enced in 1939— 1940 in the p a rt of Polish territo rie s annexed by the
Reich.
The crim inal aspect of th e deportation plans is p a rticu la rly expressed
in the two accom panying features. F irstly in th e in te n tio n to send a very
large n u m b er of deportees to concentration cam ps and num erous casu­
alties am ong the deportees caused by the b ru ta lity of those executing the
evacuation. T he second fea tu re deserving atte n tio n w as the policy of
antagonizing th e Poles and U krainians applied during the deportations.
G lobocnik’s plans vere based upon fundam ental assum ptions of the policy
of H im m ler and F ran k and w ere aim ed at surrouding the new ly establi­
shed G erm an colonies w ith a protective w all composed of U krainian setlem ents. It tra n sp ire s from the G erm an docum ents th a t the U krainians w ere
only tem p o raity left th ere as th ey w ere to be d ep orted as w ell in not
a d ista n t fu tu re . D uring the last stag e of th e dep o rtatio n operations
H im m ler suggested th a t various groups of th e Polish deportees should
be m ade opposed each other as well.
105 AGŁKBZH, Bühler’s Files, vol. 7, p. 251.
l06 Frank’s Diary, Arbeitssitzungen 1943 September 22. 1943.
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106
C. MADAJCZYK
T here w ere differences of opinion betw een the Reich au th o rities and
the occupation au th o rities in th e GG. T hey did not, how ever, concern th e
principle itself of colonization of th e GG but th e question of tacticas.
W here to colonize so as to avoid economic disturbances and intesification
of th e resistance m ovem ent. Besides, w hen personal conflicts, and am bi­
tion clashes disappear, some agreem ent is reached as regards the action.
(F ra n k ’s consent to the dep o rtatio n s in A ugust 1942, agreem ent betw een
F ra n k and H im m ler regarding some operations in June— J u ly 1943).
T he G erm an docum ents rev eal th e Polish resistance against the de­
portations, ’the significant act of rev en g e’ of th e deported Polish peasants,
fearing th e fate of the ex term in a ted Jew ish population.
The resistance has grow n to become a m ass m ovem ent and found its
expression in avoiding th e d eportations th rough escapes from th e d ep o rta­
tion Police detachem ents. D uring th e first stage of th e operations (up to
D ecem ber, 31, 1942) it w as intended to d etain and deport 33,832 people.
A ctually, only 9771 people, i. e. 19 p er cent, w ere detained. D uring th e
second stage (till M arch 1943) it w as planned to detain and deport 14,738
people, w hile 5,578 w ere actu ally detained. In th e course of the operations
W ehrw olf I and II (June— J u ly 1943) th e pacification and deportation ope­
ratio n s covered an area in h ab itated by 60,000 people. O nly 33,000— 36,000
(56— 60 p e r cent.) w ere actu ally detained. The resistance, intensification
of th e P olish u nderground activities leading in consequence to th e chaos
w hich m ade th e economic exploitation of th e GG difficult to the Reich,
an d th e revenge operations against th e G erm an colonists w ere v ery im ­
p o rta n t factors in p rev en tin g th e realization of th e dep o rtatio n plans in
th e Zam ość region.
Finally, decisive w ere th e developm ents on th e eastern fro n t (offen­
sive a t S talin g rad and K ursk), wlhich is, how ever, n e v e r directly m en ­
tio ned in th e G erm an docum ents. The activities of the Soviet p artisans
to th e east of th e Bug w as the fu n d am en tal reason for abandoning dé­
po rtatio n s of Poles to th e east, as envisaged in th e G eneralplan Ost.
T h ere a re serious reasons to thinik th a t K ovpak’s ra id into th e Lvov
region in Ju ly 1943 p rev en ted com pletion of the deportations planned
w ith in th e W ehrw olf operation, as th e pacification troops from the L u­
blin reg io n had to be used there.
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