- Poland Under Nazi Rule 1939-1941: A Report by Thaddeus Chylinski, American Vice Consul in Warsaw by Thaddeus Chylinski, Donna Gawell
Jews Treated Worse: Poles Treated Worse. Declassified Late-1941 CIA Document on the Unfolding Polokaust in Nazi German-Occupied Poland. Polish Pogrom Nazi Propaganda (Still Repeated Today). POLICJA GRANATOWA Details
The author of this work was a Consular officer associated with the Polish-Government-in-Exile in London, and was present in Poland through August 19, 1941, soon after the start of Operation Barbarossa. The Gestapo knew who he was. (p. 1).
My review is based on the original paper, declassified in 2001, and not on this book that is based on it. For this reason, the pagination shown below is after that of the original paper. I focus mainly on seldom-discussed facts. I extensively quote author Chylinski below.
THE 1939 WAR
The number of civilians that perished, from German bombing and shelling during the siege of Warsaw, is estimated at 35,000. (p. 53). Were it not for the order to surrender, Warsaw could have resisted the German onslaught a few more days. (p. 1).
VICTIMHOOD COMPETITION: JEWS TREATED WORSE THAN POLES, AND JEWS TREATED BETTER THAN POLES
“With the creation of the General Government and the taking over of the administration by German civilians and the police functions by the Gestapo, the situation of the Jews remained relatively stable for some time. The treatment of the Jews, however, continued to be much worse than that of the Poles, and a series of, regulations were made public introducing restrictions for Jews along the lines of the Nurnberg Laws.” (p. 22).
“Despite the outwardly harsh treatment of the Jews, their situation is much better than that of the Poles. Jews were seldom subjected to reprisal arrests and executions, and none were ever taken by force to work in the Reich. The matter of using Jews for local work was soon arranged with the Gestapo to the mutual satisfaction of both the Germans and Jews. Jewish communities in cities and towns made agreements with the Gestapo to supply any number of workmen needed.” (p. 24).
SO POLISH POGROMS AGAINST JEWS [TOO MANY HOLOCAUST MATERIALS TODAY REPEAT THIS NAZI PROPAGANDA AGAINST POLES]. ACTUALLY, JEWISH-POLISH ANTAGONISMS INSTIGATED BY GERMANS
“It seems that the Germans are already inciting Poles and Jews against each other. A month or so before my departure, relations between Jews and Poles in Warsaw were very good. There was a genuine sympathy among the Poles for the suffering Jews. The common suffering of Jew and Gentile alike during the siege of Warsaw brought them closer together than ever before. Suddenly, the Jews changed, and there were frequent incidents; Poles approaching too close to ghetto walls or riding in tramcars passing through the ghetto to a suburb beyond were stoned. I tried in vain to find out the cause of this sudden hatred. The Poles suspect the Germans because they remember how they tried the same trick before only in reverse order. When the Jews were still at large in city, rumors would spread about the killing of Poles by Jews. Almost immediately gangs of rowdies would attack Jewish labor detachments. The same gangs were also used to demolish Jewish stores on some of the main streets in Warsaw. Gestapo officers were invariably on hand to photograph these scenes. They were later published in Germany and elsewhere as evidences of ‘pogroms’ in Poland.” (p. 25).
Taking this further, the German-caused polarization is the probable cause behind the reported Polish gratitude to Germans for dealing with the Jews. (p. 25). Note that this cannot possibly refer to the physical extermination of the Jews, as this was not to begin until several months after this document was published.
POLOKAUST: THE ATTEMPTED DESTRUCTION OF POLAND’S INTELLIGENTSIA (ARISTOCIDE, “BEHEADING”), PARTLY THWARTED BY POLES
“It appeared evident; that the Gestapo meant quickly to exterminate Polish intellect and might have accomplished their purpose if nothing had been done to prevent it.” (p. 14).
POLOKAUST BY STARVATION AND PRIVATION: GERMAN INTENTIONALITY, AND NOT WAR-RELATED CONSTRAINTS
“The people of Warsaw and other Polish cities are undoubtedly facing starvation, not because of a food shortage in the General Government, but because the bread and meat they get (the only items available to them on cards) is rationed in such pitifully small quantities.” (p. 29).
“Warsaw is surrounded by a cordon of Gestapo, Feldpolizei and Polish police whose duty it is to allow no food to be brought into the city.” (p. 30).
“The coal which eventually reaches Warsaw is allotted by a German coal commissioner to German offices and private German apartments. In fact, the Germans in Warsaw were laying in supplies of coke throughout the summer. Negligible amounts left over were sometimes distributed among foreigners. Theoretically, the Poles also are entitled to a few pounds a month but actually they do not receive it. In August 1941 the German coal commissioner told me he could give no assurance of securing fuel for any but the Germans during the coming winter, adding: ‘I am not interested in heating the homes of these swine – the Poles; let them die’…The coming winter, then, promises to be a tragic one and the death rate will certainly exceed that of last year and, worse still the morale, of the people will probably be broken.” (pp. 28-29).
THE INVOLUNTARY POLICJA GRANATOWA (POLISH BLUE POLICE): DEEDS BLAMED ON ITS ETHNIC POLES MAY LARGELY BE THOSE OF GERMAN AND UKRAINIAN “PLANTS”
“The Polish police force occupies a unique position in the German system. Its officers and men were required to take the oath of allegiance whereupon they were permitted to retain their status subordinate to the Department of Justice. They were used only as a municipal or district force for maintaining order and for the prosecution of criminal matters but not in political matters, which is the special domain of the Gestapo. Some of the officers refused to take the oath and were sent to concentration camps: The members of the force carry revolvers and wear the regular uniforms and armlets with the legend „General Government”. They have removed the white eagle from caps and instead wear the municipal emblem (in Warsaw theisiren). It is generally known that the force cooperates closely with the Gestapo. It is presumed that many of the officers are Gestapo men disguised as Polish officers; there are also many Ukrainians recently assigned to the force. On the whole, the Polish police has a very bad reputation, as there is much graft and double-crossing. The Poles threaten to deal with them no less severely than with the Gestapo.” (pp. 47-48).
DOES NOT CONFUSE “VOLUNTARY” POLISH LABOR FOR GERMANS WITH NAZI COLLABORATION
“Poles are gradually being used as Treuhanders and their number is increasing rapidly. A number of them are handling property and industrial firms formerly belonging to Jews. At first these positions were filled only by Poles who played up to the Germans but during the past year many Poles have been appointed by the Treuhandstelle who certainly have no pro-German sympathies. The Poles at first rejected these offers but now they accept them readily because of their impoverished condition and the desire to be occupied. Working for Germans in this capacity no longer is looked down upon by the Poles.” (p. 40).
CORRECTING JAN T. GROSS: THE GERMANS, AND NOT THE POLES (VIS A VIS THE JEWS), WERE A NATION OF THIEVES
“The Poles were legally divested of their property and personal belongings by a decree dated September 28, 1940 which provided that the authorities whenever they desire may take all such property. All Polish funds in banks, safety deposit vaults or in shares, stocks or bonds were seized shortly after the fall of Warsaw. Vaults were opened, often by sheer force, and the authorities confiscated money, jewelry, furs and everything of value. The looting of private apartments was conducted officially on a scale impossible to describe. For weeks thousands of covered motor trucks belonging to the Gestapo carried the spoils in a continuous stream into the Reich! Furniture, household equipment, paintings, libraries, works of art, jewelry, costly rugs, clothing and practically everything else of any value was confiscated. Cavalcades of these trucks rumbled through Warsaw day and night.” (p. 15).
Jan Peczkis
- Source: GoodReads.com , January 14, 2019
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Justice4Poland.com 
Excellent. My wife’s father’s family were in Poznan . I am familiar with this time.