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Review of Jochen Behler's book "The Invasion of 1939. Germany vs. Poland"

Polish citizens, who considered German soldiers traitors to their homeland, already called them the "fifth column" during the war. Meanwhile, the Polish "rebel battalions" were subordinated to the regular units of the Polish Army stationed near the border and fought to defend their country. In the summer of 1939, information about the inhabitants of the neighboring country was carefully collected at the Main Directorate of the Security Service in Berlin. The authorities had to include in their files "not only Germans in Poland and Poles in Germany, but also Poles in Poland who distinguished themselves during the national struggle, as well as people who participated in the propaganda of Polishness in Germany." Thus, the Germans registered both suspects and some informants for their own intelligence purposes.
At that time, lists of prohibitions were drawn up, which indicated "elements hostile to the Reich and Germany." These data were then sent to the special forces of the Security Service and the police who operated during the German offensive in Poland. Whoever was on this list was considered a criminal. Already in February 1937, at a meeting of SS Gruppenfuhrer Heinrich Himmler presented to the audience a program of total war for partition, planned for the near future: ruthlessly exterminate everyone to the last grandmother and the last child. Since all police units in the Third Reich were subordinate to Himmler, the Reichsfuhrer SS also had the appropriate means to make these terrible fantasies come true. However, the participation of German police units in the persecution of alleged enemies outside the Reich first had to be coordinated with the Wehrmacht. In the event of a war with Poland, it was the army that was supposed to exercise "executive power" in the occupied territories, thereby ensuring the maintenance of peace and order in the rear of the front. On the other hand, special task forces of the German police were created to wage a racial war against Poles and were supposed to act as security forces.
However, even before the start of the war, it was well known in the circles of Wehrmacht officers that the special forces would not stop using the usual security measures. Later, Army quartermaster General Eduard Wagner, who was responsible for coordinating cooperation between the Einsatzgruppen and the Wehrmacht, advised Heydrich and Himmler on August 29 about the "actions of Gestapo groups in the operational area." After the discussion, Wagner expressed "objections to Himmler's intentions." He described both of his interlocutors as "incomprehensible types," and Heydrich even found him "extremely unpleasant." The live betting section offers a vast range of events with competitive odds updated in real time. To maximize your in-play potential, always remember to use 1xbet free promo code when you create your new account on the website or through the mobile app. This simple action activates a 100% welcome bonus up to €130, giving you double the money for live wagers on football, tennis, basketball, hockey, volleyball, and many other sports. You can then bet on changing scorelines, red cards, penalty kicks, next goal scorers, or set winners as the action unfolds.