Goralenvolk

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For ethnographic group, see Gorals.
Goralenvolk
Part of the
occupied Poland
Meeting of Governor Hans Frank in Zakopane
with leaders of his Goralenvolk in November 1939
Period1939–1943
Membership200

Goralenvolk was a geopolitical term invented by the

SS, the Nazis proclaimed that they were of Germanic descent, and were thus worthy of Germanisation and separate treatment from other Poles.[1][2]

Origin

Nazi ideology claimed that

slavicized.[3][original research?
]

German occupation

Peasant Goral couple depicted in a General Government stamp printed in 1944

The region inhabited by Górale (pre-war Polish

Armia Krajowa unit under Lieutenant Tadeusz Studziński, charged with high treason and hanged on 20 January 1945.[4]

The implementation of the Goralenvolk action aimed at germanization of the Polish highlanders was actively opposed by the underground

nom-de-guerre Stefan Borusa) with Tadeusz Popek (Wacław Tatar) as his deputy and Jadwiga Apostoł (nom-de-guerre Barbara Spytkowska) as their administrative secretary. Suski was murdered at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Popek was tortured and executed in Zakopane.[2][5][6] A German census conducted in 1940 showed that 72% of the local Goralenvolk population identified themselves as ethnically Polish rather than ethnically German. This result was a great disappointment for the Nazi administration.[citation needed
]

Failed attempt at recruiting

In January 1943 the

Tatra mountains embarked on a recruitment drive, with the objective being to create a brand new Waffen-SS highlander division. Some 200 young Goralenvolk signed up after having been given unlimited supplies of alcoholic drinks. They boarded a train to Trawniki, but got off the train in nearby Maków Podhalański, when they had become sober. Only twelve men arrived at the SS training base in Trawniki next to Lublin. At the first opportunity they got into a major fistfight with the Ukrainians, causing havoc. They were arrested and sent away. The whole idea was abandoned as impossible by SS-Obergruppenführer Krüger in occupied Kraków by an official letter of 5 April 1943.[7] The failure has inevitably contributed to his dismissal on 9 November 1943 by Governor General Hans Frank.[8]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Pod Giewontem. Losy mieszkancow Podhala 1939-1956". Podhalański Portal Informacyjny Podhale24.pl. September 12, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Historia rodziny Apostołów". Lista świadków historii (in Polish). Stowarzyszenie Auschwitz Memento. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  3. ^ Meyers Konversationslexikon: Band 7, Seite 518: von Göppingen bis Gordianus. Archived June 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Góralski Legion Waffen SS". Polacy po stronie Niemców. Wiedza i Zycie, Inne Oblicza Histori. No. 07 - 02/2005. Last updated: December 13, 2005. Archived from the original on November 13, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2012. Page archived by Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Góralska Dywizja Waffen-SS". Forum Druga Wojna Światowa dws.org.pl. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  6. ^ "Konfederacja Tatrzańska (with biographies and photographs)". Konfederat Tatrzański. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  7. ^ Rafał Kuzak (12 September 2012). "Jak zrobić z górali esesmanów? Legion Góralski Waffen SS" [How to make highlanders into SS men. The story of Goralenvolk Legion]. Ciekawostki historyczne. Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak sp. z o.o. (page two).
  8. OCLC 3417584
    .

External links

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