THE SEPTEMBER CAMPAIGN continued
By the end of the war over three million Poles had been murdered by the Nazis. Hitlers plan was to allow only a small
colony of Poles to survive which would be relegated to a life of servitude to the German people. Poles were deported to
central Poland, (the General Gouvernement) which was, in fact, one large penal colony.
" All Poles will disappear from the world....It is essential that the great German people
should consider it as it's major task to detroy all Poles." (Hitler)
Germany established over 2,000 concentration camps throughout Poland. Separate camps were allotted to Polish
Christians, to Polish Jews, as well as to women, and children. The largest concentration camp, Auschwitz
(Oswiciem, in Polish) was originally intended only for Poles, who were its first interns. Thousands were singled out
for the most bestial of treatment. Polish men were castrated, and sent to the gas chambers.
During the September Campaign the Germans had used twice the ammunition to bomb Poland than the combined artillery
used against France and England. But the Poles were able to inflict considerable damage to Germany's war machine.
They succeeded in destroying 33% of German armored cars and 25% of German aircraft, an impressive accomplishment
for a nation so outnumbered by the enemy.
On September 17, the Red Army invaded Poland from the east. Like the Germans, their plan was to systemically
drain from Poland all people of value to the nation. It amounted to a political and social beheading of a nation. The
Sovietization of Poland was planned in several stages beginning with the arrest and deportation of thousands of Polish
officers and soldiers, political leaders at the national, provincial, and local governments, landowners, factory owners,
Chief Justices, public prosecutors, police, professors, doctors, nurses, priests, and so many more. Families of influential
people, grandparents, parents, and children were all rounded up and deported to Siberia. In the long, difficult journey,
the old, the sick, and infants died along the way.
Within a few days of having invaded eastern Poland, the Red Army had control of over 77,000 square miles of territory,
and its 13 million inhabitants. In the process they claimed the cities of Lwow and Wilno, Polish cities that had been the
center of Polish culture and art for centuries. Over 230,000 Polish troops were captured and deported to labor camps in
Siberia. By the time Germany had invaded Russia in 1942, the total number of Poles deported reached 1.5 million
men,women, and children. Tens of thousands of Polish soldiers and pilots poured out of Poland - not to escape the
aggressors, but to reorganize their troops for battle. Days before Germany attacked, Polish ships and submarines had
barely escaped to England carrying with them many Polish troops.
The British government was anxious to hear about the fate of the Polish people, and wired a message asking them to
respond, " if you can " . The Mayor of Warsaw did respond, asking for help.
When will the effective help of Great Britain and France come to relieve us from
this terrible situation. We are waiting for it !
The Poles were trapped between the two most powerful armies in the world, while Britain and France abandoned Poland
to fend for herself. On September 23, the Mayor of Warsaw spoke on Free Radio Warsaw for the last time.
Today, Warsaw, defending the Honor of Poland, is at her pinnacle of Greatness....
And then there was silence. German bombs had destroyed the main power plant. On September 28, Warsaw fell
to the Germans. Oct Oct 5, Polish troops which were fighting in the Battle of Kock ( near Lublin ) had lost. The survivors
were forcibly conscripted into the Red Army. The nations of the world were in shock, but like Britain and France, made no
resolution, nor intervention to stop the carnage. Chamberlain's administration expressed indignation and horro rover the
invasions, but made no formal protest, nor took military action. France too had repeated what would become a familiar
mantra, that they had not forgotten their obligations to their Allies and friends. Promises easily made but broken.
Among critics of Chamberlain was one of his closest friends, Leo Amery, who verbally lambasted him in the House of
Commons for giving Hitler a time limit. He decried, " The Poles have been bombed and massacred and we are still
considering within what time limit Hitler should be invited to tell us whether he felt like relinquishing his prey!
In the aftermath of the invasion, the British Foreign Office tried to defend it's failure to act appropriately, by asserting that
their declaration of war was the extent of British assistance to Poland. In other words, the Imperial powers of Britain
and France assumed that mere Imperial Threats would be sufficient to deter Hitler and Stalin. Obviously it didn't..
SEPTEMBER CAMPAIGN PHOTO GALLERY
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