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{{pp-30-500|small=yes}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name = {{native name|de|Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete}}
| conventional_long_name = General
| common_name = General Government
| status = Client
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| image_map = General Government (1942).svg
| image_map_caption = The General Government in 1942
| capital = {{nowrap|[[Łódź|Litzmannstadt]]<br /><small>(12
| common_languages = [[German language|German]] <small>(official)</small><br />[[Polish language|Polish]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Yiddish]]
| currency = [[Polish zloty#General Government|Zloty]]<br />[[Reichsmark]]
| today = [[Poland
}}
The '''General Government''' ({{
The basis for the formation of the General Government was the "Annexation Decree on the Administration of the Occupied Polish Territories". Announced by Hitler on October 8, 1939, it claimed that the Polish government had totally collapsed. This rationale was utilized by the [[German Supreme Court]] to reassign the identity of all Polish nationals as [[statelessness|stateless subjects]], with the exception of the [[German diaspora|ethnic Germans]] of interwar Poland—who, disregarding international law, were named the only rightful citizens of [[Nazi Germany]].<ref name="Diemut2003">{{cite book |title="Non-Germans" Under the Third Reich: The Nazi Judicial and Administrative System in Germany and Occupied Eastern Europe with Special Regard to Occupied Poland, 1939–1945 |publisher=JHU Press |work=With contribution from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |year=2003 |author=Diemut Majer |pages=236–246 |isbn=0801864933 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_BCNrHG9K8C&q=%22Point+of+Departure%3A+Statelessness%22 |access-date=2020-10-31 |archive-date=2023-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317071103/https://books.google.com/books?id=J_BCNrHG9K8C&q=%22Point+of+Departure%3A+Statelessness%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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The General Government was run by Germany as a separate administrative unit for logistical purposes. When the [[Wehrmacht]] forces invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 ([[Operation Barbarossa]]), the area of the General Government was enlarged by the inclusion of the Polish regions previously annexed to the USSR.<ref name="eber">{{cite book |author=Piotr Eberhardt, Jan Owsinski |title=Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-century Central-Eastern Europe: History, Data, Analysis |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLfX1q3kJzgC&q=%22first+part+of+World+War+II%22 |pages=216 |isbn=9780765606655 |access-date=2020-10-31 |archive-date=2023-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317071053/https://books.google.com/books?id=jLfX1q3kJzgC&q=%22first+part+of+World+War+II%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Within days [[East Galicia]] was overrun and incorporated into the [[District of Galicia]]. Until 1945, the General Government comprised much of central, southern, and southeastern Poland within its prewar borders (and of modern-day [[Western Ukraine]]), including the major Polish cities of [[Warsaw]], [[Kraków]], Lwów (now [[Lviv]], renamed {{lang|de|Lemberg}}), [[Lublin]] (see [[Lublin Reservation]]), [[Tarnopol]] (see history of [[Tarnopol Ghetto]]), Stanisławów (now [[Ivano-Frankivsk]], renamed {{lang|de|Stanislau}}; see [[Stanisławów Ghetto]]), [[Drohobycz]], and [[Sambir|Sambor]] (see [[Drohobycz Ghetto|Drohobycz]] and [[Sambor Ghetto]]s) and others. Geographical locations were renamed in German.<ref name="Diemut2003"/>
The administration of the General Government was composed entirely of German officials, with the intent that the area was to be colonized by Germanic settlers who would reduce the local Polish population to the level of [[serf]]s before their eventual [[genocide]].<ref>Ewelina Żebrowaka-Żolinas Polityka eksterminacyjna okupanta hitlerowskiego na Zamojszczyźnie Studia Iuridica Lublinensia 17, 213-229</ref> The Nazi German rulers of the {{lang|de|Generalgouvernement}} had no intention of sharing power with the locals throughout the war, regardless of their ethnicity and political orientation. The authorities rarely mentioned the name ''Poland'' in legal correspondence. The only exception to this was the General Government's [[Bank of Issue in Poland]] ({{
==Name==
The full title of the regime in Germany until July 1940 was the
An accurate English translation of
The
The General Government area was also known colloquially as the {{lang|de|Restpolen}} (
==History==
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Hitler decreed the direct annexation to the [[German Reich]] of [[Polish territories annexed by Nazi Germany|large parts]] of the occupied Polish territory in the western half of the German zone, in order to increase the Reich's [[Lebensraum]].<ref>''"Erlaß des Führers und Reichskanzlers über die Gliederung und Verwaltung der Ostgebiete"''</ref> Germany organized most of these areas as two new [[Reichsgau]]e: [[Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia|Danzig-West Prussia]] and [[Reichsgau Wartheland|Wartheland]]. The remaining three regions, the so-called areas of Zichenau, Eastern [[Upper Silesia]] and the [[Suwałki]] triangle, became attached to adjacent [[Gau (country subdivision)|Gaue]] of Germany. Draconian measures were introduced by both RKF and HTO,{{Ref|a-RKF|[a]}} to facilitate the immediate [[Germanization]] of the annexed territory, typically resulting in [[Forced resettlement|mass expulsions]], especially in the Warthegau. The remaining parts of the former Poland were to become a German ''{{lang|de|Nebenland}}'' ([[March (territory)|March]], borderland) as a frontier post of German rule in the east. A Führer's decree of October 12, 1939 established the General Government; the decree came into force on October 26, 1939.<ref name="Diemut2003"/>
[[Hans Frank]] was appointed as the [[
The official name chosen for the new entity was the ''{{lang|de|Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete}}'' (General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories), then changed to the ''Generalgouvernement'' (General Government) by Frank's decree of July 31, 1940. However, this name did not imply anything about the actual nature of the administration. The German authorities never regarded these Polish lands (apart from the short period of [[German military administration in occupied Poland|military administration]] during the actual [[invasion of Poland]]) as an [[Military occupation|occupied territory]].<ref name="Majer265">Majer (2003), p. 265.</ref> The Nazis considered the Polish state to have effectively ceased to exist with its defeat in the September campaign.
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The conversion of Warsaw into a "model city" was [[Pabst Plan|planned]] in 1940 and later, in similar ways like the [[Germania (city)|conversion of Berlin]] was planned. In March 1941 Hans Frank informed his subordinates that [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] had made the decision to "turn this region into a purely German area within 15–20 years". He explained: "Where 12 million [[Polish people|Poles]] now live, is to be populated by 4 to 5 million [[Germans]]. The ''Generalgouvernement'' must become as German as the [[Rhineland]]."<ref name="Germany"/> By 1942 Hitler and Frank had agreed that the Kraków ("with its purely German capital") and Lublin districts would be the first areas for German colonists to re-populate.<ref name="talk">Hitler, Adolf (2000). Bormann, Martin. ed. ''Hitler's Table Talk 1941-1944'', 5 April 1942. trans. Cameron, Norman; Stevens, R.H. (3rd ed.). Enigma Books. {{ISBN|1-929631-05-7}}.</ref> Hitler stated: "When these two weak points have been strengthened, it should be possible to slowly drive back the Poles."<ref name="talk"/> Peculiar about these statements is the circumstance that there were not enough German settlers to even make the [[Wartheland]] "as German as the Rhineland". According to notes from Martin Bormann German policy envisaged reducing lower-class Poles to the status of [[serf]]s, while deporting or otherwise eliminating the middle and upper classes and eventually replacing them with German colonists of the "[[master race]]".
{{blockquote|The General
German bureaucrats drew up various plans regarding the future of the original population. One called for the deportation of about 20 million Poles to western [[Siberia]], and the Germanisation of 4 to 5 million; although deportation in reality meant many Poles were to be put to death, a small number would be "Germanized", and [[Kidnapping of children for forced Germanization by Nazi Germany|young Poles of desirable qualities would be kidnapped and raised in Germany]].<ref>
In 1943, the government selected the [[Zamojskie]] area for further Germanization on account of its fertile black soil, and German colonial settlements were planned. Zamość was initially renamed by the government to ''{{lang|de|Himmlerstadt}}'' ([[Heinrich Himmler|Himmler]] City), which was later changed to ''{{lang|de|Pflugstadt}}'' ([[Plough]] City), both names were not implemented. Most of the Polish population was expelled by the Nazi occupation authorities with documented brutality. Himmler intended the city of [[Lublin]] to have a German population of 20% to 25% by the beginning of 1944, and of 30% to 40% by the following year, at which time Lublin was to be declared a German city and given a German mayor.<ref>Rich, Norman (1974). Hitler's War Aims: the Establishment of the New Order, p. 99. W. W. Norton & Company Inc., New York.</ref>
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In November 1940, Gauleiter [[Arthur Greiser]] of Reichsgau Wartheland argued that the counties of Tomaschow Mazowiecki and Petrikau should be transferred from the General Government's Radom district to his Gau. Hitler agreed, but since Frank refused to surrender the counties, the resolution of the border question was postponed until after the final victory.<ref>Catherine Epstein (2012), ''Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0199646538}}, p. 139</ref>
Upon hearing of the German plans to create a "[[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau]] of the [[Goths]]" (''{{lang|de|Gotengau}}'') in the [[Crimea]] and the Southern [[Ukraine]] after the start (June 1941) of [[Operation Barbarossa]], Frank himself expressed his intention to turn the district under his control into a German province called the ''{{lang|de|Vandalengau}}'' (Gau of the [[Vandals]]) in a speech he gave on 16 December 1941.<ref>Rich, p. 89.</ref><ref>NS-Archiv: Dokumente zum Nationalsozialismus. ''Diensttagebuch Hans Frank: 16.12.1941 - Regierungssitzung'' (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2011. [http://www.ns-archiv.de/personen/frank/16-12-1941.php] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023337/http://www.ns-archiv.de/personen/frank/16-12-1941.php
When Frank unsuccessfully attempted to resign his position on 24 August 1942, [[Nazi Party Chancellery|Nazi Party Secretary]] [[Martin Bormann]] tried to advance a project to dissolve the General Government altogether and to partition its territory into a number of [[Reichsgaue]], arguing that only this method could guarantee the territory's Germanization, while also claiming that Germany could economically exploit the area more effectively, particularly as a source of food.<ref name="Okkupation">Madajczyk, pp. 102-103.</ref> He suggested separating the "more restful" population of the [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|formerly Austrian territories]] (because this part of Poland had been under [[Austrian Empire|German-Austrian rule]] for a long period of time it was deemed more racially acceptable) from the rest of the Poles, and cordoning off the city of [[Warsaw]] as the center of "criminality" and [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|underground resistance activity]].<ref name="Okkupation"/>
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==Administration==
{{Main|General Government administration}}
The General Government was administered by a General-Governor ({{
The Office was headed by Chief of the Government ({{
[[File:Announcement of death of 100 of Polish hostages shot by Nazi-German authority in Poland 1941.jpg|thumb|upright|Announcement of the execution of 60 Polish hostages and a list of 40 new hostages taken by Nazi authorities in Poland, 1943]]
{{blockquote|No government protectorate is anticipated for Poland, but a complete German administration. (...) Leadership layer of the population in Poland should be as far as possible, disposed of. The other lower layers of the population will receive no special schools, but are to be oppressed in some form. — Excerpt from the minutes of the first conference of Heads of the main police officers and commanders of operational groups led by Heydrich's deputy, SS-''[[Brigadefuhrer]]'' Dr. [[Werner Best]], Berlin 7 September 1939<ref>"Man to man...", Rada Ochrony Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa, Warsaw 2011, English version</ref>}}
The General Government had no [[Diplomatic recognition|international recognition]]. The territories it administered were never either in whole or part intended as any future Polish state within a German-dominated Europe. According to the Nazi government the Polish state had effectively ceased to exist, in spite of the existence of a [[Polish government-in-exile]].<ref name="Majer2"/> The General Government had the character of a type of [[colony|colonial state]]. It was not a Polish [[puppet government]], as there were no Polish representatives above the local administration.
The government seat of the General Government was located in Kraków (German: ''{{lang|de|Krakau}}''; {{
The Germans sought to play [[Ukrainian people|Ukrainians]] and Poles off against each other. Within ethnic Ukrainian areas annexed by Germany, beginning in October 1939, Ukrainian Committees were established with the purpose of representing the Ukrainian community to the German authorities and assisting the approximately 30,000 Ukrainian refugees who fled from Soviet-controlled territories. These committees also undertook cultural and economic activities that had been banned by the previous Polish government. Schools, choirs, reading societies and theaters were opened, and twenty Ukrainian churches that had been closed by the Polish government reopened. By March 1941, there were 808 Ukrainian educational societies with 46,000 members.
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The police in the General Government was divided into:
*''[[Ordnungspolizei]]'' (OrPo) (native German)
*the [[Blue Police]] (Polish under German control)
*''[[Sicherheitspolizei]]'' (native German) composed of:
**''[[Kriminalpolizei]]'' (German)
**[[Gestapo]] (German)
The most numerous [[Ordnungspolizei#Police Battalions|OrPo battalions]] focused on traditional security roles as an occupying force. Some of them were directly involved in [[Pacification actions in German-occupied Poland|the pacification operations]].<ref name="Browning2007">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHQdRHNdK44C&q=%22Bloody+Sunday%22 |title=The Origins of the Final Solution |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |date=1 May 2007 |access-date=4 December 2014 |author=Christopher R. Browning |pages=349, 361 |isbn=978-0803203921 |id=Google eBook |author-link=Christopher R. Browning}}</ref> In the immediate aftermath of World War II, this latter role was obscured both by the lack of court evidence and by deliberate obfuscation, while most of the focus was on the better-known ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'' ("Operational groups") who reported to [[Reichssicherheitshauptamt|RSHA]] led by [[Reinhard Heydrich]].<ref>Hillberg, Raul, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HinIpmliz2MC The Destruction of the European Jews]'', Holmes & Meir: NY, NY, 1985, pp 100–106.</ref> On 6 May 1940 ''Gauleiter'' Hans Frank, stationed in occupied [[Kraków]], established the ''[[Sonderdienst]]'', based on similar ''[[SS]]'' formations called ''[[Selbstschutz]]'' operating in the [[Reichsgau Wartheland|''Warthegau'']] district of German-annexed western part of Poland since 1939.<ref name="Yad Vashem">{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JcDXaeukt4sC&q=Sonderdienst |title=Yad Vashem Studies |publisher=Wallstein Verlag |year=2001 |access-date= 12 May 2014 |author=The Erwin and Riva Baker Memorial Collection |journal=Yad Washem Studies on the European Jewish Catastrophe and Resistance |pages=57–58 |issn=0084-3296}}</ref> ''Sonderdienst'' were made up of ethnic German ''[[Volksdeutsche]]'' who lived in Poland before the attack and joined the invading force thereafter. However, after the 1941 [[Operation Barbarossa]] they included also the Soviet [[prisoners of war]] who volunteered for special training, such as the "[[Trawniki men]]" (German: ''Trawnikimänner'') deployed at all major killing sites of the "[[Final Solution]]". A lot of those men did not know German and required translation by their native commanders.<ref name="Browning">{{cite web |url=http://hampshirehigh.com/exchange2012/docs/BROWNING-Ordinary%20Men.%20Reserve%20Police%20Battalion%20101%20and%20the%20Final%20Solution%20in%20Poland%20(1992).pdf |last=Browning |first=Christopher R. |author-link=Christopher Browning |orig-year=1992 |year=1998 |title=Arrival in Poland |publisher=Penguin Books |work=Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland |access-date=May 1, 2013 |pages=51, 98, 109, 124 |format=PDF file, direct download 7.91 MB complete
The former Polish policemen, with no high-ranking Polish officers (who were arrested or demoted), were drafted to the [[Blue Police]] and became subordinated to the local [[Ordnungspolizei]].
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===Public executions===
[[File:Tablica_Tchorka_Al._Ujazdowskie_21_Warszawa.JPG|thumb|[[Ujazdów Avenue]] Public execution memorial table, Warsaw]]
Germans killed thousands of Poles, many of them civilian hostages, in Warsaw streets and locations around Warsaw (Warsaw ring), to terrorize the population{{snd}}they shot or hanged them.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.inyourpocket.com/warsaw/execution-sites_18396v |title=Execution Sites |access-date=2018-06-28 |archive-date=2018-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628124819/https://www.inyourpocket.com/warsaw/execution-sites_18396v |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.executedtoday.com/2009/02/11/1944-twenty-two-or-more-poles/
===Urban planning and transportation network===
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[[File:500 zł 1940 awers.jpg|thumb|180x180px|So-called "Góral"- 500 złoty banknote used in the territories of the GG]]
Former Polish state property was confiscated by the General Government (or by Nazi Germany in the annexed territories). Notable property of Polish individuals (ex. factories and large land estates) was often confiscated as well and managed by German "trusts" ({{
Farmers were required to provide large food contingents for the Germans, and there were plans for nationalization of all but the smallest estates.
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== Food supply ==
While scholars debate whether from September 1939 to June 1941 the mass-starvation of the Jewish people of Europe was an attempt to conduct mass murder, it is agreed upon that this starvation did kill a large amount of this population.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sinnreich |first=Helene Julia |date=May 2004 |title=The Supply and Distribution of Food to the Łódź Ghetto- A Case Study in Nazi Jewish Policy, 1939 -1945 |journal=ProQuest |pages=56 |id={{ProQuest|305208240}}}}</ref> There was a shift in the amount of resources that were being used by the Generalgouvernement from 1939 to 1940. For example, in 1939, seven million tons of coal were used but in 1940 this was reduced to four million tons of coal used by the Generalgouvernement. This shift was emblematic of the shortages in supplies, depriving the Jews and Poles of their only heating source. Although before the war, Poland exported mass quantities of food, in 1940 the Generalgouvernement was unable to supply enough food for the country, nonetheless exporting food supplies.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Polish Society Under German Occupation: The
The prices for food outside of ghettos and concentration camps had to be set at a reasonable price in order for them to align with the [[black market in Poland|black market]]; setting prices at a reasonable rate would ensure that farmers did not sell their crops illegally. If the prices were set too high in cities there was a concern that workers would not be able to afford the food and protest the prices. Due to the price inflation which was occurring in the Generalgouvernement, many places relied on the [[Barter|barter system]] (exchanging goods for other goods instead of money). "Introducing rationing in September 1940, [[Marshal Petain]] insisted that ‘everyone must assume their share of common hardship.’"<ref name=":1" /> There was clearly food instability not only in the ghettos, but also in cities, which caused everyone to be conscious about food rationing, and caused conditions for Jewish people to worsen. While workers in Norway and France protested the new rationing of food, Germany and the UK, where the citizens supported war efforts were more supportive of the rationing therefore it was more effective. Cases, where a country was being occupied, caused the citizens to be more hesitant about the rationing of food and it was overall not as effective.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe |last=Mazower |first=Mark |publisher=The Penguin Press |year=2008 |isbn=9780713996814 |location=London, UK |pages=277–279}}</ref> In December, 1941 it was recognized by the Generalgouvernement that starving the Jewish people to death was an inexpensive and expedient solution. In August 1942, the required food shipments from the General Government to the Reich were increased and decided that the 1.2 million Jews that were not completing jobs that were "important to Germany" would no longer be given food.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Polish Society Under German Occupation: The
=== Black market ===
During this environment of food scarcity Jews turned to the black market for any source of sustenance. The [[black market]] was important both in and outside of the ghettos from 1940 to 1944. Outside of the ghettos, the black market existed because rations were not high enough for the citizens to remain healthy. In the ghettos of eastern Europe in August 1941 the Jewish population recognized that if they were forced to remain in these ghettos they would eventually die of hunger. Many people that were in ghettos made trades with the outside world in order to stay alive.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe |last=Mazower |first=Mark |publisher=The Penguin Press |year=2008 |isbn=9780713996814 |location=London, UK |pages=279}}</ref> Jewish people were forced to reside in ghettos, where the economy was isolated and there were large food shortages, which caused them to be seen as a source for cheap labor; many were given food that was purchased on the Aryan side of the wall in exchange for their labor. The isolation of the people forced into ghettos caused there to be a disconnect between the buyer and seller, which added in another player: the black market middleman. The black market middleman would make a profit by creating connections between sellers and buyers. While supply and demand was [[Inelastic supply|inelastic]] in these ghettos, the selling of this food on the blackmarket was extremely competitive, and beyond the reach of most Jews in ghettos.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Polish Society Under German Occupation: The
==Resistance==
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The main resistance force was the [[Home Army]] (in Polish: ''Armia Krajowa'' or ''AK''), loyal to the [[Polish government in exile]] in London. It was formed mainly of the surviving remnants of the pre-War [[Polish Army]], together with many volunteers. Other forces existed side-by-side, such as the communist [[People's Army (Poland)|People's Army]] ''(Armia Ludowa'' or AL) parallel to the PPR, organized and controlled by the Soviet Union. The AK was estimated between 200,000 and 600,000 men, while the AL was estimated between 14,000 and 60,000.
[[File:German announcement General Government Poland 1941.jpg|thumb|250px| German announcement of the execution of 9 Polish peasants for unfurnished contingents (quotas). Signed by the governor of [[Lublin]] district on 25 November 1941]]
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==Culture of Poland==
Germans plundered Polish museums. Many of the pieces of art perished.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://culture.pl/en/article/22-precious-works-of-art-that-vanished-during-world-war-ii |title=22 Precious Works of Art That Vanished During World War II |access-date=2019-05-17 |archive-date=2019-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517091547/https://culture.pl/en/article/22-precious-works-of-art-that-vanished-during-world-war-ii |url-status=live }}</ref> Germans burned a number of Warsaw libraries, including the [[National Library of Poland]], destroying about 3.6 million volumes.<ref>{{cite book |author1=various authors |author2=Tomasz Balcerzak |author3-link=Lech Kaczyński |author3=Lech Kaczyński |editor1=Tomasz Balcerzak |others=transl. Philip Earl Steele |title=Pro memoria: Warszawskie biblioteki naukowe w latach okupacji 1939-1945 |year=2004 |publisher=Biblioteka Narodowa |location=Warsaw |pages=4}}</ref>
== German sport ==
[[Hans Frank]] was an avid chess player, so he organized [[General Government chess tournament]]s. Only Germans were allowed to perform in sporting events. About 80 football clubs played in [[Gauliga Generalgouvernement|four district divisions]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://rfbl.pl/polsko-niemiecka-historia-pilki-czyli-powrot-do-przeszlosci/ |title=Polsko-niemiecka historia piłki, czyli powrót do przeszłości |date=2015-12-27 |access-date=2018-05-25 |archive-date=2018-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525204719/http://rfbl.pl/polsko-niemiecka-historia-pilki-czyli-powrot-do-przeszlosci/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==The Holocaust==
{{main|The Holocaust in Poland}}
[[File:WW2-Holocaust-Poland.PNG|thumb|260px|Nazi extermination camps in [[occupied Poland]], marked with black and white skulls. General Government in beige. Death camp at [[Auschwitz]] (lower left) in the neighbouring new German ''Provinz Oberschlesien'']]During the [[Wannsee conference]] on January 20, 1942, the State Secretary of the General Government, ''[[SS-Brigadeführer]]'' [[Josef Bühler]] encouraged [[Reinhard Heydrich|Heydrich]] to implement the "[[Final Solution]]". From his own point of view, as an administrative official, the problems in his district included an overdeveloped black market. He endorsed a remedy in solving the "Jewish question" as fast as possible. An additional point in favor of setting up the extermination facilities in his governorate was that there were no transportation problems there,<ref name="upenn-eichmann">{{Cite web |url=http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/Holocaust/wansee-transcript.html |access-date=2009-01-05 |title=The Wannsee Conference Protocol |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |author=[[Adolf Eichmann]] |others=Dan Rogers (translator) |archive-date=2019-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515091325/http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/Holocaust/wansee-transcript.html |url-status=live }}</ref> since all assets of the disbanded [[Polish State Railways#History|Polish State Railways]] (PKP) were being managed by ''[[Ostbahn (General Government)|Ostbahn]]'', the Kraków-based ''[[Deutsche Reichsbahn]]'' branch of the ''Generaldirektion der Ostbahn'' ("General Directorate of Eastern Railways", '''Gedob'''). This made a [[Holocaust trains|network of death trains]] readily available to the ''[[SS-Totenkopfverbände]]''.<ref name="Wasilewski">{{cite web |url=http://old.pkp.pl/node/178 |title=25 września. Wcielenie kolei polskich na Śląsku, w Wielkopolsce i na Pomorzu do niemieckich kolei państwowych Deutsche Reichsbahn. |publisher=[[Polskie Koleje Państwowe]] PKP |year=2014 |access-date=8 February 2014 |author=Jerzy Wasilewski |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/
{{main|Operation Reinhard}}
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[[Category:1939 establishments in Ukraine]]
[[Category:1945 disestablishments in Ukraine]]
[[Category:People from wartime administrations in Poland (1939–1947)]]
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