Expulsion of Poles by Germany

Expulsions of Poles by Germany

Prussian deportations of 1885–1890 as shown on a contemporary painting by Konstanty Górski
Expulsion of Poles from Reichsgau Wartheland following the Invasion of Poland (1939). Families led to the trains under German escort, as part of Nazi German ethnic cleansing of annexed Poland.
Duration	Partitions of Poland,[1] World War II
Location	German-controlled territories
Type	Ethnic cleansing, forced migration, Mass Expulsion
Cause	Lebensraum, anti-Polish sentiment, Germanisation
Patron(s)	Frederick the Great, Otto von Bismarck, Adolf Hitler, Nazi Party, Wehrmacht
Outcome	Expulsion of 325,000 Poles[2]

The expulsion of Poles by Germany was a prolonged anti-Polish campaign of ethnic cleansing by violent and terror-inspiring means lasting nearly half a century. It began with the concept of Pan-Germanism developed in the early 19th century and culminated in the racial policy of Nazi Germany that asserted the superiority of the Aryan race. The removal of Poles by Germany stemmed from historic ideas of expansionist nationalism. It was implemented at different levels and different stages by successive German governments. It ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.^[3]

The partitions of Poland had ended the existence of a sovereign Polish state in the 18th century. With the rise of German nationalism in mid 19th century, Poles faced increasing discrimination on formerly Polish lands. The first mass deportation of 30,000 Poles from territories controlled by the German Empire took place in 1885. While the ideas of expelling Poles can be found in German political discourse of the 19th century, these ideas matured into nascent plans advocated by German politicians during the First World War, which called for the removal of the Polish population from Polish territories first annexed by the Russian Empire during partitions and then by Germany.^[4] Before and after the 1939 invasion of Poland the Nazis exploited these ideas when creating their Lebensraum concept of territorial aggression.^[4] Large-scale expulsions of Poles occurred during World War II when Nazi Germany started the Generalplan Ost campaign of ethnic cleansing in all Polish areas occupied by, and formally annexed to Nazi Germany. Although the Nazis were not able to fully implement Generalplan Ost due to the war's turn, up to 2 million Poles were affected by wartime expulsions with additional millions displaced or murdered.