World War II: Poland Under German Rule Reports

World War II: Poland Under German Rule Reports

A collection of 1,110  pages of reporting on German occupation of Poland.

Includes:

President Roosevelt’s Handwritten Bedside Note Regarding the German invasion of Poland, September 1, 1939

Biddle Report - A. J. Drexel Biddle, Jr., United States Ambassador to Poland, (1937-1939) report on events in Poland October 16, 1938 to September 19, 1939.

OSS Report Poland Under Nazi Rule (November 13, 1941) - A report by Thaddeus H. Chylinski, who was a Vice-Consul serving in the Warsaw office from 1920-1941. Topics covered includes early history of the war, various persecutions, arrests, executions, hostages, conditions in the concentration camps, protests, confiscation of property. Chylinski also reported on the condition of the people from the three social classes cultured, working and peasant, and ethnics and national groups, (Jews, Russians, French, Americans, etc.  Economic Conditions are detailed: fuel, food, clothing, relief and medical supplies. The Industries functioning in Germany are listed: communication and transportation (railways, postal system and telegraph) as are the authorities of the General Government, the Gestapo, and the Polish Police Force. The situation in education, science, art, and the press is detailed as is the status of the Polish Underground movement. Ironically Chylinski applies some anti-Semitic concepts in his evaluations.

The Black Book of Poland - A report published in 1942 by the Ministry of Information of the Polish government-in-exile, describing atrocities committed by Germany in occupied Poland in twenty-two months between the invasion of Poland in September 1939, and the end of June 1941

 SHEAF Report, "Economic Life in Poland"  (July 1942 )- A  report covering period from January 1st to April 30th, 1942, includes a 13-page description of various concentration camps.

The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland - A brochure published by the Polish government-in-exile on 10 December 1942. According to David Engel, author of "In the Shadow of Auschwitz: The Polish Government-in-exile and the Jews, 1939–1942," (2014), this was the first official document informing the Western public about the Holocaust in German-occupied Poland.

World War I - Poland Under The Germans (1916) - In addition to the material above is a 1916 World War I pamphlet titled Poland Under The Germans. The first three articles included this pamphlet appeared originally in "The London Times," the fourth in "The New Statesman.”