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REACTIONS OF POLISH SOCIETY TO THE DISPLACEMENT OF ZAMOJSZCZYZNA

DEPORTATIONS FROM THE ZAMOJSZCZYZNA REGION TO AUSCHWITZ

DEPORTATIONS FROM THE ZAMOJSZCZYZNA REGION TO AUSCHWITZ

REACTIONS OF POLISH SOCIETY TO THE DISPLACEMENT OF ZAMOJSZCZYZNA

Information about the first displacements was widely echoed among the inhabitants of Zamojszczyzna. Subsequent actions were no longer such a surprise for the local population, and many Poles were preparing for such a possibility — in the first impulse of self-defense they packed suitcases in case they had to leave their farms in a hurry, prepare food supplies, and sell or hide goods that could be confiscated for the benefit of Germany. Some prepared hiding places or moved with their families to relatives living in non-displaced areas. In the villages, the peasants formed guards and mutual warning systems in the event of the arrival of German troops at night.

In the village, there were German soldiers serving at the airport. They were in contact with the civilian population […] and probably passed on the message that Poles living in the village of Mokre, as well as other villages in the area — would be displaced. For this reason, a week before the arrest, some of the residents left the village. My sister-in-law also went to her family. 


In the morning of 9 December, 1942, I was woken up by knocks on the window. A German pilot came and told us that that day detentions would take place in the village. And again, some of the people under the cover of the night left the place. My sister and her children went to Hubale, 5 km from our village. Hubale was located near the forest where the partisans lived. […] We were able to leave, but my mother opposed the outbreak. She said she had already survived one escape in 1914, and then she lost everything, so she didn't intend to lose so many years of her life and start with nothing again.

Source: Stefania Rojek (in the camp: Bondyra, camp no. 26817), A-BSMA, Testimonies Fond, Vol. 32, p. 17-18.

Source: State Archives in Zamość

Residents of the village of Ruszów-Kolonia fleeing from displacement.

The intelligence of the Home Army contributed to spreading information about the planned expulsions. After the end of December 1942, a map was stolen from the office of the Resettlement Headquarters, depicting the towns intended to be displaced. Now, there was time to warn inhabitants and expulsions of the Zamojszczyzna villages were no longer a mystery. They became a topic addressed in the conspiracy press and in the reports of the Polish resistance movement. Peasants and their families left their homes and hid themselves in the woods or in the farms of relatives and acquaintances. German police combed the area, carrying out real hunts for refugees. Detainees were either transported to assembly areas or shot on the spot.

Source: State Archives in Lublin, file group 1072, Związek Walki Zbrojnej-Armia Krajowa Okręg Lublin [1935] 1940-1945, [1946-1991], sign. 220.

A photograph of the German displacement plan for the Zamość district, prepared by the SS Research Office for Eastern Affairs. 

In extreme cases, in order to prevent the takeover of the farms and to benefits for German settlers, desperate peasants sold out or slaughtered cattle and flocks, and even burned whole farms and fled from the village — sometimes to other towns, and sometimes to forests, where they joined guerrilla troops. Together with the passive resistance of the peasants, the self-defense of partisan units became active and expanded throughout the Zamojszczyzna region. Infrastructure and railway lines were destroyed and attacks occurred on displacement troops and colonised villages to discourage German settlers. There were only 33 armed actions carried out by partisan troops in Zamojszczyzna from the period of 28 November 1942 to 5 January 1943. The effectiveness of these actions in regards to intimidation of the German settlers is evidenced by a letter to the SS commander and police in the Lublin district, Jakob Sporrenberg, dated 26 April 1944:

Dear Colleague Sporrenberg, 


I was in the settlement area yesterday and as you know — prior to that, 14 days ago, I went to Litzmannstadt and I in the camps there, I visited the wives of settlers from the Zamojszczyzna county. Would you please pass on my report in the shortest possible way? 

1) The women in the Litzmannstadt camp expressed extreme reluctance regarding any return to Zamość. There were phrases like: You can kill me and my children, but I won't go back to this bandit neighborhood. Set my husband free. It’s been long enough, and you've been lying to us a lot. You don't keep any promises, etc. […] 

2) The security situation in the settlement area is so bad that you have to count with the threat for any settler. It is almost impossible to grow a farm. The area I've traveled to seemed extinct. […]

Source: A. Jaczyńska, Sonderlaboratorium SS Zamojszczyzna. First Settlement Area in the General Government, p. 359, [za:] BA Berlin, NS 19/3607, persönlicher Stab Reichsführer SS, p. 128.

Three men at the edge of the forest aim their rifles at the right flank.

Source: State Archives in Zamość.

Partisans probably in the Zamojszczyzna district during the shelling of a village inhabited by German settlers, beginning 1943.

7 December [1942] More and more men from displaced villages gather in the forests, with the predominance of the former military members. They are armed with rifles and hand grenades and all overwhelmed with a desire for revenge. The fighters struggle to do some work, above all, to burn and destroy what is left in their villages and farms, so that the Germans do not use their property. As I have heard, the commanders who bring people together in the woods are struggling to stop them from unplanned action. They're waiting for orders from above. [...] Of course, this will entail even more repression, so it can be very hot for us. This is inevitable, but perhaps even worse is the absolute passivity with which people accept to be displaced in mass, to be deported, and to be abused, including women and children.

Source: Zygmunt Klukowski, Zamojszczyzna 1944-1959, Vol. 1, ed. A. Knyt, Warsaw 2007, p. 315.

Both the partisan activity and the resistance of the Zamojszczyzna peasants meant that the originally established plan could only be partially realised, and with much greater effort than originally assumed. An additional impediment to the efficient Germanisation of Zamojszczyzna was the reluctant and fearful attitude of German colonists, who, observing the development of events and activities of guerrilla groups, showed a legitimate fear for their own lives. 


The situation was further complicated by the increasingly unfavorable development on the Eastern Front (the defeat at Stalingrad) and the unforeseen catastrophic economic consequences of displacement (a significant decrease in the supply of grain and agricultural products, material losses resulting not only from the destruction of farms and the illegal slaughter of cattle, but also from the disruption of the continuity of agricultural work after the expulsion of Polish peasants), which led to criticism expressed by the authorities of the General Government.There are extensive memoirs of the Governor of Lublin district Ernst Zörner to the General Governor which mention “the effects of the settlement action in the Zamojszczyzna district” dated 23 February 1943. In these memoirs, there is also information that many of the displaced people went to Auschwitz, many comments demonstrating a critical assessment of the course of action, its negative consequences and desire for it to be interrupted.

[...] The captured resettled Poles were mostly assigned to the SS labor camp in Auschwitz (Hydrierwerk) [here and then in the original, literally: SS- Arbeitslager in Auschwitz (Hydrierwerk); in fact, it is a sub-camp of Auschwitz Buna in Monowice. W.W.-M.], while a relatively small number of them were put at the disposal of the employment administration for dispatch to the Reich. Poles from those territories, who were not sent back to the Reich, were set up as peasants or settlers in the so-called integrated villages (Z-Dörfer), located between German settlements. 


[...] The Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationhood offices (Reichskommissar für Festigung des deutschen Volkstums-RKF) carried out settlements and displacements on their own. [...] To supervise the resettlement, the SS and police commander employed 50 police officers and about 80 members of the special service who were detached from their daily important tasks in the district. Cooperation between the administration and the RKF offices was difficult, as the RKF offices did not provide the administration with comprehensive and sufficient information and kept their activities secret, even in relation to the relevant administrative factors. Thus, it was impossible, for example, to obtain an exact number of Poles displaced by the SS. As a result of many escapes of those troubled by resettlement, the action reportedly affected only about 25,000 people.

1. Uncertainty regarding life 

Fear of being threatened like Jews or sent to a concentration camp. 


2. Uncertainty regarding the family. 

Separation of families, mothers from children. 


3. Uncertainty regarding economic existence. 

Contrary to the order of the Secretary of State Dr. Bühler of 7 October 42, no new living conditions were created for Poles, but in the most cases, they were sent to forced labor in Auschwitz. They lost their property almost completely.

1. The escape of the rural population 

For reasons given in section II, the rural population, shortly after the start of resettlement, began to flee massively to escape the alleged danger threatening their lives and their families and to save at least some part of their property. The peasants fled under the cover of the night and fog on their carriages, took their families, part of their livestock, and above all cattle. They travelled using the back roads and tried, in most cases with a positive result, to reach the nearest partisan troops or neighboring counties, where they went to their relatives or friends. Since this escape was unplanned, the Zamojszczyzna and Hrubieszów districts were left empty and the last remains of property were stolen. Apart from the economic damage that still needs to be discussed, this escape made it very difficult to inhabit the villages that were intended for the Germans. In addition, it is striking that the police managed to displace only 25,000 Poles, while they counted on double that number. Tens of thousands managed to escape. On the other hand, cattle had already declined significantly as a result of slaughter and sales on the black market. 


2. Uncertainty 

It is understandable that a large proportion of the refugees who had nothing to lose anymore caused the reinforcement of the partisan movement in the south of the district. It is conspicuous that since December 1942, troops of several hundreds of people, including women and children, contributed to increasing anxiety in the area. 


We can already talk about the popular movement, organised in a military manner. This movement entangled entire police forces in bloody battles, and even repeatedly repelled the attacks. However, the effective combating of the partisan units active in these areas cannot be stated due to the lack of sufficient force. 


According to the reports submitted to me, from the beginning of December 1942 until now 37 new German settlers were murdered by bandits in their settlements, 16 others were injured. An especially tragic fact is that there were a number of women and children among the dead. These high losses primarily caused the attack on the village of Cieszyn (Skierbieszów municipality), 18 km northeast of Zamość. This village was attacked on the night of 25 to 26 and 43 by about 120 bandits. These bandits came on sleds, where they surrounded and set on fire one farmhouse after the other. During these fires and firefights, 30 German men, women and children lost their lives, while eight were injured. The attacking bandits were accompanied by women and children who looted houses during the fire. There is no doubt that there was a clear act of vengeance on the part of the expelled peasants. In the period from 9 to 28 December 1942, 125 buildings were burned down in the Zamość settlement area as a result of the bandits’ activity. All these events were not strange at all. It is self-evident that the peasant population, who thought that their lives and their families were in danger and knew that they would lose all their property resorted to such desperate acts. In any case, as a result of these displacements, the Polish peasants threatened by it, who until now were treated decently and constituted a positive and creative element, became bandits, political conspirators and an extremely dangerous element threatening security! The claim made by the RKF that the country’s security would improve significantly in the course of resettlement was wrong. 


So far, there is no doubt that resettlement led to the greatest security threat since 1939.” 


3. The agricultural economy 

The assumption that sooner or later he would lose his land caused the Polish peasant, who so far performed the duties imposed on him by the German administration very well, to become deeply reluctant and to feel despair, which, simply, cannot remain without influence on the efficiency of his work. Thus, the deliveries of milk, butter and other agricultural products have already fallen significantly, especially in the Zamojszczyzna and Hrubieszów districts. In particular, the supply of milk in the county of Hrubieszów decreased significantly. Whereas in December 1942 2.5 million liters were delivered, the quantity sank in January that year to only 600,000 liters. This alarming drop of 75 % is truly noteworthy. The number of pigs in many municipalities of this county fell by 60 %, and the number of poultry by 90% because the peasant gets rid of and kills everything to avoid losing anything without compensation. [...] 


The impact of this resettlement on harvesting and spring field work is particularly dangerous. The mere fact that there are empty villages is in stark contradiction to the requirements of war, and the administration cannot find a remedy for the lack the necessary equipment. Above all the total lack of seeds, blocked a rapid and complete launch of abandoned farms. According to the report of the governors in Zamość and Hrubieszów, there aren’t many seeds in the resettlement area because the refugees took them. There are also 100 horses needed in the Zamość district for the most necessary spring work. [...] 


4. Other Effects 

Because the inhabitants of the city of Zamość correctly assumed that the population of their city is supposed to be resettled, they also began to flee and took a lot of luggage with them. They returned from time to time to collect more home appliances. As a result, the production of the city of Zamość clearly failed and numerous shops and businesses became idle. 


However, resettlement also entails severe difficulties in administrative work. It is incomprehensible that the offices of the RKF, despite the reluctance of the authorities, expel qualified forest workers and thus paralyze the activities of forest administrations which are particularly important for the purposes of war. Furthermore, the rural population fled with their horses or disposed of them. Thus, there is a serious crisis in the Zamojszczyzna and Hrubieszów districts when it comes to the transport of wood for war purposes.

Although this type of district is considered very desirable for colonisation by the Germans, this task cannot be undertaken at the moment due to catastrophic consequences. [...]


In these circumstances, I require the urgent and temporary cease of resettlement, which shall be also announced.


[...] If resettlement continues, I will under no circumstances be able to assume responsibility for future harvests and deliveries of crops.

Source: An excerpt from the memorial of the Governor of Lublin district Ernst Zörner to the general governor “on the effects of settlement action in the Zamość district” of 23 February 1943, from 23 February 1943 to C. Madajczyk, Zamojszczyzna — Sonderlaboratorium SS. Set of documents..., Vol. 1, pp. 415-428.

Although Himmler disapproved of the memoir, Zörner was dismissed from the position of Governor of the Lublin District on 30 March 1943 for his criticism. The fact is that at the beginning of March 1943, the expulsion campaign was stopped and then temporarily suspended. The pretext for resuming it, after a two-month break, was the desire to restore security and crack down on the partisans operating in the Zamojszczyzna region. Thus, in June 1943, the second stage of displacement began, combined with an action directed against the Polish underground. Displacements were more often combined with ruthless pacifications and ad hoc executions of entire villages. In the transit camps, brutal interrogations of all suspects of contact with guerrillas began to be conducted. The inhabitants of the village were treated with particular cruelty as they were regarded to be a basis for the partisan movement. However, it is remarkable that the victims of the murders were not only people who were guilty (or even suspected) of conspiracy and guerrilla activities, but also random people, including children As a result, at least a thousand people were killed. 


During this period, the action mainly covered Biłgoraj, partly also Zamość and Tomaszów Counties, and only to a small extent the County of Hrubieszów. Displaced persons were sent to assembly camps in: Zamość, Zwierzyniec and Budzyń (K. Kraśnika). From there they were transported deep into the Reich or to concentration camps. A total of approx. 9,000 displaced people from Zamojszczyzna ended up not in Auschwitz, but in the Majdanek camp (KL Lublin). Most of them were sent to the Reich in a short time or released from the camp. 


Contrary to assumptions, the resumption of the expulsion campaign led to an even greater destabilisation of the situation in the Zamojszczyzna region, caused a second stage of chaos, provoked further mass escapes of peasants and led to a decline in agricultural production. Again, this time the reaction of the authorities of General Government including Hans Frank was much more decisive and forced Himmler to finally terminate displacements in the Zamojszczyzna region in August 1943.