The Invasion of Poland by the Third Reich and the Crimes of German Operational Groups in The Autumn of 1939

Marcin Przegiętka
Historical Research Office, Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)

Abstract. The text concerns the circumstances of the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 which started the Second World War. Synthetically, it presents the crisis in Polish-German relations which began in the autumn of 1938. The text also introduces the operational groups of the Security Police and Security Service that entered Polish territory after the Wehrmacht units and whose actions in Poland in the autumn of 1939 were extremely brutal and cruel. Their task was to “clean up” the territory occupied by Germany from “elements” hostile to the Reich and pacify it. After the dissolution of operational groups this activity was continued by in situ Gestapo offices.
Keywords: German invasion; Poland; Second World War; Hitler

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