This “well-researched, clear [and] convincing” historical study
examines the ideology and politics of Germanization during the WWII
occupation of Poland (Nicholas Stargardt, author of The German War).
Following the brutal invasion and occupation of Poland, the Nazis
moved swiftly to realize one of their key ideological aims: the
expansion of German living space. This involved deporting Jews,
bringing in German settlers, and establishing an evaluation process
that separated Poles from ethnic Germans. As simple as this might have
seemed initially, the various parts of the German occupation machinery
were soon embroiled in a bitter fight about the essence of Germanness
and how to identify a German. In this illuminating study, Gerhard Wolf
reveals an astonishing development in which a more inclusive
understanding of Germanness based on the notion of Volk won out
against an exclusive definition based on Rasse. As Wolf demonstrates,
this decision paved the way for turning three million Poles into
German citizens. Parallel to the mass deportation and murder of
Christian Poles and the genocide of Jewish Poles, the Nazis
paradoxically also presided over the largest (forced) assimilation
program in German history. Students and scholars of the Second World
War, the Holocaust, and Nazism will find new analysis of German
imperialism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide in this important book.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780253048097
Publisert
2021
Utgiver
Vendor
Indiana University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter