A Nazi-German "visit" to Cracow 1939-45 - Wenn ein junger Mann...

In September 1939, after defeating the Polish armed forces in a fearsome Blitzkrieg (lightning war), the Germans proceeded to organize their administration in the occupied territories. Cracow, the old capital of Poland, was chosen as the administrative center of a newly formed generalgouvernement (General Government), the part of Poland not annexed into the Third Reich. Hans Frank, a senior Nazi lawyer, Reichsrechtsführer (Commander of Law in the Third Reich), founder and first president of the Academy of German Law, was appointed governor-general by Hitler. Frank established his residence at the old royal castle, once occupied by Polish monarchs. It was a symbolic act, as it meant transforming Cracow and the rest of Poland into Hitler's new kingdom. Frank also changed the historical Polish name of the castle, Wawel, into German. From that time onward it was to be called Krakauer Burg (Cracow's castle). Nazi officials made it clear that Poland was of use to them "only as a reservoir of labour." German administrative units were instructed to engage in "a hard racial struggle (Volkstumskampf) which will not permit any legal restrictions." This struggle would be fought primarily against Poland's political, cultural, educational, and religious elite and their institutions. Hans Frank, echoing Hitler, put it very bluntly: "What we have now recognized in Poland to be the elite must be liquidated." He was also expressing the will of his Führer when he said that the Polish people were "to become a society of peasants and workers" with no "cultured class." In May 1940 Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer SS (Commander of the Nazi special police force), suggested that "for the non-German population of the East [of Europe] there is to be no higher school than the four-grade elementary school." A similar view was expressed in a report compiled by two NSDAP (Nazi Party) officials, E. Wetzl and G. Hecht, proposing that Polish high schools, colleges, and universities be closed
and the teachers forbidden to practice their profession. The report also suggested that cultural censorship be introduced, affecting not only Poland's educational institutions but also the Polish press, theaters, and even cabarets. Any references to Polish language, literature, history, and culture would not be tolerated. The only kind of information allowed was Nazi propaganda. Possession of radios by Poles was not allowed.
Radio sets were confiscated and replaced with a network of loudspeakers displayed in public places. These loudspeakers broadcast official news bulletins and communiqués of the Nazi authorities. Publication of prewar newspapers was prohibited. The only kind of press allowed by the authorities was Nazi newspapers, some of them also published in Polish.
The new Nazi Kultur (culture) spread racial hatred and justified the looting or destruction of Polish books and art collections. In the years 1940 to 1943, Hans Frank's Hauptabteilung Propaganda (Department of Propaganda) compiled lists of Polish books considered "hostile" and "dangerous" to Germany, which were therefore judged unerwünschten (undesirable). (...)
Poland's art collections also suffered terrible losses. The Nazis seized a great number of works of art from private and state collections. (...)
Looting took place all over Poland and affected not only national museums (e.g., the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the National Museum in Cracow, or the Wawel Castle and Cathedral in Cracow), but also private collections.

Text by: Marek Sroka

At 1:00 - Dr. Hans Frank, Governor General of Poland in his office in Wawel Castle in Krakow. Photo credit: Meczenstwo Walka, Zaglada Żydów w Polsce 1939-1945. Poland. No. 18.

At 1:20 -- 2:10 -- Surrounding walls of Wawel Castle and Jagiellonian University; present state; photos jurek46pink, 2008.
Kategoria: Edukacja

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Nazi
• Germany
• Deutschland
• Polskia
• Polen
• 2nd
• World
• War
• wojna
• światowa
• Kraków
• Cracow

[unimogTAG]

"Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny"? , i search about it and it appears me as a pre-war newspaper, stablished in 1913 and closed in 1939 by the nazis , but i found already other nazi newspaper in polish it was called "nowy kurier warszawskie" do u know that newspaper?

[jurek46pink]

I had been saying about Kraków: "Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny", called shortly IKC - from 1939 till 1945 was still published but under German full control.

I am sure that such an action must have been directed by a German occupant in other Polish towns; and Warsaw was (had been...) then a capitol.

[unimogTAG]

jurek46pink , u have seen some photo of that " nazi newspapers in polish" and can u tell me were? its only curiosity to see the newspapers of the opressors of poland in poland language ( and im german , when i say oppresors i refer to nazis)

[jurek46pink]

The newspaper was called "Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny" - was published in Polish language by the German occupant, 1939-1945, with a full Nazi-German propaganda and censorship.

[Nikinator1]

sieg heil ihr scheiß bastarde

[jurek46pink]

Encore !

Mon Ami...

[chkjns]

Thank you for the historical info you included. I looked up the film from the record label & see this song is from 1941.

I'm building an ever-expanding music history channel with over 500 playlists so far. I added this to my 1941 playlist. My lists feature most genres & cover the globe. 111 lists let you hear the music of any year since 1900 like you've gone back in time.

[TanteMarco]

Dir Nikinator1: Solche Menschen wie Du sterben scheinbar niemals aus?

Ein schlauer Mensch vermag sich zu dumm stellen, anders herum ist das schon schwieriger.

[OKSODRAKamilKiel]

that german-russians are very proud of germany is understandable because they are once gone, they never come back, and to become german as fast as possible is their only way. Different with the POles how can open up a map and see right away, that the border is just close. Visits every year are the standard. Not for russians, they forget their origin land and their family to become a machine for wealth of the Deutsche volk and work hard 50 years meanwhile treated as second class people.

[0900123456]

schöne alte deutsche music