Polish Youth Groups: World War II


Figure 1.-- This moving photo of a group of Polish boys, Boy Scout comrads of Zibignew Banas. The deceased was a Boy Scout killed we think during the Warsaw Uprising. We know the photograph was taken in or near Warsaw during 1944. The gladiolas tell us that the photograph was taken during the uprising. We know he was a Boy Scout because of the Scout fleur-de-lis and the letters CZU WAJ. This is Polish abreviation for the Scout motto--"Be Prepared" The literal translation in Polish is "Be Alert". We suspect the photo was taken during the oopening phase of the uprising. Children were invilved in the Warsaw uprising. Older boys served in the AK itself. Younger boys, especially Scouts, delivered messages for the AK. In the areas liberated they dlivered mail. They provided a range of services such as fighting fires and assisting those in bombed out buildings. As the Germans retook the city, children along with adults were murdered by the Germans. The boys here seem to vary in age from about21 to 11 or 12. The older boys wear long trousers. The younger boys wear short trousers. They seem to be wearing some remnats of Scout uniforms which were banned by the Germans. He is carrying a Scout satchel slung over one shoulder. Tragically, most of the boys seen here would also been killed by the Germans.

The Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, which beause of defense treaties with Britain and France, launched World War II. The Polish Army was defeated in a 6-week blitzkrieg. When it was clear that Poland was defeated, the Red Army invaded from the east, partioning Poland. The German split western Poland into two areas and annexed them and created a Government General for central Poland. Regulations varied greatly in these areas. Scouting was outlawed. They did not organize any pro-NAZI youth groups for Polish boys as was the case with many other counties. The NAZIs considered the Poles and unter-mench, suitable only for slave labor to support the Reich. The Soviets in their zone of eastern Poland began organizing Young Pioneer groups. I assume they immeditalely outlawed Scouting. This of course changed in June 1941 when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union. The Germans proceed to put the same draconian occupation regulations into force in the rest of Poland. While Scouting was outlawed, the NAZIs were unable to destroy the movement. Scouts continued to operate underground. In fact, it played an important role in the ressistance. There were many examples of heroic ressistanc to the NAZIs. Scouts for example delivered the mail during the Warsaw uprising in 1944. Tragically, most of the boys involved were killed.

German Invasion

The Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, which beause of defense treaties with Britain and France, launched World War II. From the beginning a series of attrocities were carried out by German forces. The Germans at Bydgoszcz murdered a thousand Poles including several dozen Boy Scouts. The Germans shot the Poles against a wall by German troops (September 4). The Polish Army was defeated in a 6-week Blitzkrieg. When it was clear that Poland was defeated, the Red Army invaded from the east. Poland was partioning by NAZI Germany and Soviet Russia. The German split western Poland into two areas and annexed them and created a Government General for central Poland. Regulations varied greatly in these areas.

Occupied Poland

The occupation of Poland was one of the most brutal in European history. Occupation aithorities, especially the SS, were under no legal or moral constraints as regards their conduct and the execultion of occupation policies. Poles had no recourse. The NAZI set out to eliminate the Polish intelgencia and reduce the rest of the country to a vast population of slave labor. It is estimated that a quarter of the population of Poland perished during the occupation. Hitler did not view Poland as a legitimate nation. He saw it as a creation of the hated Versailles Treaty ending World War I. Poland had split Germany through the Polish Corridor. He was determined that Poland would never again threaten Germany or limit Germany's drive for lebensraum. The NAZI plan was simple. First they plan to eliminate the Polish inteligencia. Second they would expel Poles and colonize the former Polish areas with Germans. The was given orders to kill Polish prominent civilians and indiviaduals such as government officials, the nobility, teachers, and priests throughout Poland, any would which could promote Polish nationalism or offer leadership. Today their are countless memorial stones and plaques througout Poland where these executions took place. And it was not just men, women and children were also killed. The invasion of Poland brough a much larger area an numbers of foreigners under German control (September 1939). Himmler had asigned the Main Office for the Consolidation of German Nationhood (SS-RKF) the task of preparing a plan for Germanizing Poland. The Chief of SS-RKF Department II (Planning) SS-Oberführer Professor Dr. Konrad Meyer was responsible for preparing the plans. An important part of the program for the program was to reclaim as much suitable generic material as possible which meant kidnapping Polish children and raising them as Germans.

Government General (1939-44)

NAZI authorities in the Govern,ent General prohibited all youth groups for Polish children in the Government General. (In the Polish areas annexed to the Reich only the Hitler Youth could operate, but this was only for German boys.) The prohibition included the Boy Scouts which had been very popular in pre-War Poland. The NAZIs did not organize any pro-NAZI youth groups for Polish boys as was the case with many other counties. The NAZIs considered the Poles and unter-mench, suitable only for slave labor to support the Reich. Despite the prohibition, the Scouts continued to operate clandestinely. Violation of such regulations in the Government General could have catestrophic consequences. The Gestapo in January 1940 arrested Andrej Kott who was leading a cladestine youth group. Kott's parents were converted Jews and he was a practicing Catholic. As a warning to others, the Gestapo on January 18 rounded up 255 prominent Jews (including businessmen, chemists, engineers, industrialists, musicians, teachers, and others). They were taken outside Warsaw and shot in a woods. [Gilbert, p. 292.] While Scouting was outlawed, the NAZIs were unable to destroy the movement. Scouts continued to operate underground. In fact, it played an important role in the ressistance. There were many examples of heroic ressistanc to the NAZIs. Scouts for example delivered the mail during the Warsaw uprising in 1944. Tragically, most of the boys involved were killed.

Soviet Occupied Western Poland (1939-44)

Scouting and other pre-War Polish youth groups were also illegal in Soviet occupied Western Poland. Presumably the Soviets orhanized Young Pioneer units, but we have no details at this time. The Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Thus German regulations similar to those in the Government General would have been in force until the Red Army drove the Germans out of Poland in 1944. The Western area was, however, annexed by the Soviet Union and is now part of Belorussia or the Ukraine.

Sources

Gilbert, Martin. A History of the Twentieth Century Vol. 2 1933-54 (William Morrow and Company, Inc.: New York, 1998), 1050p.







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Created: February 2, 2002
Last updated: 7:57 PM 8/18/2009