Following the Soviet invasion on September 17, 1939, the NKVD conducted four major waves of mass deportations from the eastern territories ( Kresy ).
Most were dumped into the General Government (central Poland), often in overcrowded transit camps with minimal food or shelter. WypД™dzeni 1939... Deportacje obywateli polskich...
Primarily ethnic Poles and Jews were removed to make way for Volksdeutsche (ethnic German) settlers from other parts of Europe. Following the Soviet invasion on September 17, 1939,
Estimates of total expulsions by Nazi Germany range from 1.7 million to nearly 2.5 million people. Estimates of total expulsions by Nazi Germany range from 1
From the start of the occupation, Germany aimed to "Germanize" the western and northern Polish territories (such as Greater Poland, Pomerania, and Upper Silesia) that were directly annexed into the Third Reich.
Families were often given only 15 to 60 minutes to pack small belongings before being loaded into unheated freight trains. 2. Soviet Deportations (1939–1941)