As is well-known, one of the basic tenets of Nazism was the belief in the superiority of Germans over other races and nationalities. Particularly despised by the Nazis were the Slavic peoples, who were thought to be almost Asian in character and appearance. Many peoples of East Europe, including not only the Poles and Russians, but also the Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs and Ukrainians, belonged to this group. While the Germans reserved utmost contempt for the Jewish people at this time, they also spared no expense in trying to obliterate the Slavic peoples as well.
During the initial attack on Poland in September, 1939, the Germans made an effort to kill Polish civilians as well as soldiers. Cities were bombed and strafed by Luftwaffe aircraft, and stories circulated of airplanes hunting down civilians in the streets. On the ground, many Poles were executed summarily, without pretext or benefit of a trial. But the physical destruction of the Poles was only part of the plan. It was physically impossible to kill every single Pole-there were over 30 million of them-but the idea of Poland could be wiped out. The thought and the ideas that made Poland what it was could be destroyed, even as many of the Polish people survived. Poland was to exist no more as a nation; while the geographic location might remain, the cultural unit was to disappear.
The method in which the Nazis tried to destroy the Polish nation was by wiping out the intelligentsia. By killing off the educated the educated Polish classes, and prohibiting new ones from forming, the "heart" of Polish culture-language, literature, etc.-would be removed. To achieve this aim, Hitler's deputy Hans Frank was given the objective of wiping out the Poles. Prominent citizens were arrested, put in camps or killed. In November, 1939, 200 professors from the Jagiellonian University were sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where many died.
In order to keep the Poles from regrouping culturally, the Germans hindered them through education. The teaching of Geography and History were banned in schools. Universities were closed, and libraries were pillaged. Museums were also closed, and books and radios were ordered destroyed. Cultural organizations were shut down. The Poles were to be kept as a nation of slaves, fit only to serve their German masters.
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