Hitler Strikes Poland: Blitzkrieg, Ideology, and Atrocity
- ISBN-10
- 0700612343
- ISBN-13
- 9780700612345
- Category
- History / Europe / Germany
- Pages
- 343
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2003
- Publisher
- University Press of Kansas
- Author
- Alexander B. Rossino
Description
It was one of the most ruthlessly conceived and executed invasions in the annals of warfare. Hitler's Polish campaign unleashed a blitzkrieg in which SS troops, police squads, and the army itself waged an ethnic war of unprecedented brutality. Tens of thousands of Poles-roughly 80 percent of whom were Christian-were summarily executed in acts of collective punishment. After six weeks, a country was crushed and the world was at war. Usually given short shrift in most histories of World War II, the invasion of Poland was more than a series of opening salvos; it was a testing ground for German brutalities to come. In this first intensive study of the invasion, Alexander Rossino provides a comprehensive study of the Polish campaign, including disturbing new insights into its racist and ideological underpinnings. Rossino tells how this invasion melded the ideology of the Nazi party with Germany's military yearning for empire in the East. The Polish campaign was important as the first step in Hitler's drive for "living space" for Germans in Eastern Europe, and as the blitzkrieg decimated urban residential areas, civilians soon became indistinguishable from combatants. In addition to describing military operations, Rossino also provides a close analysis of SS plans to murder Polish leaders, German army reprisal policies, and the close collaboration of Wehrmacht and SS forces in the subjugation and execution of Polish citizens. Rossino considers both top-level decision making and the experiences of German soldiers as he explores the mentality of those who perpetrated crimes against civilians. He particularly investigates the links between Nazi racial-political policies and military action to show that Poland was merely the German army's dress rehearsal for the later slaughter of other Slavs and Jews during the Russian campaign. By providing a detailed examination of atrocities committed by both military and SS personnel, he shows that the Wehrmacht's criminality was clearly evident at the beginning of the war. Hitler Strikes Poland is a startling reconstruction of history that clearly reveals the extent to which Nazi philosophy drove the German war machine. By placing German expansionism in its ideological context, it can help us better understand the brutality of the years that followed and better appreciate the suffering of the Polish people.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2003-05-01
- 360 pages
- Paperback
- University Press of Kansas
Similar books
-
German Revolutionists of 1848: Surnames A through F
By Clifford Neal SmithGerman Revolutionists of 1848: Surnames A through F
-
1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR--Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny
By David Pietrusza259; Neal, pp. 159-60; Davis (New York), p. 263; Voss, p. 280; Urofsky, p. 247. FDR biographer Kenneth S. Davis concluded that Roosevelt had not only attacked Wise and Holmes “on grounds palpably sophistic but also ...
-
סימבוליקה מינית ופרשנות המרכבה באשכנז: A Study of the Sod Ha-egoz Texts
By Daniel Abrams35 32 The text was apparently known to Jacob ha - Kohen , the first known Kabbalist in Castile ( Soria ) , in his Commentary to ... of R. Zarfati on the Book Ma'arekhet ha - Elohuť , master's thesis , The Hebrew University , 1987 , p .
-
1918: The German Offensives
By John Sheen. . The whole book is a superb piece of work, highly recommended.”—Destructive Music “Particularly atmospheric . . . This is an unusual and welcome selection of illustrations.”—Military Illustrated
-
生而有罪: 纳粹子女访谈录
By （奥）彼得·西施罗夫斯基科尔的说法显示了德国存在的一种无辜感,各种政治团体和政治学家试图用它来定义新近出现的德国的自我价值观。 阿道夫·穆斯克的意图是检验这些德国新人的教育情况。他以对十九岁的斯特凡妮的采访为起点,尤其注意她对学校中种种事情的叙述,以及她的老师对第 ...
-
1924: The Year That Made Hitler
By Peter Ross RangePlöckinger, Geschichte, 33, footnote to Paula Schlier, Petras Aufzeichnungen, (Innsbruck: Brenner-Verlag, 1926), 136. Hemmrich, “Adolf Hitler,” 16. Facsimile of letter in Toland, Adolf Hitler, 224–25. Hess, Briefe, 332.
-
犯罪故意研究
By 贾宇著注487 赵:《论共同犯“思联络”的观预备性》,载《武汉大学学报(哲学科学)》2007年 6期。注488 〔苏联〕伊宁:《犯构成的一学说》,秉忠等译,中国人大学 1958年, 234页。注489 张旭主编:《英美刑论要》,清华大学 2006 年, 121—122页。
-
Munich: Hofbräuhaus & History : Beer, Culture, & Politics
By Jeffrey S. GaabThis book explores the connection between beer, culture, and politics in Munich to examine the crucial role the city has played in the development of modern Germany over the last thousand years.
-
1939: The Alliance That Never Was and the Coming of World War II
By Michael Jabara Carley358—3 59. 75. Litvinov (Geneva) to Narkomindel, Sept. 15, 193 8, DIMS, pp. 213—214. 76. Fierlinger to Czech foreign ministry, Sept. 19, 1 9 3 8, DIMS, p. 236. 77. Coulondre, nos. 694—696, Sept. 17, 193 8, DDF, 2°, XI, 278-279. 78.
-
Pure Soldiers Or Sinister Legion: The Ukrainian 14th Waffen-SS Division
By Sol LittmanBetween 1950 and 1955, thousands of veterans from the notorious German-led, Ukrainian 14th Waffen-SS Galicia Division emigrated to North America with the full consent of the governments despite immigration regulations...