POLISH FORT-NIGHTLY REVIEW

"How the Germans are starving Poland"

Polish Ministry of Information No. 58

Tuesday, December 15th, 1942 London

In the introduction to No.55 of the Polish Fortnightly Review we pointed out that German is pursuing different political and economic objectives in the various parts of occupied Poland, and that the methods applied by the respective German occupation authorities are also different, in accordance with the role which is assigned to the particular area. these differences are also manifest in the sphere of food supplies and in the food rationing system

Rood Rationing in the General Government: 

The conditions of existence for Polish civilians living in the General Government are still worse than those in the "incorporated areas". This artificial creation, shut away behind unnatural boundaries arbitrarily imposed by the Germans, and cut off from the rest of the country, has as much less fertile soil than that of Western Poland. On the other hand, it has a much greater density of population.

Before the war the the area was unable to grow sufficient food to support its inhabitants, and had to make good the deficiencies by bringing in food from the more fertile lands of Western Poland. Even in years of good harvests with some 40,000 toms of wheat and over 200,000 tons rye had to be brought in to cover the shortage. In addition the continual influx of large numbers of Poles, now aggregating nearly two millions, whom the Germans mercilessly drove out of the "incorporated" areas, contributed its share to the progressive deterioration of the food situation.

Economic Exploitation:

The Germans have no positive plan of economic policy in regard to the General Government, and aim solely at extracting the maximum benefit from the area for the Reich itself. This "reservation for the Polish population" has got not only to feed itself, but also to supply as much food as possible first and foremost for the great numbers of German soldiers.

The economic aims which the German authorities are pursuing could not be better expressed than they were in a secret memorandum issued by Governor-General Hans Frank on January 25th, 1940 Nr. G.B. 1/40. This memo (a copy of which is in the possession of the Polish Government in London, lays down a detailed program for the economic exploitation of the country.

Issued with the authority of Field-Marshall Goering, it opens with the following concise statement of the principle by which the exploitation of the G/G (I.E General Government) is to be governed:

"In view of the present requirements of the Reich's war economy, no fundamentally long term policy can be pursued in the G/G. On the contrary, the economy of the G/G must be so directed that it should at the earliest possible moment produce the maximum of what is possible to extract from the local resources within the G/G for the immediate reinforcement of the Reich Military strength."

The Jewish Food Situation:

Read the full article here: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/nazioccupation/polandstarved.html

The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team

www.HolocaustResearchProject.org


Copyright.  Carmelo Lisciotto H.E.A.R.T 2009