User:Ealdgyth/General Government audit

General Government


 * 1) "was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovakia and the Soviet Union in 1939 at the onset of World War II." ... why is Slovakia mentioned in this?
 * 2) "who, disregarding international law, were named the only rightful citizens of Nazi Germany." .. I don't think we mean that the ethnic Germans in Poland were "the only rightful citizens of Nazi Germany" as that reads that we're saying that even the ethnic Germans in Germany weren't rightful citizens. I believe what is meant is "who, disregarding international law, were the only residents of the General Government who were held to have citizenship rights in the Nazi state"?
 * 3) "The administration of the General Government was composed entirely of German officials, with the intent that the area was to be colonized by Germanic settlers who would reduce the local Polish population to the level of serfs before their eventual genocide." is sourced to " Ewelina Żebrowaka-Żolinas Polityka eksterminacyjna okupanta hitlerowskiego na Zamojszczyźnie Studia Iuridica Lublinensia 17, 213-229" which ... I believe .. is this source? I don't have access to the actual paper, but the title appears to be "Extermination policy of the Nazi occupier in the Zamość region" which makes this about a specific region, not something that can be extrapolated to the entire General Government.
 * 4) "The full title of the regime in Germany until July 1940 was the Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete, a name that is usually translated as "General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories". Governor Hans Frank, on Hitler's authority, shortened the name on 31 July 1940 to just Generalgouvernement." is sourced to Hans Frank's diary - a primary source
 * 5) "The German designation of Generalgouvernement was chosen in reference to Generalgouvernement Warschau, a civil entity created in the area by the German Empire during World War I. This district existed from 1914 to 1918 together with an Austro-Hungarian-controlled Military Government of Lublin alongside the short-lived Kingdom of Poland of 1916–1918, a similar rump state formed out of the then-Russian-controlled parts of Poland." is sourced to War Land on the Eastern Front: Culture, National Identity, and German Occupation in World War I but that page does not support most of the information given - the source is a work on WWI, so doesnt' support the "The German designation of Generalgouvernement was chosen in reference" and source says the Government General of Warsaw was created in August 1915, not 1914 like our article text. The source doesn't support any of the rest of the sentence either.
 * 6) "where the German armies had halted their advance and linked up with the Soviet Red Army in accordance with their secret pact against Poland" "linked up" implies that the Germans and Soviet armies joined together and were part of some alliance that worked together - this is pretty much not the case.
 * 7) "Hitler decreed the direct annexation to the German Reich of large parts of the occupied Polish territory in the western half of the German zone, in order to increase the Reich's Lebensraum." is sourced to "Erlaß des Führers und Reichskanzlers über die Gliederung und Verwaltung der Ostgebiete" which I believe is this (I accessed through google translate) which is an actual Hitler decree and thus a primary source and thus can't be used to make a deduction from it (the "in order to increase the Reich's Lebensraum.")
 * 8) "Germany organized most of these areas as two new Reichsgaue: Danzig-West Prussia and Wartheland. The remaining three regions, the so-called areas of Zichenau, Eastern Upper Silesia and the Suwałki triangle, became attached to adjacent Gaue of Germany. Draconian measures were introduced by both RKF and HTO,[a] to facilitate the immediate Germanization of the annexed territory, typically resulting in mass expulsions, especially in the Warthegau. The remaining parts of the former Poland were to become a German Nebenland (March, borderland) as a frontier post of German rule in the east. A Führer's decree of October 12, 1939 established the General Government; the decree came into force on October 26, 1939." is sourced to Majer Non-Germans under the Third Reich pp. 236-246 which isn't available online but I do own. Pp. 236-246 is all about citizenship and Germanization... not about the annexation of western areas of Poland to Germany.
 * 9) "The official name chosen for the new entity was the Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete (General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories), then changed to the Generalgouvernement (General Government) by Frank's decree of July 31, 1940. However, this name did not imply anything about the actual nature of the administration. The German authorities never regarded these Polish lands (apart from the short period of military administration during the actual invasion of Poland) as an occupied territory." is sourced to Majer p. 265. The source supports that the name was "General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories" until July 31, 1940, but none of the rest of this.
 * 10) "Overall, 4 million of the 1939 population of the General Government area had lost their lives by the time the Soviet armed forces entered the area in late 1944. If the Polish underground killed a German, 50–100 Poles were executed by German police as a punishment and as a warning to other Poles." is sourced to this source from Yad Vashem and it contains a copyright violation - "If the Polish underground killed a German, 50--100 Poles were executed as a punishment and warning." is what the source says. Nor does it support the rest of the information given.
 * 11) "By 1942 Hitler and Frank had agreed that the Kraków ("with its purely German capital") and Lublin districts would be the first areas for German colonists to re-populate." is sourced to Hitler's Table Talk, a primary source.
 * 12) "German bureaucrats drew up various plans regarding the future of the original population. One called for the deportation of about 20 million Poles to western Siberia, and the Germanisation of 4 to 5 million; although deportation in reality meant many Poles were to be put to death, a small number would be "Germanized", and young Poles of desirable qualities would be kidnapped and raised in Germany." is sourced to this web page which is titled "Selections from Janusz Gumkowski and Kazimierz Leszczynski Poland Under Nazi Occupation" which was a 1961 work - and thus there are several issues with this - there is no indication that the webpage has the right to reprint these selections and the work is quite old and likely has been superceded by more recent scholarship. It also doesn't support the "although deportation in reality meant many Poles were to be put to death" as the source discusses the Wetzel plan (the one that discusses 20 million Poles) and does not say that they would be put to death.
 * 13) "In 1943, the government selected the Zamojskie area for further Germanization on account of its fertile black soil, and German colonial settlements were planned. Zamość was initially renamed by the government to Himmlerstadt (Himmler City), which was later changed to Pflugstadt (Plough City), both names were not implemented. Most of the Polish population was expelled by the Nazi occupation authorities with documented brutality. Himmler intended the city of Lublin to have a German population of 20% to 25% by the beginning of 1944, and of 30% to 40% by the following year, at which time Lublin was to be declared a German city and given a German mayor." is sourced to this source p. 99 which does support that the Zamojskie area was slated for further Germanization and the "Himmler intended the city of Lublin to have a German population of 20% to 25% by the beginning of 1944, and of 30% to 40% by the following year, at which time Lublin was to be declared a German city and given a German mayor." and is pretty much a copy-paste of the source. The rest of this is not supported by the source. This is also a source from 1974 and it is possible that new research has changed some of the scholarship on this - especially given the opening of the Soviet archives.
 * 14) "The General Government had no international recognition. The territories it administered were never either in whole or part intended as any future Polish state within a German-dominated Europe. According to the Nazi government the Polish state had effectively ceased to exist, in spite of the existence of a Polish government-in-exile." is sourced to Majer p. 302 but p. 302 is discussing labor law.
 * 15) "which – despite having to struggle with German censors and paper shortages – succeeded in publishing school textbooks, classics of Ukrainian literature, and the works of dissident Ukrainian writers from the Soviet Union. Krakivs'ki Visti was headed by Frank until the end of World War II and had as editor Michael Chomiak. It was "the leading legal newspaper" of the General Government and "attracted more (and better) contributors among whom were the most prominent Ukrainian cultural figures of the (early) 20th century" is sourced to a doctoral dissertation - so why is this doctoral student's opinion worth quoting?
 * 16) "The most numerous OrPo battalions focused on traditional security roles as an occupying force. Some of them were directly involved in the pacification operations." is sourced to Browning Origins of the Final Solution p. 349, 361. THe first sentence is not supported by Browning. The second ... this is a problem as p. 349 and p. 361 are discussing OrPo involvement (along with other German and Ukranian units) in the massacre and deportations of Jews - not "pacification actions" unless murdering Jews is seen as "pacification" but the link is from "the pacfication operations" to our article Pacification actions in German-occupied Poland
 * 17) "In the immediate aftermath of World War II, this latter role was obscured both by the lack of court evidence and by deliberate obfuscation, while most of the focus was on the better-known Einsatzgruppen ("Operational groups") who reported to RSHA led by Reinhard Heydrich." is sourced to Hillberg's The Destruction of the European Jews vol. III pp. 100-106 - but ... vol. III of Hillberg is paginated 861-1233+
 * 18) "Some 3,000 men served with the Sonderdienst in the General Government, formally assigned to the head of the civil administration." is sourced to p. 51, 98, 109, 124 sorta supports the "assigned to the head of the civil administration" - p. 98 says that "units known as the Sonderdienst were placed under the local county heads of the civil administration" but none of these pages give the number as 3000.
 * 19) "German administration constructed a terror system to control Polish people enforcing reports of any illegal activities, e.g. hiding Roma, POWs, guerilla fighters, Jews. Germans designated hostages, terrorised local leaders, applied collective responsibility. German police used sting operations to find and kill rescuers of the Germans' quarries." is sourced to this source - which supports some of it, but the given source does not mention Roma nor hostages nor "any illegal activities" - the article is purely discussing the search for Jews and Soviet POWs and partisans ... not any other illegal activities.
 * 20) "Thousands of anti-Semitic posters were distributed in Warsaw." is sourced to this source but the source only discusses anti-semitic propoganda in Germany, nothing about Warsaw. A second source is also given, but that's an abstract of a journal issue - and doesn't support the information either (the article may support it, but the article should be given, not the webpage of the abstract)
 * 21) "Germans wanted Poles to obey orders." is sourced to this source which does not support this statement (and what the statement contributes to this article is rather .. questionable?) It was added in [Special:Diff/846380746 this 2018 edit] by Xx236.
 * 22) "Propaganda newsreels of Die Deutsche Wochenschau (The German Weekly Review) preceded feature-film showings. Some feature films likewise contained Nazi propaganda. The Polish underground discouraged Poles from attending movies, advising them, in the words of the rhymed couplet, "Tylko świnie / siedzą w kinie" ("Only swine go to the movies")." is sourced to this web page which is just a listing of the book - and does not support the information - again, the book might, but the web page describing the book does not.
 * 23) "Germans killed thousands of Poles, many of them civilian hostages, in Warsaw streets and locations around Warsaw (Warsaw ring), to terrorize the population – they shot or hanged them." is sourced to this tourist web page which does not support the statement beyond the fact that some Poles were killed, and to this page "ExecutedToday" which details the death of 22 Poles ... but again, does not support this information in the article.
 * 24) "About 860,000 Poles and Jews were resettled into the General Government after they were expelled from the territories 'annexed' by Nazi Germany. Offsetting this was the German genocidal campaign of liquidation of the Polish intelligentsia and other elements considered likely to resist. From 1941 disease and hunger also began to reduce the population." Note that no mention was made of the shootings and death of Jews as a reason for the decline of population also.
 * 25) "After the invasion of Poland in 1939, Jews over the age of 12 and Poles over the age of 14 living in the General Government were subject to forced labor." is sourced to Majer p. 302 - which supports the information about Poles, but not the information about Jews.
 * 26) "Former Polish state property was confiscated by the General Government (or by Nazi Germany in the annexed territories). Notable property of Polish individuals (ex. factories and large land estates) was often confiscated as well and managed by German "trusts" (German: Treuhänder). Jewish population was deported to the Ghettos, their dwelling and businesses were confiscated by the Germans, small businesses were sometimes passed to the Poles." is sourced to this source which is discussing the "treuhander" in terms of Jewish property - not Polish. Nor does it support any other information in the article. The source was attached to the first two sentences of this with [Special:Diff/724611725 this 2016 edit] by Xx236 - but it did not support the information then.
 * 27) "There was a shift in the amount of resources that were being used by the Generalgouvernement from 1939 to 1940. For example, in 1939, seven million tons of coal were used but in 1940 this was reduced to four million tons of coal used by the Generalgouvernement. This shift was emblematic of the shortages in supplies, depriving the Jews and Poles of their only heating source. Although before the war, Poland exported mass quantities of food, in 1940 the Generalgouvernement was unable to supply enough food for the country, nonetheless exporting food supplies" is sourced to page 92 of this source which supports the "4 million tons of coal used in 1940" but the figure of 7 million tons of coal usage is for 1938, not 1939. The "Although before the war, Poland exported mass quantities of food, in 1940 the Generalgouvernement was unable to supply enough food for the country, nonetheless exporting food supplies" is supported, but "This shift was emblematic of the shortages in supplies, depriving the Jews and Poles of their only heating source." is not supported nor is "There was a shift in the amount of resources that were being used by the Generalgouvernement from 1939 to 1940." The change from 1938 to 1939 was made with [Special:Diff/851995708 this 2018 edit].
 * 28) "The prices for food outside of ghettos and concentration camps had to be set at a reasonable price in order for them to align with the black market; setting prices at a reasonable rate would ensure that farmers did not sell their crops illegally. If the prices were set too high in cities there was a concern that workers would not be able to afford the food and protest the prices. Due to the price inflation which was occurring in the Generalgouvernement, many places relied on the barter system (exchanging goods for other goods instead of money). "Introducing rationing in September 1940, Marshal Petain insisted that ‘everyone must assume their share of common hardship.’"" is sourced to this source p. 279 but it does not support most of the information in our article. Nor is the quote by Petain on that page - Petain is not even mentioned on the page - and why in an article about Poland is Petain even mentioned, much less quoted???
 * 29) "There was clearly food instability not only in the ghettos, but also in cities, which caused everyone to be conscious about food rationing, and caused conditions for Jewish people to worsen. While workers in Norway and France protested the new rationing of food, Germany and the UK, where the citizens supported war efforts were more supportive of the rationing therefore it was more effective. Cases, where a country was being occupied, caused the citizens to be more hesitant about the rationing of food and it was overall not as effective." is sourced to this source pp. 277-279 which sorta supports it - but it is a very close paraphrase of several sentences in the source - and again - why are we getting information about Norway, France, Germany and the UK!!! here?
 * 30) "In December, 1941 it was recognized by the Generalgouvernement that starving the Jewish people to death was an inexpensive and expedient solution. In August 1942, the Reich decided to decrease the food supply from the Generalgouvernement, deciding that 1.2 million Jews that were not completing jobs that were "important to Germany" would no longer be given food." is sourced to this source p. 102 which mostly supports the information (although I did correct it from "to decrease the food supply from the Generalgouvernment" to the more correct to the source "the required food shipments from the General Government to the Reich were increased"
 * 31) "The Nazis knew the effects of depriving the Jewish people of food, yet it continued; the ultimate revolt against the Jewish race was mass murder due to starvation. The Food and Agriculture Ministry administered the rations of food in concentration camps." is sourced to [https://www.proquest.com/docview/305208240 this 230+ page PhD dissertation without any page given so ... I'm not going to try to verify this. And what is "the ultimate revolt against the Jewish race was mass murder due to starvation" supposed to mean - it feels like a bad machine translation...
 * 32) "The Nazis knew the effects of depriving the Jewish people of food, yet it continued; the ultimate revolt against the Jewish race was mass murder due to starvation. The Food and Agriculture Ministry administered the rations of food in concentration camps.[64] Each camp's administration got food from the open market and depots of the Waffen-SS (Standartenführer Tschentscher). Once the food arrived at a camp, it was up to the administration how to distribute it. The diet for the Jews in these camps was "watery turnip soup drunk from pots; it was supplemented by an evening meal of sawdust bread with some margarine, ‘smelly marmalade,’ or ‘putrid sausage.’ Between the two meals inmates attempted to lap a few drops of polluted water from the faucet in a wash barracks."" is sourced to Hillberg Destruction (2004) pp. 581-582. I can't access this source as the only editions available at Internet ARchive are the 1985 three volume set and some other earlier editions, but I'm going to say that I suspect the quotation is about one specific camp and should not be used to imply that this was across all the camps.
 * 33) "During this environment of food scarcity Jews turned to the black market for any source of sustenance. The black market was important both in and outside of the ghettos from 1940 to 1944. Outside of the ghettos, the black market existed because rations were not high enough for the citizens to remain healthy. In the ghettos of eastern Europe in August 1941 the Jewish population recognized that if they were forced to remain in these ghettos they would eventually die of hunger. Many people that were in ghettos made trades with the outside world in order to stay alive.[61] Jewish people were forced to reside in ghettos, where the economy was isolated and there were large food shortages, which caused them to be seen as a source for cheap labor; many were given food that was purchased on the Aryan side of the wall in exchange for their labor. The isolation of the people forced into ghettos caused there to be a disconnect between the buyer and seller, which added in another player: the black market middleman. The black market middleman would make a profit by creating connections between sellers and buyers. While supply and demand was inelastic in these ghettos, the selling of this food on the blackmarket was extremely competitive, and beyond the reach of most Jews in ghettos." This is all about the black market in the ghettos - and frankly, it reads like it was copied from somewhere else - it was added (along with the entire food supply section) almost all in one [Special:Diff/839533339 edit in 2018]
 * 34) "Germans plundered Polish museums. Many of the pieces of art perished." is sourced to this website
 * 35) "Hans Frank was an avid chess player, so he organized General Government chess tournaments. Only Germans were allowed to perform in sporting events. About 80 football clubs played in four district divisions." is sourced to this source which only supports the second and third sentences - sorta. Added with [Special:Diff/842883221 this 2018 edit]
 * 36) "During the Wannsee conference on January 20, 1942, the State Secretary of the General Government, SS-Brigadeführer Josef Bühler encouraged Heydrich to implement the "Final Solution". From his own point of view, as an administrative official, the problems in his district included an overdeveloped black market. He endorsed a remedy in solving the "Jewish question" as fast as possible. An additional point in favor of setting up the extermination facilities in his governorate was that there were no transportation problems there" is sourced to the Wannsee conference protocol which is a primary source so we cannot make conclusions from it in wikivoice nor should we repeat the Nazi line uncritically either.
 * 37) "The newly drafted Operation Reinhard would be a major step in the systematic liquidation of the Jews in occupied Europe, beginning with those in the General Government. Within months, three top-secret camps were built and equipped with stationary gas chambers disguised as shower rooms, based on Action T4, solely to efficiently kill thousands of people each day. The Germans began the elimination of the Jewish population under the guise of "resettlement" in spring of 1942. The three Reinhard camps including Treblinka (the deadliest of them all) had transferable SS staff and almost identical design. The General Government was the location of four of the seven extermination camps of World War II in which the most extreme measures of the Holocaust were carried out, including closely located Majdanek concentration camp, Sobibor extermination camp and Belzec extermination camp. The genocide of undesired "races", chiefly millions of Jews from Poland and other countries, was carried out by gassing between 1942 and 1944." is sourced to page 37 of this source which is ... about the initial construction of Treblinka and does not support any of this article text. It was added, with the p. 37 sourcing, in [Special:Diff/677632704 this 2015 edit]
 * 38) I'll note that the Holocaust section is two paragraphs - one of which is repeating Buhler's talking points from the Wannsee conference, and the other is aobut the extermination camps. There is no mention of Auschwitz, the ghettos, or any other parts of the Holocaust. No mention of the number of Polish Jews who died.
 * 39) "Hans Frank instituted a reign of terror against the civilian population" is sourced to this source which does not really state anything about a "reign of terror" It was added in [Special:Diff/904636634 this 2019 edit]