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New Dis-Order.

Bundesarchiv (labelled \"Hoffmann 1 March 1944).

Gauleiter of the Warthegau Arthur Greisler congratulates the "one millionth German settler" in "Reichsgau Wartheland", March 1944. One million seems an improbably high number; however, Greisler was one of the most enthusiastic resettler of ethnic Germans in the areas of Poland annexed to Germany. This involved resettling very large numbers of native Poles somewhere else - but one cannot make omelettes without breaking eggs. There were, in fact, considerable strains and inconsistencies within the Nazi resettlement policies overall. Some more "moderate" leaders (including Minister Rosemberg) objected to the harsh treatment meted out to the Poles ("lesser Ayrians") by the likes of Greisler. Others - like Greisler's bete noir, neighbouring Danzig's Gauleiter Albert Forster, went further in simplifying the "Germanisation" problem by Germanising just about any Pole in their district that was ever so remotely qualified, and refusing to indulge in the antics of resettlement. In eastern Poland, , in the Government-General, the Lublin district, a prosperous, resource-rich area, was a priority for resettlement under direct orders from Himmler; but the plan to effect this collapsed in a welter of confusion, with Governor-General Frank and his district officials objecting forcefully to the demographic and economic disruption caused by the (typically forceful) efforts of SS-Gruppenfuhrer Odilo Globocnik and his staff to effect the required population "adjustment". Whether the fact that one of Frank's local officers was an SS Gruppenfuhrer and a brother-in-law of Himmler is open to conjecture. One thing that is safe to say is that many, many human beings - Poles, Germans, Jews and others - were treated worse than so many bales of straw during the process. Yet another sad chapter ... One further point - the gentleman standing between Greisler and the "lucky" settler is Gruppenfuhrer Dr. Jur. Heinrich (Heinz) Reinefarth, of Warsaw Uprising "fame". Following his actions as von dem Bach's principal lieutenant in putting down the Warsaw Uprising, he was awarded the Oakleaves to his Knight's Cross in September, 1944. Best regards, JR.