WI - Vichy Poland?

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
There were plans that were carried out in that fashion. For instance, the Germans were infamous for separating Polish children from their families if the children looked German (ie the Aryan blond hair blue eyes) and give them to German families while there parents were worked to death through concentration camps and the planned enslavement of the Slavs, of which the Poles are a part.

That sounds like alot of Polish kids to me - blondism is even more prominent in Poland than Germany I think.

https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/214-the-blonde-map-of-europe
 
OTL the Germans approached Wincenty Witos about forming a puppet Polish government. Naturally, he declined and spent the rest of the war under Gestapo supervision. Witos was a Polish nationalist, so I think it is unlikely he would want to lead such a state under any circumstances.

In order for such a state to be formed, I would guess that right wing Poles would have to somehow come to believe that the Soviets are the greater threat. OTL the Polish government never declared war on Russia, and urged its soldiers to not resist the Soviets. Would a bloodier war with the Soviets (possibly with a larger Soviet occupation zone) be enough to convince conservative Poles collaboration with Germany is Poland's best option?
 

The Avenger

Banned
As I said, OTL Hitler wanted to create something similiar but Stalin objected that. If something like that was created however it wouldn't affect much as they already escaped through Romania when campaign ended.
It could make a difference in regards to the Holocaust. If Poland's nominally independent, a larger percentage of Polish Jews might be spared--especially after it becomes clear that the Axis might not win the war.
 
What if Nazi Germany established a puppet regime in central or eastern Poland with a similar situation like Vichy France in the German occupation of Poland?

"The object of the war is … physically to destroy the enemy. That is why I have prepared, for the moment only in the East, my 'Death's Head' formations with orders to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish descent or language. Only in this way can we obtain the living space we need."

Hitler told his generals this on 22 August. There was no possibility of a "Vichy" regime in German-occupied Poland, because it was an essential element of Hitler's plan to completely destroy Polish government and society, leaving only a slave population to be exploited by Germany.
 
Top