By Keyword:   Chapter PROLOGUE 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 EPILOGUE Or, Page Number: Click on an image to see a larger, more detailed picture.		1939: The War Against The Jews  pg. 180    Piotr Sosnowski, a deacon from Byslaw, Poland, was executed in what is thought to be the Tuchola Forest. On October 27, 1939, a group of Polish prisoners was transported to an execution spot two kilometers outside of town. When the trucks reached the forest, the prisoners were ordered to empty their pockets and dig a large grave. After the grave was completed, Deacon Sosnowski gave the men absolution before the commanding SS officer, Colonel Wilhelm Theodor Richardt, ordered his men to shoot the Poles as reprisal for the burning of two barns owned by ethnic Germans. Altogether, 45 Poles, including Sosnowski, were killed. Photo: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archive The newly formed Judenrat (Jewish council) of Warsaw, Poland, receives its instructions from SD officials. The Jewish councils, comprised of community leaders, were charged with carrying out the orders issued by the Nazis. They were responsible for supplying the Nazis with laborers, allocating housing assignments, collecting taxes, and, eventually, filling deportation quotas. Judenrat leaders were in a catch-22: Failure to comply with their orders meant death at the hands of the Nazis, while compliance facilitated efforts to eradicate the Jews. Photo: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archive Poles in Grudziadz construct bridges for the Reich Labor Service. Nazi Germany made extensive use of slave labor throughout the conquered territories in Eastern Europe. Almost invariably, Jews were given the most strenuous jobs and the smallest rations. Hence, the number of deaths among Jewish workers was always higher than for non-Jews. Photo: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archive Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels (center) visited Warsaw, Poland, in November 1939. Nazi bigwigs enjoyed their trips to the conquered territories. Goebbels's host was the infamous chief of the Generalgouvernement, Hans Frank, a notorious antisemite who wanted all of the Generalgouvernement's Jews deported. When this proved impractical, he became a staunch supporter of murdering Polish Jews in order to make room for Aryan settlers. Photo: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archive  November 23, 1939: Polish Jews are ordered to wear white armbands with a blue Star of David whenever appearing in public.  November 29, 1939: SS chief Heinrich Himmler orders the death penalty for German Jews who refuse to report for deportation.  November-December 1939: General Johannes Blaskowitz, the commander-in-chief of Greater Germany's Eastern sector, complains to the German High Command that the activities of Einsatzgruppen (killing squads) are excessively brutal and a threat to army discipline. His complaints are noted but are largely ignored; Einsatzgruppen activities continue as before.   1939: The War Against The Jews  pg. 180  The Holocaust Chronicle © 2009 Publications International, Ltd.