Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland (Oxford Studies in Modern European History)

Model Nazi tells the story of Arthur Greiser, the man who initiated the Final Solution in Nazi-occupied Poland. Between 1939 and 1945, Greiser was the territorial leader of the Warthegau, an area of western Poland annexed to Nazi Germany. In an effort to make the Warthegau German, Greiser introduced numerous cruel policies. He spearheaded an influx of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans. He segregated Germans from Poles, and introduced wide-ranging discriminatory measures against the Polish population. He refashioned the urban and natural landscape to make it German. And even more chillingly, the first and longest standing ghetto, the largest forced labour program, and the first mass gassings of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe were all initiated under Greisers jurisdiction.Who was the man behind these dreadful policies? Catherine Epstein gives us a compelling biographical portrait of Greiser the man: his birth in the German-Polish borderlands, his rise to Nazi prominence in Danzig, his actions as party leader in the Warthegau, and his trial and execution in postwar Poland. Drawing on a remarkable array of German and Polish sources, she shows how nationalist obsessions, political jealousies, and personal insecurities shaped the policies of a man who held remarkable power in his Nazi fiefdom. Throughout, Epstein confronts a burning question of our age: why do individuals imagine genocide and ethnic cleansing to be solutions to political problems?DEPOSITили Model Nazi tells the story of Arthur Greiser, the man who initiated the Final Solution in Nazi-occupied Poland. Between 1939 and 1945, Greiser was the territorial leader of the Warthegau, an area of western Poland annexed to Nazi Germany. In an effort to make the Warthegau "German," Greiser introduced numerous cruel policies. He spearheaded an influx of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans. He segregated Germans from Poles, and introduced wide-ranging discriminatory measures against the Polish population. He refashioned the urban and natural landscape to make it "German." And even more chillingly, the first and longest standing ghetto, the largest forced labour program, and the first mass gassings of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe were all initiated under Greiser's jurisdiction. Who was the man behind these dreadful policies? Catherine Epstein gives us a compelling biographical portrait of Greiser the man: his birth in the German-Polish borderlands, his rise to Nazi prominence in Danzig, his actions as party leader in the Warthegau, and his trial and execution in postwar Poland. Drawing on a remarkable array of German and Polish sources, she shows how nationalist obsessions, political jealousies, and personal insecurities shaped the policies of a man who held remarkable power in his Nazi fiefdom. Throughout, Epstein confronts a burning question of our age: why do individuals imagine genocide and ethnic cleansing to be solutions to political problems? - Publisher. Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 List of Maps and Tables......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 14 Note on Place Names and Terminology......Page 16 Introduction......Page 18 1. ‘Child of the East:’ Posen Province, World War I, Danzig......Page 32 2. ‘Little Maria:’ Striving for Strength and Power in Danzig......Page 66 3. ‘The Nicest Time of My Life:’ Senate President......Page 102 4. The ‘Model Gau:’ The Warthegau......Page 141 5. ‘A Blonde Province:’ Resettlement, Deportation, Murder......Page 177 6. ‘The German is the Master:’ Segregation in the Warthegau......Page 210 7. ‘The Most Modern Streets:’ Exploiting Poles and Jews to Make the Gau German......Page 248 8. ‘Feudal Duke:’ Rule and Loss......Page 285 9. ‘Two Souls in My Breast:’ Trial and Execution......Page 322 Afterword......Page 359 Notes......Page 362 Selected Bibliography......Page 447 Acknowledgments......Page 456 C......Page 460 F......Page 461 G......Page 462 H......Page 463 K......Page 464 N......Page 465 R......Page 466 W......Page 467 Z......Page 468 019954641X,9780199546411 Oxford University Press, USA Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 List of Maps and Tables 12 List of Abbreviations 14 Note on Place Names and Terminology 16 Introduction 18 1. ‘Child of the East:’ Posen Province, World War I, Danzig 32 2. ‘Little Maria:’ Striving for Strength and Power in Danzig 66 3. ‘The Nicest Time of My Life:’ Senate President 102 4. The ‘Model Gau:’ The Warthegau 141 5. ‘A Blonde Province:’ Resettlement, Deportation, Murder 177 6. ‘The German is the Master:’ Segregation in the Warthegau 210 7. ‘The Most Modern Streets:’ Exploiting Poles and Jews to Make the Gau German 248 8. ‘Feudal Duke:’ Rule and Loss 285 9. ‘Two Souls in My Breast:’ Trial and Execution 322 Afterword 359 Notes 362 Selected Bibliography 447 Acknowledgments 456 Index 460 A 460 B 460 C 460 D 461 E 461 F 461 G 462 H 463 I 464 J 464 K 464 L 465 M 465 N 465 O 466 P 466 R 466 S 467 T 467 U 467 V 467 W 467 Y 468 Z 468 'Model Nazi' tells the story of Arthur Greiser. Between 1939 and 1945, Greiser was the territorial leader of the Warthegau. In an effort to make the Warthegau 'German', he introduced numerous cruel policies. He spearheaded an influx of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans and segregated the Germans from the Polish