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Die Polnischen Greueltaten (The Polish Atrocities) is a rare Nazi book which provides the conclusions of a criminal police investigation into the murder of ethnic Germans living in Poland early in September 1939. The material was assembled by Kriminalkommissar (and SS-Hauptsturmführer) Dr. Bernd Wehner in cooperation with Kriminalkommissar Discar and has a foreword by SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei Reinhard Heydrich (shown left). This book must not be confused with the German Foreign Office book by the same name and published in 1940, but without the criminal police investigation or the foreword by Heydrich.

Between 3 and 4 September 1939, during the early days of the German invasion of Poland, thousands of ethnic Germans in and around the city of Bromberg (south of Danzig in western Poland) were murdered by Poles, an event referred to as the Bromberger Blutsonntag or “Bloody Sunday” in Bromberg.

This 6-3/4 x 9-3/8 inch, 192-page publication was produced using the evidence that came out of the extensive criminal research that was done in Poland. This is NOT the same book that was published by the German Foreign Office in 1940 (also called Die Polnischen Greueltaten). This publication contains much more in-depth forensic and photographic material that was subsequently provided by a special team of Nazi Kripo investigators.

The text is very detailed about the time and location of the murders, rape and plunder (down to the name of a farm, street or retirement home), how the people were killed, even the number of bullet holes found in bodies.

Heydrich writes that the world has been shown proof of Polish atrocities against Volksdeutschen or ethnic Germans before, but that this book gives very specific, lesser known examples picked out of a wealth of material uncovered by the German criminal police investigators. The pages in this book should also serve as a monument to the victims, according to Heydrich, and a reminder that the Poles have set a new standard for crime and shame.

Cases of murder by Polish civilians (men and women), Polish policemen and Polish military personnel at different locations are shown and described in great detail. The well-known Bromberg example of course, but also horrific cases at Jesuit Lake, in Eichdorf, several outside Posen, as well as on small family farms and private property. Proof is also provided of numerous instances where Volksdeutschen were killed after they had been taken into custody by Polish authorities.

Die Polnischen Greueltaten contains 80 glossy pages of shocking photos of the ethnic Germans victims. There are corpses with bullet holes and missing limbs, crushed skulls and exploded craniums, corpses with the tied hands, murdered pregnant women and many dead babies and children, mutilated bodies, mass graves, etc. There is even a photo of a World War I veteran with two prostheses who was murdered (shown below).

All the photos are carefully indexed. There are many that we felt were simply too horrendous to be used on this historical web page.

The section with the glossy pages also has maps and detailed sketches of where some of these horrific events took place and other documentation assembled by the German criminal police investigators.

This 79 year old hardcover example of Die Polnischen Greueltaten has gold blocking on the front cover and spine. It was published in 1942 by Criminal Science and Practical Publishing House E. Jaedicke GmbH of Berlin and is in very good, little-used condition. No writing, no odor.

This is probably the last book on which Heydrich collaborated prior to his death at age 38 in June 1942!