Operation Himmler
Encyclopedia
Operation Himmler was a Nazi Germany
false flag
project to create the appearance of Polish
aggression against Germany, which was subsequently used by Nazi propaganda
to justify the invasion of Poland
. Operation Himmler was arguably the first act of the Second World War
in Europe.
had carried out a national and international propaganda
campaign accusing Polish authorities of organizing or tolerating violent ethnic cleansing
of ethnic German
s living in Poland. On 22 August, Adolf Hitler
told his generals:
The plan, named after its inventor, Heinrich Himmler
, was supervised by Reinhard Heydrich
and (primarily) by Heinrich Müller. The goal of this false flag
project was to create the appearance of Polish
aggression against Germany, which was subsequently used to justify the invasion of Poland
. Hitler also might have hoped to confuse the Polish allies (the United Kingdom
and France
) to delay or prevent their declaration of war on Germany.
and the SD
. The German troops, dressed in Polish uniforms, would storm various border buildings, scare the locals with inaccurate shots, carry out acts of vandalism, and retreat, leaving behind dead bodies in Polish uniforms.
The bodies were in fact prisoners from concentration camps; they were dressed in Polish uniforms, killed (often by a lethal injection of a poison, then shot for appearance) and left behind. They were described as "Konserve" i.e., canned goods, in planning documents (which also led to the more informal name of the operation, Operation Konserve).
There were several separate operations, including staged attacks on:
, seized the Gleiwitz station and broadcast a short anti-German
message in Polish
(sources vary on the content on the message). Several prisoners (most likely from the Dachau concentration camp) and a local Polish-Silesia
n activist (arrested a day before) were left dead on the scene in Polish uniforms.
, Adolf Hitler
cited the 21 border incidents as justification for Germany's "defensive" action against Poland:
By mid-1939, thousands of Polish Volksdeutsche
had been secretly prepared for sabotage and guerrilla warfare by the Breslau (Wrocław) office of the Abwehr
; the purpose of their activities was to provoke anti-German reprisals that could be claimed as provocations by the Germans. Those German agents indeed cooperated with the German forces during the invasion of Poland, leading to some reprisals, highly exaggerated by the German Nazi propaganda. The most famous case of such a scenario was reportedly carried out during Bydgoszcz Bloody Sunday.
The operation failed to convince international public opinion of the German claims, but might have had more contemporary success in Germany itself, resulting in historical controversies and disputes (some continuing to this day).
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
false flag
False flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
project to create the appearance of Polish
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
aggression against Germany, which was subsequently used by Nazi propaganda
Nazi propaganda
Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...
to justify the invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
. Operation Himmler was arguably the first act of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Europe.
The plan
For months prior to the 1939 invasion, German newspapers and politicians like Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
had carried out a national and international propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
campaign accusing Polish authorities of organizing or tolerating violent ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
of ethnic German
German minority in Poland
The registered German minority in Poland consists of 152,900 people, according to a 2002 census.The German language is used in certain areas in Opole Voivodeship , where most of the minority resides...
s living in Poland. On 22 August, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
told his generals:
The plan, named after its inventor, Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, was supervised by Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
and (primarily) by Heinrich Müller. The goal of this false flag
False flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
project was to create the appearance of Polish
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
aggression against Germany, which was subsequently used to justify the invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
. Hitler also might have hoped to confuse the Polish allies (the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) to delay or prevent their declaration of war on Germany.
The execution
The operations were mostly carried out on 31 August 1939. The operation - as well as the main German offensive - was originally scheduled for 26 August; the shifting diplomatic situation resulted in delay until 31 August/1 September - but one of the German undercover units was not informed and carried out its attack on a German customs post; several Germans were killed before the incident ended. The operations were carried by agents of the SSSchutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
and the SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
. The German troops, dressed in Polish uniforms, would storm various border buildings, scare the locals with inaccurate shots, carry out acts of vandalism, and retreat, leaving behind dead bodies in Polish uniforms.
The bodies were in fact prisoners from concentration camps; they were dressed in Polish uniforms, killed (often by a lethal injection of a poison, then shot for appearance) and left behind. They were described as "Konserve" i.e., canned goods, in planning documents (which also led to the more informal name of the operation, Operation Konserve).
There were several separate operations, including staged attacks on:
- the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz (GliwiceGliwiceGliwice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Gliwice is the west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
) (this was arguably the most notable of Operation Himmler operations; see Gleiwitz incidentGleiwitz incidentThe Gleiwitz incident was a staged attack by Nazi forces posing as Poles on 31 August 1939, against the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany on the eve of World War II in Europe....
for details) - the German customs station at Hochlinden (today part of RybnikRybnikRybnik is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship. Rybnik is located close to the border with the Czech Republic and just outside the southern border of the largest urban area in Poland, the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union...
-Stodoły) - the forest service station in Pitschen (ByczynaByczynaByczyna is a town in Kluczbork County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,708 inhabitants .The town of Byczyna was first mention in 1054 when it temporarily served as the capital of the Bishopric of Wrocław...
)
The Gleiwitz incident
On the night of 31 August 1939 a small group of German operatives, dressed in Polish uniforms and led by Alfred NaujocksAlfred Naujocks
Alfred Helmut Naujocks, alias Hans Müller, Alfred Bonsen, or Rudolf Möbert , was an SS-Sturmbannführer , and took part in a staged incident intended to provide the justification for the attack on Poland by Nazi Germany, which in turn provoked the Second World War in Europe.-Early life:Naujocks was...
, seized the Gleiwitz station and broadcast a short anti-German
Anti-German sentiment
Anti-German sentiment is defined as an opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, and the German language. Its opposite is Germanophilia.-Russia:...
message in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
(sources vary on the content on the message). Several prisoners (most likely from the Dachau concentration camp) and a local Polish-Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
n activist (arrested a day before) were left dead on the scene in Polish uniforms.
Aftermath
On 1 September, in a speech in the ReichstagReichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
cited the 21 border incidents as justification for Germany's "defensive" action against Poland:
By mid-1939, thousands of Polish Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche - "German in terms of people/folk" -, defined ethnically, is a historical term from the 20th century. The words volk and volkische conveyed in Nazi thinking the meanings of "folk" and "race" while adding the sense of superior civilization and blood...
had been secretly prepared for sabotage and guerrilla warfare by the Breslau (Wrocław) office of the Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
; the purpose of their activities was to provoke anti-German reprisals that could be claimed as provocations by the Germans. Those German agents indeed cooperated with the German forces during the invasion of Poland, leading to some reprisals, highly exaggerated by the German Nazi propaganda. The most famous case of such a scenario was reportedly carried out during Bydgoszcz Bloody Sunday.
The operation failed to convince international public opinion of the German claims, but might have had more contemporary success in Germany itself, resulting in historical controversies and disputes (some continuing to this day).