Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)
The occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II (1939–1945) began with the Invasion of Poland in September 1939, and it was formally concluded with the defeat of Germany by the Allies in May 1945. Throughout the entire course of the occupation, the territory of Poland was divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (USSR), both of which intended to eradicate Poland's culture and subjugate its people. In the summer-autumn of 1941, the lands which were annexed by the Soviets were overrun by Germany in the course of the initially successful German attack on the USSR. After a few years of fighting, the Red Army drove the German forces out of the USSR and crossed into Poland from the rest of Central and Eastern Europe.
Beginning of Lebensraum, the German expulsion of Poles from western Poland, 1939
Operation Tannenberg, October 1939, mass murder of Polish townsmen in western Poland
German and Soviet soldiers stroll around Sambir after the German-Soviet invasion of Poland.
Expulsion of Poles from western Poland, with Poles led to the trains under German army escort, 1939.
Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union
Seventeen days after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which marked the beginning of the Second World War, the Soviet Union entered the eastern regions of Poland and annexed territories totalling 201,015 square kilometres (77,612 sq mi) with a population of 13,299,000. Inhabitants besides ethnic Poles included Belarusian and Ukrainian major population groups, and also Czechs, Lithuanians, Jews, and other minority groups.
Temporary borders created by advancing German and Soviet troops. The border was soon readjusted following diplomatic agreements.