Around six million Polish citizens are estimated to have perished during World War II. Most were civilians killed by the actions of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, the Lithuanian Security Police, as well as the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and its offshoots.
Auschwitz II-Birkenau
German and Soviet army officers pictured shaking hands; Invasion of Poland, September 1939
Execution of 56 Polish civilians in Bochnia during the German takeover of Poland, 18 December 1939
Public execution of 10 Polish hostages by German troops in Gąbin, 15 June 1941
During the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II, Nazi Germany carried out a number of atrocities involving Polish prisoners of war (POWs). During that period, the Wehrmacht is estimated to have mass murdered at least 3,000 Polish POWs, with the largest atrocities being the Ciepielów massacre of 8 September 1939 and the Zambrów massacre of 13–14 September. Most of those atrocities are classified as war crimes of the Wehrmacht. Jewish soldiers with the Polish Army were also more likely than others to be victims of various atrocities.
Soldiers of the Polish Army taken prisoner by German troops in September 1939
Śladów massacre memorial
Monument, in Zambrów, to fallen soldiers of the Polish 71st Infantry Regiment. Some of them may have been among victims of the Zambrów massacre.