Theo Young-Smith

They abolish Polish names, don't they? So the town of Auschwitz becomes Auschwitz. Auschwitz, exactly. National monuments are blown up. Teachers are murdered. All of this kind of thing. In the first three months of the year, the SS and the German militias of various kinds probably murdered, I don't know, 65,000, 70,000 people, priests, intellectuals, professional people.

But also, it's not just working through their lists. They're also killing people almost at random. So I'll give you a tiny example. It's just one small example that can stand for so many. There's a town called Gdynia in the north called Obuzha. And there, one day, somebody smashed a window at the German police station. And the SS knew it was someone from the school.

But also, it's not just working through their lists. They're also killing people almost at random. So I'll give you a tiny example. It's just one small example that can stand for so many. There's a town called Gdynia in the north called Obuzha. And there, one day, somebody smashed a window at the German police station. And the SS knew it was someone from the school.

But also, it's not just working through their lists. They're also killing people almost at random. So I'll give you a tiny example. It's just one small example that can stand for so many. There's a town called Gdynia in the north called Obuzha. And there, one day, somebody smashed a window at the German police station. And the SS knew it was someone from the school.

And they rounded up 50 boys from the school and said, who did it? And these boys, teenage boys, they refused to give up the culprit. And the SS called these boys' parents and said, we want you to beat up your own children, to beat them in front of the local church. And the parents said, we're not going to beat our own children. So the SS said, great, well, we'll do it then.

And they rounded up 50 boys from the school and said, who did it? And these boys, teenage boys, they refused to give up the culprit. And the SS called these boys' parents and said, we want you to beat up your own children, to beat them in front of the local church. And the parents said, we're not going to beat our own children. So the SS said, great, well, we'll do it then.

And they rounded up 50 boys from the school and said, who did it? And these boys, teenage boys, they refused to give up the culprit. And the SS called these boys' parents and said, we want you to beat up your own children, to beat them in front of the local church. And the parents said, we're not going to beat our own children. So the SS said, great, well, we'll do it then.

So they beat these boys with their rifle butts and then shot and killed 10 of them. And they left their bodies lying in front of the church the whole of the next day as a lesson to the people of the village. And that story is just one among countless stories of the kind of random brutality that would become the norm in...

So they beat these boys with their rifle butts and then shot and killed 10 of them. And they left their bodies lying in front of the church the whole of the next day as a lesson to the people of the village. And that story is just one among countless stories of the kind of random brutality that would become the norm in...

So they beat these boys with their rifle butts and then shot and killed 10 of them. And they left their bodies lying in front of the church the whole of the next day as a lesson to the people of the village. And that story is just one among countless stories of the kind of random brutality that would become the norm in...

nazi occupied poland which is effectively as close to hell on earth yeah as you get in as you would get in european history i think it's fair to say i mean if there's one place you don't want to be in your all european history is poland between 1939 and 1945 especially if you're jewish because with the division of poland

nazi occupied poland which is effectively as close to hell on earth yeah as you get in as you would get in european history i think it's fair to say i mean if there's one place you don't want to be in your all european history is poland between 1939 and 1945 especially if you're jewish because with the division of poland

nazi occupied poland which is effectively as close to hell on earth yeah as you get in as you would get in european history i think it's fair to say i mean if there's one place you don't want to be in your all european history is poland between 1939 and 1945 especially if you're jewish because with the division of poland

Of those three and a half million Jews, two million of them immediately have fallen into the hands of the Nazis. Now, even before the fall of Warsaw, Hitler is thinking about what to do with this population. And he says, why don't we put everybody into the general government, into this kind of weird colony that we've got centered on Warsaw and Krakow?

Of those three and a half million Jews, two million of them immediately have fallen into the hands of the Nazis. Now, even before the fall of Warsaw, Hitler is thinking about what to do with this population. And he says, why don't we put everybody into the general government, into this kind of weird colony that we've got centered on Warsaw and Krakow?

Of those three and a half million Jews, two million of them immediately have fallen into the hands of the Nazis. Now, even before the fall of Warsaw, Hitler is thinking about what to do with this population. And he says, why don't we put everybody into the general government, into this kind of weird colony that we've got centered on Warsaw and Krakow?

Even at this point, Heydrich from the SS is saying we'll corral these people in the general government. But this is just a step towards what Heydrich calls the final aim. And at this point, it's not clear what that will be. Maybe putting these people in a reservation somewhere further east? Unclear. But even at this point, we'll just end with this, there are hints of a much darker outcome.

Even at this point, Heydrich from the SS is saying we'll corral these people in the general government. But this is just a step towards what Heydrich calls the final aim. And at this point, it's not clear what that will be. Maybe putting these people in a reservation somewhere further east? Unclear. But even at this point, we'll just end with this, there are hints of a much darker outcome.

Even at this point, Heydrich from the SS is saying we'll corral these people in the general government. But this is just a step towards what Heydrich calls the final aim. And at this point, it's not clear what that will be. Maybe putting these people in a reservation somewhere further east? Unclear. But even at this point, we'll just end with this, there are hints of a much darker outcome.

That autumn, Goebbels went to visit a ghetto in Łódź, where a lot of Polish Jews lived. And he was shocked at what he saw. He said, these aren't human beings. These are animals. He said, so our task is not the humanitarian one, Goebbels said. It's a surgical task. We have to take steps and really radical steps because otherwise Europe will perish through the Jewish disease.