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{{Short description|1939 false-flag operations by Germany against Poland}}
'''Operation Himmler''' (less often known as '''Operation Konserve''' or '''Operation Canned Goods''') was a ] ] project to create the appearance of ] aggression against Germany, which was subsequently used by ] to justify the ]. Operation Himmler was arguably the very first act of the ] in Europe.<ref name="Himmler"/>
{{about|the 1939 German false flag operation|its most well-known portion|Gleiwitz incident|the 1979 Polish film|Operacja Himmler}}
{{Use dmy dates|date= August 2021}}
], ], and the three planners of most of Operation Himmler: ], ], and ]]]


'''Operation Himmler''', also called '''Operation Konserve''', consisted of a group of 1939 ] undertakings planned by ] to give the appearance of ] aggression against Germany. The Germans then used propaganda reports of the events to justify their ], which started on 1 September 1939. Operation Himmler included the Germans staging false attacks on themselves—directed at innocent people, such as civilians and ] prisoners. The operation arguably became the first act of the ] in ].<ref name="Himmler"/>
==The plan==
For months prior to the 1939 invasion, German newspapers and politicians like ] had carried out a national and international ] campaign accusing Polish authorities of organizing or tolerating violent ] of ]s living in Poland.<ref name="Hitler"/><ref name="German Editor">German newspaper editor outlining the claims of Polish atrocities against minorities</ref> On 22 August, ] told his generals:
{{cquote|"I will provide a propagandistic '']''. Its credibility doesn't matter. The victor will not be asked whether he told the truth."<ref name="WirtzGordon">James J. Wirtz, Roy Godson, ''Strategic Denial and Deception: The Twenty-First Century Challenge'', Transaction Publishers, 2002, ISBN 0765808986, </ref><ref name="Lightbody">Bradley Lightbody, ''The Second World War: Ambitions to Nemesis'', Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0415224055, </ref>}}


==Planning==
⚫ The plan, named after its inventor, ],<ref name="Himmler">Roger Manvell, Heinrich Fraenkel, ''Heinrich Himmler: The SS, Gestapo, His Life and Career'', Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2007, ISBN 1602391785, </ref> was supervised by ]<ref name="Nuremberg">. The Avalon Project. Retrieved on 4 August, 2007.</ref> and (primarily<ref>Gerald Reitlinger, ''The SS, Alibi of a Nation, 1922-1945'', Da Capo Press, 1989, ISBN 0306803518, </ref>) by ].<ref name="Himmler"/><ref name="Nuremberg"/> The goal of this ] project was to create the appearance of ] aggression against Germany, which was subsequently used to justify the ]. Hitler also might have hoped to confuse the Polish allies (] and ]) to delay or prevent their declaration of war on Germany.<ref name="Zaloga">Steven J. Zaloga, ''Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg'', Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1841764086, </ref>
Prior to the 1939 invasion, German newspapers and politicians like ] carried out a national and international ] campaign accusing Polish authorities of organizing or tolerating violent ] of ]s living in Poland.<ref name="Hitler"/><ref name="German Editor">{{cite book |title=Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Volume VI |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/NT_Nazi_Vol-VI.pdf |publisher=Office of United States Chief of Counsel For Prosecution of Axis Criminality |location= United States Government Printing Office: Washington |year=1946 |page=188 |quote=31. On 1 September, the day of the beginning of the battle against Poland, Hitler's speech in the Reichstag gave the instructions for the press, especially as to the ticklish problem of the attitude of the Western powers.}} (what displays as page 188 on bottom of page is page 193/1125 of this PDF)</ref>


⚫ The plan, named after its originator, ],<ref name="Himmler">], ], ''Heinrich Himmler: The SS, Gestapo, His Life and Career'', Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2007, {{ISBN|1-60239-178-5}}, </ref> was supervised by ]<ref name="Nuremberg"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224041335/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/12-20-45.htm |date=24 February 2008 }}. The Avalon Project. Retrieved 4 August 2007.</ref> and managed<ref>Gerald Reitlinger, ''The SS, Alibi of a Nation, 1922-1945'', Da Capo Press, 1989, {{ISBN|0-306-80351-8}}, </ref> by ].<ref name="Himmler"/><ref name="Nuremberg"/> The goal of this ] project was to create the appearance of ] aggression against Germany, which could be used to ] the ]. Hitler also might have hoped to confuse Poland's allies, the ] and ], into delaying or stopping their declaration of war on Germany.<ref name="Zaloga">Steven J. Zaloga, ''Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg'', Osprey Publishing, 2002, {{ISBN|1-84176-408-6}}, </ref>
==The execution==
] of the Operation Himmler raids.]]
The operations were mostly carried on the 31 August 1939.<ref name="WirtzGordon"/> The operation - as well as the main German offensive - was orginally scheduled for August 26; the shifting diplomatic situation resulted in delay until August 31/September 1 - but notably one of the German undercover units was not informed and carried its attack on German custom post; several Germans were killed before the incident ended.<ref>Jack Weidner, ''A Question of Honor'', Buy Books on the web, 2002, ISBN 0741409534, </ref> The operations were carried by agents of various German agents of ]<ref name="WirtzGordon"/> and ].<ref name="Himmler2"/> 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, living dead bodies in Polish uniforms.<ref name="Himmler2"/>
⚫ The bodies were in fact prisoners from ]s 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, i.e. ''Operation Konserve'').<ref name="Himmler"/><ref name="Ailsby">Christopher J. Ailsby, ''The Third Reich Day by Day'', Zenith Imprint, 2001, ISBN 0760311676, </ref><ref name="WirtzGordon"/><ref>John S. Craig, ''Peculiar Liaisons in War, Espionage, and Terrorism of the Twentieth Century'', Algora Publishing, 2005, ISBN 0875863310, </ref>


==Implementation==
⚫ There were several separate operations, including staged attacks on:
The operations were mostly carried out on 31 August.<ref name="WirtzGordon">James J. Wirtz, ], ''Strategic Denial and Deception: The Twenty-First Century Challenge'', Transaction Publishers, 2002, {{ISBN|0-7658-0898-6}}, </ref> 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 and 1 September. The operations were carried out by agents of the ]<ref name="WirtzGordon"/> and the ].<ref name="Himmler2"/> The German troops, dressed in Polish uniforms, would storm various border buildings, scare the locals with inaccurate shots, carry out acts of vandalism, retreat and leave behind dead bodies in Polish uniforms.<ref name="Himmler2"/>
⚫ *the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz (]) (this was arguably the most notable of Operation Himmler operations; see ] for details)<ref name="Ailsby"/>
⚫ The bodies were really prisoners from ] who were dressed in Polish uniforms, killed by ], shot for appearances and left behind. They were described in plans as ''Konserve'': canned goods, which also led to the informal name of the operation, ''Operation Konserve''.<ref name="Himmler"/><ref name="WirtzGordon"/><ref name="Ailsby">Christopher J. Ailsby, ''The Third Reich Day by Day'', Zenith Imprint, 2001, {{ISBN|0-7603-1167-6}}, </ref><ref>John S. Craig, ''Peculiar Liaisons in War, Espionage, and Terrorism of the Twentieth Century'', Algora Publishing, 2005, {{ISBN|0-87586-331-0}}, </ref>
⚫ *the German customs station at Hochlinden (today part of ])<ref name="Ailsby"/><ref name="Himmler2">Martin Allen, ''Himmler's Secret War: The Covert Peace Negotiations of Heinrich Himmler'', Carroll & Graf
⚫ Publishers, 2005, ISBN 0786717084, </ref>
⚫ *the forest service station in Pitschen (])<ref name="Himmler2"/>
*]<ref name="Himmler2"/>


⚫ There were several separate operations, including staged attacks on the following:
⚫ ===The Gleiwitz incident===
* The strategic railway at Jablunka Pass (]), on the border between Poland and Czechoslovakia<ref name="EspMachine">Jorgensen, Christer, "Hitler's Espionage Machine", Spellmount Ltd., 2004, {{ISBN|1-86227-244-1}}</ref>
⚫ * The German radio station Sender Gleiwitz (]), the ] being arguably the most notable of the Operation Himmler operations<ref name="Ailsby"/>
⚫ * The German customs station at Hochlinden (now part of ]-])<ref name="Himmler2">Martin Allen, ''Himmler's Secret War: The Covert Peace Negotiations of Heinrich Himmler'', Carroll & Graf
⚫ Publishers, 2005, {{ISBN|0-7867-1708-4}}, </ref><ref name="Ailsby"/>
⚫ * The forest service station in Pitschen, now ]<ref name="Himmler2"/>
* The communications station at ], which was Nieborowitzer Hammer before 12 February 1936 and is now ]
* The railway station in ] (Smolniki), ] District
* A woman and her companion in ]

⚫ ===Gleiwitz incident===
]
] today. It is the highest wooden structure in Europe.]]
{{Details|Gleiwitz incident}} {{Details|Gleiwitz incident}}
⚫ On the night of 31 August a small group of German operatives, dressed in Polish uniforms and led by ], seized the Gleiwitz radio station and broadcast a short ] message in ] (sources vary on the content of the message). Several prisoners (most likely from the ]) and a local Polish-]n activist (arrested a day earlier) were left dead on the scene in Polish uniforms.<ref name="Ailsby"/><ref name="Franciszek Honiok">{{Cite web |url=http://www.muzeum.gliwice.pl/en/radiostacja/ |title=Museum in Gliwice: WHAT HAPPENED HERE? |access-date=5 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502085955/http://www.muzeum.gliwice.pl/en/radiostacja/ |archive-date=2 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

⚫ On the night of ], ] a small group of German operatives, dressed in Polish uniforms and led by ] seized the Gleiwitz station and broadcast a short ] message in ] (sources vary on the content on the message). Several prisoners (most likely from the ]) and a local Polish-] activist (arrested a day before) were left dead on the scene in Polish uniforms.<ref name="Ailsby"/><ref name="Franciszek Honiok"></ref>


==Aftermath== ==Aftermath==
On September 1, 1939, in a speech in the ], ] cited the 35 border incidents as justification for Germany's "defensive" action against Poland: In his ] announcing war, Hitler cited the 21 border incidents as justification for Germany's "defensive" action against Poland:


{{cquote|"I can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Polish Government to conduct serious negotiations with us. These proposals for mediation have failed because in the meanwhile there, first of all, came as an answer the sudden Polish general mobilization, followed by more Polish atrocities. These were again repeated last night. Recently in one night there were as many as twenty-one frontier incidents: last night there were fourteen, of which three were quite serious. I have, therefore, resolved to speak to Poland in the same language that Poland for months past has used toward us."<ref name="Hitler">; retrieved from the archives of the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School.</ref>}} {{quote|I can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Polish Government to conduct serious negotiations with us. These proposals for mediation have failed because in the meanwhile there, first of all, came as an answer to the sudden Polish general mobilization, followed by more Polish atrocities. These were again repeated last night. Recently in one night, there were as many as twenty-one frontier incidents: last night there were fourteen, of which three were quite serious. I have, therefore, resolved to speak to Poland in the same language that Poland for months past has used toward us...
This night for the first time Polish regular soldiers fired on our own territory. Since 5:45 a. m., we have been returning the fire... I will continue this struggle, no matter against whom, until the safety of the Reich and its rights are secured<ref name="Hitler">; retrieved from the archives of the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School.</ref>}}


By mid-1939, thousands of Polish ] had been secretly prepared for sabotage and guerrilla warfare by the ] (Wrocław) office of the ]. Their activities were meant to provoke anti-German reprisals that could be claimed as provocations.<ref name="W">Perry Biddiscombe, Alexander Perry, ''Werwolf!: The History of the National Socialist Guerrilla Movement, 1944-1946'', University of TorontoPress, 1998, {{ISBN|0-8020-0862-3}}, </ref>
Operation Himmler - or an operation similar to it - was continued after the start of the war. German agents (including those of ], ] and ]) who have infiltrated Polish territory continued the campaign of misinformation and sabotage. One of the most infamous actions of that period was the inciting of the ] in ] (Bromberg), a Polish town with a sizable German minority, where German undercover agents organized an attack on Polish forces retreating through the town. In the resulting firefights a disputed number of German civilians were killed; Nazi propaganda would use blow this event out of proportions, increasing the casualties by a hundredfold and presenting it as a prime example of "Polish atrocities against the German people".<ref name="Naziprop">For an example of Nazi propaganda document discussing this event, see ''The Polish Atrocities Against the German Minority in Poland'' Compiled by Hans Schadewaldt (Berlin: German foreign office, 1940) pp. 35-54, cases 1 - 15. signed testimony of Herbert Matthes, Bromberg furniture maker</ref>


The German agents indeed co-operated with the German forces during the invasion of Poland, which led to some reprisals that were highly exaggerated by the German propaganda.<ref name="W"/><ref name="Naziprop">For an example of Nazi propaganda document discussing "Polish atrocities against the German people", see ''The Polish Atrocities Against the German Minority in Poland'' Compiled by Hans Schadewaldt (Berlin: German Foreign Office, 1940) pp. 35–54, cases 1 - 15. signed testimony of Herbert Matthes, Bromberg furniture maker</ref><ref name=Blanke580-582>Richard Blanke, ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 97, No. 2. Apr. 1992, pp. 580–582. Review of: Włodzimierz Jastrzębski,''Der Bromberger Blutsonntag: Legende und Wirklichkeit.'' and Andrzej Brożek, ''Niemcy zagraniczni w polityce kolonizacji pruskich prowincji wschodnich (1886-1918)''</ref> One of the most notable cases of such a scenario was reportedly carried out during ]. An instruction issued by the Ministry of Propaganda stated that the press
The Operation nonetheless failed to convince international public opinion of the German claims;<ref name="Zaloga"/> but might have had more contemporary success in Germany itself.

{{quote|must show news on the barbarism of Poles in Bromberg. The expression "bloody sunday" must enter as a permanent term in the dictionary and circumnavigate the globe. For that reason, this term must be continuously underlined.<ref name="Kunert">A. K. Kunert, Z. Walkowski, ''Kronika kampanii wrześniowej 1939'', Wydawnictwo Edipresse Polska, Warszawa 2005, {{ISBN|83-60160-99-6}}, s. 35.</ref>}}

The operation convinced very little international opinion about the German claims.<ref name="Zaloga"/>


==See also== ==See also==
*] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
<!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags-->
<div class='references-small'>
<references/>
</div>


==Further reading==
* {{in lang|pl}} Tomasz Chinciński, '''', Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej, nr 8-9/2004
* {{in lang|pl}} Tomasz Chinciński, '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512063601/http://ipn.gov.pl/pl?dzial=&id=3740 |date=12 May 2019 }}''. Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość. nr 2 (8)/2005

{{Heinrich Himmler}}

{{coord|50.3167|N|18.6833|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Himmler, Operation}}
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Latest revision as of 15:26, 24 January 2024

1939 false-flag operations by Germany against Poland This article is about the 1939 German false flag operation. For its most well-known portion, see Gleiwitz incident. For the 1979 Polish film, see Operacja Himmler.

Left to right: Franz Josef Huber, Arthur Nebe, and the three planners of most of Operation Himmler: Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Heinrich Müller

Operation Himmler, also called Operation Konserve, consisted of a group of 1939 false flag undertakings planned by Nazi Germany to give the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany. The Germans then used propaganda reports of the events to justify their invasion of Poland, which started on 1 September 1939. Operation Himmler included the Germans staging false attacks on themselves—directed at innocent people, such as civilians and concentration camp prisoners. The operation arguably became the first act of the Second World War in Europe.

Planning

Prior to the 1939 invasion, German newspapers and politicians like Adolf Hitler carried out a national and international propaganda campaign accusing Polish authorities of organizing or tolerating violent ethnic cleansing of ethnic Germans living in Poland.

The plan, named after its originator, Heinrich Himmler, was supervised by Reinhard Heydrich and managed by Heinrich Müller. The goal of this false flag project was to create the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany, which could be used to justify the German invasion of Poland. Hitler also might have hoped to confuse Poland's allies, the United Kingdom and France, into delaying or stopping their declaration of war on Germany.

Implementation

The operations were mostly carried out on 31 August. 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 and 1 September. The operations were carried out by agents of the SS 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, retreat and leave behind dead bodies in Polish uniforms. The bodies were really prisoners from concentration camps who were dressed in Polish uniforms, killed by lethal injection, shot for appearances and left behind. They were described in plans as Konserve: canned goods, which also led to the informal name of the operation, Operation Konserve.

There were several separate operations, including staged attacks on the following:

Gleiwitz incident

Alfred Naujocks
Gliwice Radio Tower today. It is the highest wooden structure in Europe.
Further information: Gleiwitz incident

On the night of 31 August a small group of German operatives, dressed in Polish uniforms and led by Alfred Naujocks, seized the Gleiwitz radio station and broadcast a short anti-German message in Polish (sources vary on the content of the message). Several prisoners (most likely from the Dachau concentration camp) and a local Polish-Silesian activist (arrested a day earlier) were left dead on the scene in Polish uniforms.

Aftermath

In his 1 September speech to the Reichstag announcing war, Hitler cited the 21 border incidents as justification for Germany's "defensive" action against Poland:

I can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Polish Government to conduct serious negotiations with us. These proposals for mediation have failed because in the meanwhile there, first of all, came as an answer to the sudden Polish general mobilization, followed by more Polish atrocities. These were again repeated last night. Recently in one night, there were as many as twenty-one frontier incidents: last night there were fourteen, of which three were quite serious. I have, therefore, resolved to speak to Poland in the same language that Poland for months past has used toward us... This night for the first time Polish regular soldiers fired on our own territory. Since 5:45 a. m., we have been returning the fire... I will continue this struggle, no matter against whom, until the safety of the Reich and its rights are secured

By mid-1939, thousands of Polish Volksdeutsche had been secretly prepared for sabotage and guerrilla warfare by the Breslau (Wrocław) office of the Abwehr. Their activities were meant to provoke anti-German reprisals that could be claimed as provocations.

The German agents indeed co-operated with the German forces during the invasion of Poland, which led to some reprisals that were highly exaggerated by the German propaganda. One of the most notable cases of such a scenario was reportedly carried out during Bydgoszcz Bloody Sunday. An instruction issued by the Ministry of Propaganda stated that the press

must show news on the barbarism of Poles in Bromberg. The expression "bloody sunday" must enter as a permanent term in the dictionary and circumnavigate the globe. For that reason, this term must be continuously underlined.

The operation convinced very little international opinion about the German claims.

See also

References

  1. ^ Roger Manvell, Heinrich Fraenkel, Heinrich Himmler: The SS, Gestapo, His Life and Career, Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2007, ISBN 1-60239-178-5, Google Print, p.76
  2. ^ Address by Adolf Hitler - September 1, 1939; retrieved from the archives of the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School.
  3. Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Volume VI (PDF). United States Government Printing Office: Washington: Office of United States Chief of Counsel For Prosecution of Axis Criminality. 1946. p. 188. 31. On 1 September, the day of the beginning of the battle against Poland, Hitler's speech in the Reichstag gave the instructions for the press, especially as to the ticklish problem of the attitude of the Western powers. (what displays as page 188 on bottom of page is page 193/1125 of this PDF)
  4. ^ 20 Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Volume 4; Thursday, 20 December 1945 Archived 24 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine. The Avalon Project. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
  5. Gerald Reitlinger, The SS, Alibi of a Nation, 1922-1945, Da Capo Press, 1989, ISBN 0-306-80351-8, Print, p.122
  6. ^ Steven J. Zaloga, Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg, Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-84176-408-6, Google Print, p.39
  7. ^ James J. Wirtz, Roy Godson, Strategic Denial and Deception: The Twenty-First Century Challenge, Transaction Publishers, 2002, ISBN 0-7658-0898-6, Google Print, p.100
  8. ^ Martin Allen, Himmler's Secret War: The Covert Peace Negotiations of Heinrich Himmler, Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005, ISBN 0-7867-1708-4, Google Print, p.51
  9. ^ Christopher J. Ailsby, The Third Reich Day by Day, Zenith Imprint, 2001, ISBN 0-7603-1167-6, Google Print, p.112
  10. John S. Craig, Peculiar Liaisons in War, Espionage, and Terrorism of the Twentieth Century, Algora Publishing, 2005, ISBN 0-87586-331-0, Google Print, p.180
  11. Jorgensen, Christer, "Hitler's Espionage Machine", Spellmount Ltd., 2004, ISBN 1-86227-244-1
  12. "Museum in Gliwice: WHAT HAPPENED HERE?". Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
  13. ^ Perry Biddiscombe, Alexander Perry, Werwolf!: The History of the National Socialist Guerrilla Movement, 1944-1946, University of TorontoPress, 1998, ISBN 0-8020-0862-3, Google Print, p.207
  14. For an example of Nazi propaganda document discussing "Polish atrocities against the German people", see The Polish Atrocities Against the German Minority in Poland Compiled by Hans Schadewaldt (Berlin: German Foreign Office, 1940) pp. 35–54, cases 1 - 15. signed testimony of Herbert Matthes, Bromberg furniture maker
  15. Richard Blanke, The American Historical Review, Vol. 97, No. 2. Apr. 1992, pp. 580–582. Review of: Włodzimierz Jastrzębski,Der Bromberger Blutsonntag: Legende und Wirklichkeit. and Andrzej Brożek, Niemcy zagraniczni w polityce kolonizacji pruskich prowincji wschodnich (1886-1918)
  16. A. K. Kunert, Z. Walkowski, Kronika kampanii wrześniowej 1939, Wydawnictwo Edipresse Polska, Warszawa 2005, ISBN 83-60160-99-6, s. 35.

Further reading

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