Germany 's Generalplan Ost strategy for Central and Eastern Europe envisioned the creation of a Greater Germany , which was to be built by means of removing a variety of non-Germans from Poland and other areas in Central and Eastern Europe , mainly Slavs and Jews believed by Nazis to be subhuman . These non-Germans were targeted for slave labor and eventual extermination . While Generalplan Ost 's settlement ambitions did not come into full effect due to the war 's turn , millions of Germans mostly from Central and Eastern Europe were settled by the Nazis to replace Poles removed or killed during the occupation . Germany deported millions of Poles either to other territories , to concentration camps or as slave workers . Many others were deported by the Soviet Union during the years 1939-1941 , when Germany and Soviet Union cooperated against Poles
extermination
The Holocaust
Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II