Poles were viewed by Nazis as subhuman non-Aryans , and during the German occupation of Poland 2.7 million ethnic Poles were killed . Polish civilians were subject to forced labour in German industry , internment , wholesale expulsions to make way for German colonists , and mass executions . The German authorities engaged in a systematic effort to destroy Polish culture and national identity . During operation AB-Aktion , many university professors and members of the Polish intelligentsia were arrested , transported to concentration camps , or executed . During the war , Poland lost an estimated 39 to 45 percent of its physicians and dentists , 26 to 57 percent of its lawyers , 15 to 30 percent of its teachers , 30 to 40 percent of its scientists and university professors , and 18 to 28 percent of its clergy
wholesale expulsions
Expulsion of Poles by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany