In 1939 at the start of World War II , Poland was partitioned between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union ( see Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact ) . One-fifth of the Polish population perished during World War II ; the 3,000,000 Polish Jews murdered in The Holocaust , who constituted 90 % of Polish Jewry , made up half of all Poles killed during the war . Although the Holocaust occurred largely in German-occupied Poland , there was little collaboration with the Nazis by its citizens . Collaboration by individual Poles has been described as smaller than in other occupied countries . Statistics of the Israeli War Crimes Commission indicate that less than 0.1 % of Poles collaborated with the Nazis . Examples of Polish attitudes to German atrocities varied widely , from actively risking death in order to save Jewish lives , and passive refusal to inform on them , to indifference , blackmail , and in extreme cases , participation in pogroms such as the Jedwabne pogrom . Grouped by nationality , Poles represent the largest number of people who rescued Jews during the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust
History of the Jews in Poland