In an attempt to incapacitate Polish society , the Nazis and the Soviets executed tens of thousands of members of the intelligentsia and community leadership during events such as the German AB-Aktion in Poland , Operation Tannenberg and the Katyn massacre . Over 95 % of the Jewish losses and 90 % of the ethnic Polish losses were caused directly by Nazi Germany , whereas 5 % of the ethnic Polish losses were caused by the Soviets and 5 % by Ukrainian nationalists . The large-scale Jewish presence in Poland that had endured for centuries was rather quickly put to an end by the policies of extermination implemented by the Nazis during the war . Waves of displacement and emigration that took place both during and after the war removed from Poland a majority of the Jews who survived . Further significant Jewish emigration followed events such as the Polish October political thaw of 1956 and the 1968 Polish political crisis
Katyn massacre
Katyn massacre
History of Poland