''Jungdeutsche Partei in Polen'' (JDP), or the Young German Party in Poland (), was a

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

extreme right-wing political party founded in 1931 by members of the ethnic German minority residing in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. The party was opposed not only to collaboration with Poland, but also, with other German organizations in Poland. Its leader was Rudolf Wiesner (pictured, fourth from the left), a committed Nazi. He was replaced by Max Wambeck from

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

on 22 November 1938. After the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

Wambeck (fluent in Polish, known as Maksymilian Wambeck locally) served as '' SS-Obersturmführer'' in

Chodzież Chodzież () is a town in northwestern Poland with 17,976 inhabitants as of December 2021, seat of the Chodzież County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Geography Chodzież is located in the northern part of Greater Poland (western Poland), i ...

in the '' Gnesen Gau'' (Polish Gniezno County) interrogating and torturing

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

resistance members.

Activities

Sponsored financially by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, the ''Jungdeutsche Partei'' members trained in propaganda, sabotage and espionage activities against the Polish state, smuggled military weapons, and waged a campaign of intimidating other members of the community to leave for Nazi Germany, with tangible incentives. A considerable number of young Polish Germans joined the rank-and-file of the Party during the mid-1930s as a result of Nazi indoctrination and aggressive recruitment. The party had its own flag with JdP symbol in it, celebrated anniversaries (''Heldengedenktag''), a hymn sung at gatherings (''Jungdeutsche marschiert'') with a

Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...

, and its own red armbands similar to NSDAP. The ''Jungdeutsche Partei'' was formed originally in 1921 in

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

as the ''Deutscher Nationalsozialistischer Verein in Polen''. Renamed in 1931 the party gradually expanded its activities to cover most of

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

with 1,200 members, and other regions such as

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

(since 1934) as well as

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

and

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

in the following years. The public rallies held by the party were aggressively anti-Polish, rabidly racist, and anti-Jewish; while proclaiming to the world: "We want to be Germans, and nothing but Germans." JDP was dissolved by Adolf Hitler after the invasion of Poland with transfer of its membership to Germany.

Notes and references

{{Authority control 1931 establishments in Poland Collaboration with Nazi Germany Defunct political parties in Poland Far-right political parties in Poland German nationalist political parties Interwar German political parties in Poland Invasion of Poland Nationalist parties in Poland Nazi parties Poland in World War II Political parties established in 1931 Political parties with year of disestablishment missing Volksdeutsche

Activities

See also

Notes and references