Ostbahn () in the

General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...

, were the Nazi German railways in

occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...

during World War II, subordinated to the General Directorate of Eastern Railways (, Gedob) in occupied

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

; a branch of the ''

Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' (), also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the Weimar Republic, German national Rail transport, railway system created after th ...

'' National Railway of Germany in the newly created ''Generalgouvernement'' territory under

Hans Frank Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician, lawyer and convicted war criminal who served as head of the General Government in German-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Frank was an early member ...

. The trains were used to cleanse and resettle

interwar Poland 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. ...

with the German-speaking colonists in the name of ''"

Lebensraum (, ) is a German concept of expansionism and Völkisch movement, ''Völkisch'' nationalism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' beca ...

"'',; and and played an essential role in the mass deportations of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...

s during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

History

Following

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 ...

in September 1939 Nazi Germany disbanded Polish National Railways ( PKP) immediately, and handed over their assets to the ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

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 ...

and in

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 ...

. In November 1939, as soon as the semi-colonial

was set up in occupied central Poland, a separate branch of DRB called ''Generaldirektion der Ostbahn'' (''Kolej Wschodnia'' in Polish) was established with headquarters called GEDOB in

; all of the DRB branches existed outside Germany proper. The ''Ostbahn'' was granted of railway lines (nearly doubled by 1941) and 505 km of narrow gauge, initially. In December 1939, on the request of

in Berlin, the ''Ostbahndirektion'' was given financial independence after paying back 10 million Reichsmarks to DRB. The removal of all bomb damage was completed in 1940. The Polish management was either executed in mass shooting actions (see: the 1939 ''

Intelligenzaktion The ''Intelligenzaktion'' (), or the Intelligentsia mass shootings, was a series of mass murders committed against the Polish people, Polish intelligentsia (teachers, priests, physicians, and other prominent members of Polish society) during the ...

'' and the 1940

German AB-Aktion in Poland The ''AB-Aktion'' ( , ) was the second stage of the Nazi Germany, Nazi German campaign of violence in Poland early in World War II, taking place between March and September 1940. As with the previous ''Intelligenzaktion'', during the 1939 invasio ...

) or imprisoned at the

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

. Managerial jobs were staffed with German officials in a wave of some 8,000 instant promotions. The new Eastern Division of DRB acquired of new railway lines and 1,052 km of (mostly industrial) narrow gauge in the annexed areas.

Notes

{{Reflist

External links

Photo of Governor Hans Frank (left) handing over the Ostbahn leadership to Adolf Gerteis.
''Also present:'' Josef Friedrich Buhler (in the background, first on the left) and Arthur Seyss-Inquart (on the right). April 1940, Kraków, Zakład fotograficzny Otto Rosner. Zbiory NAC on-line. Rail transport in Poland The Holocaust in Poland