What is General Government?
The '''General Government''' (GG, [[Polish language|Polish]]: Generalne Gubernatorstwo) was a region in central [[Poland]]. This region was created by [[Nazi Germany]] in 1939 and declared semi-autonomous with local civil and military administration. The local authorities were staffed with Germans faithful to [[Nazism|National Socialism]]. [[File:Generalgouvernement_fur_die_besetzten_polnischen_gebiete.png|right|thumb|269x269px|Administrative map of General Government (1941)]]The German [[Invasion of Poland (1939)]] on September 1 triggered World War II. Germany conquered Poland in just 18 days. In September 18, the Soviet Union, signatory party of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, also invaded Poland. Thus, Poland was divided into three main parts: * The western part who was annexed directly in the [[Nazi Germany|Greater German Reich]] as Gau [[Wartheland]]. * The eastern part was annexed by the [[Soviet Union]]. Unlike the territory taken by Germany, much of the occupied Polish territory remained in the Soviet Union after the war. * The central part remained occupied by Germany. Hitler's decree of October 12, 1939,<ref>[http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=38706&start=15 Axis History Forum]</ref> created the General Government.<ref>[http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206246.pdf Yad Vashem (pdf)]</ref> At first, General Government was composed of four [[voivodeships of Poland]]: [[Warsaw]], [[Radom]], [[Lublin Voivodeship|Lublin]] and [[Kraków]]. In August 1941, the General Government was enlarged, incorporating Galicia which was detached from the Soviet Union after [[Operation Barbarossa]]. Kraków was the capital. == References == <references /> == Other websites == {{Commonscat|General Government}} * [https://archive.today/20121210130946/http://www.dac.neu.edu/holocaust/Hitlers_Plans.htm%23%5E Poland under Nazist occupation, Northwestern University] [[Category:Nazi Germany]] [[Category:20th century in Poland]] [[Category:1939 establishments in Europe]] [[Category:1945 dise