Life under Nazis devastating for all

This is the first of a couple of articles; this one tells the story of life under Nazi occupation in Poland.

Over 2 million Polish people were driven out of their homes in western Poland to make room for German settlers, they were sent by train or forced to march to eastern Poland. They lived on their nerves. Any moment could bring a screech of brakes below on the street, the sound of footsteps, the knock on the door, looking for Jews to evict, and later sent to the death camps. Some would stand for hours in line to get a loaf of bread as food was scarce. Life was cheap in these times in 1939.

The Germans considered the Polish people to be an inferior race. Thus as a result of murder, enslavement and starvation, the Nazis reduced the population of Poland by 20%. 

Polish factories were gutted and the machinery was sent to Germany. In addition, Poland's political and religious leaders and intellectual elite were rounded up and executed, 60,000 people in all, including thousands of doctors, academics, lawyers, Catholic priests, and members of the aristocrats. Then, more than 2 million Polish Jews were gassed and burned in the concentration camps.

It is hard to believe that this happened, but it did, and this was only Poland, other countries also suffered.

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran and business owner in Priest River.