A friend of mines grandfather was one of them
He was kept in the Gulag till I think 1954-55
Nearly one million
Ask any non Jewish pole who was worse in WWII that lived it
My best friends wife is polish
Her grandma lost their farm and ethnic Germans were given their place after 1939. Then after the Russians “liberated” Poland those Germans hauled ass
Who was harder on the Polish womenfolk
No question.....the neighbor from the East......rape and pillage and even murder was considered fair game...especially rape...brutal gang rapes
Her grandmother like her was gorgeous woman.....and she and her sisters hid in the forest but were found out by Russian colonel who protected them
But at a cost for he and his officers
But she said she was grateful considering the alternative ....
She was 15-16
Freepers hate nuance and German policy towards those in the final solution or resistance was brutal but the Wehrmacht typically had more discipline than did the Russians and Japs
The Japs were awful to conquered women too
Problem is the Russians weren’t supposed to be conquering the Poles
As General Anders told Patton, “With the Germans, we lose our lives...With the Russians we lose our souls.”