Repression towards Catholic Clergy from Lublin Diocese during German occupation 1939-1945
Authors: Lewandowska Anna 
Published: September 2013

It is essential to know the history of Catholic Church in Poland during German occupation when it comes to exploration of aggregate history of Polish nation in this difficult time. The issue of repression against Polish clergy from Lublin diocese by German authorities in years 1939-1944 and powers of Third Reich, was presents in various aspects, in many scholarly articles, monographs and group works. However, the aforementioned publications do not exhaust basics to educate foil and fair-minded view on this problem.

German army went in to Lublin on 18 September 1939, after dramatic defense of the citizens.

After the short time of reign of Wehrmacht units, on 26 October 1939, Führer proclaimed his decree on creating administrational entity called Generalna Gubernia, which involved four regions, including lubelski region with Lublin as its capital. This decree embraced the area of pre-war Lubelskie Voivodeship. The occupation authority’s division of administration did not violate the structure of deanery in the diocese. However, under the new circumstances, deans and rectors had difficulties executing administrational functions. When the Lubelski District was created. Bishop Marian Leon Fulman and suffragan, Bishop Władysław' Goral wielded authority in this area.

It is necessary to mention that bloody operations of the police and SS are especially remembered in the history of Church in Lublin and the whole area. These two bodies were executing the most important strategic tasks within the scope of ‘maintaining order’, prevention, requital, or even genocide and extermination. This group was led by SS- Brigadeführer Odilo Globocnik (till September 1943) and SS-Gruppenführer Jacob Sporrenberg.

The most significant German operations, when it comes to repression of catholic clergy in, the Lubelski District are repressive or intimidating actions.

In the Lubelski District, occupation authorities applied the same methods of repression and extermination both to all citizens and clergy. Lublin’s clergymen were dying in executions, they were taken as hostages, arrested and send to concentration camps. Hie repression involved priests on every level of church hierarchy. What is more, it must be said that only Polish bishops out of all occupied countries were arrested and taken to concentration camps.

In the Lubelski District, the main place where the people were arrested was Lublin and prison of Security Police and Security Service. Prison on the Castle, as it was called, was subdued to the leader of SS and the police in the district. The prison m Lublin was without undoubtedly a place of terror and attrition of prisoners held in it on the mass scale. This prison became the place of direct extermination where executions were done by firing squad, hanging, or even by gassing. Executions had unitary or mass character, they were sometimes done in a company of eyewitnesses, but usually they were confidential, performed at night or in the morning.

The first ‘purifying’ action of intelligentsia, which started with arrests in November and was follow ed by verdicts of executions for bishops and the execution itself on 23 December, was perceived by the leaders of SS and the police, Odilo Globocnik, as fight with leading layer of society, who could potentially organize actions against German authorities, they could give signal to ruthless fight with ‘unwanted elements’. Repressions took place on the local scale, because they involved only people from Lublin or from area around Lublin. The way in which this action was prosecuted indicates that it was chaotic strike, because the enforcement authority which held power at the beginning of the November did not have full records of the intelligentsia.

Globocnik considered Catholic Church an important monument of Polish national spirit, so he began the purging of the district by first destroying the Church. It can be validated by the three mass arrests of clergy on 9 Nov, 11. Nov and 17 Nov 1939.

The effect of the policy realized by Odilo Globocnik is presented in statistics relating to repressing of clergy in years 1939-1945. 200 out of 459 priests from Lublin diocese in 1939 fell victim to German terror.