Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz
As noted by World War II historians, the pacification actions were separate from the likes of Operation Tannenberg. They were not a part of the indiscriminate killings by the mobile "Einsatzkommando" death squads active during the invasion of Poland of 1939, and characterized by often deliberate targeting of civilian population by the invading forces, with the active participation of the German minority living in the Second Polish Republic whose men joined the SS armed "Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz" battalions in West Prussia, Upper Silesia and Warthegau. In total, up to 200,000 Poles lost their lives at the beginning of war regardless of the nature of the conflict. Likewise, over 100,000 Poles died in the Luftwaffe's terror bombing operations.