Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz
In the town of Bydgoszcz, the "Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz" (German Fifth Column) attempted to aid the invading German forces by shooting at the Polish Army. A number of saboteurs were executed by the Poles for treason, including for possession of military weapons. The Nazi German government in its own communiqués dubbed the Bydgoszcz incident Bloody Sunday, and claimed the wholesale slaughter of Germans in the city, which was not true. When Bydgoszcz was taken over by the Wehrmacht in October, designated killing squads began murdering civilian Poles in revenge at the Valley of Death (Bydgoszcz); some 20,000 died in all.