Collaboration and Resistance in Wartime Poland (1939-1945) - A Case for Differentiated Occupation Studies

This article aims to diffenenciate the often simplistic depiction of war and occupation in Europe between 1939 and 1945 as a fight of good against evil. Such a description can be found not only in popular culture, but also, though less blatantly, in historical literature. Without questioning the overall responsibility of the Axis powers for the horrendous crimes committed during the war, this article argues for a more nuanced approach that takes into account the often complex nature of interaction between the occupiers and the occupied. Instead of invoking moral judgment, the authors aim to prioritize the historical analysis of the reality of Poland's occupation by the Nazis, recognizing that the parties involved had their own agency and often conflicting agendas. The authors apply this approach to two major phenomena: collaboration with, and resistance against the occupying forces. It thereby becomes clear that violence was exchanged not only between the occupants and the occupied, but also between different political and ethnic groups of the Polish society.