Paper short abstract:

In 1940 Himmler declared the fragmentation of the Polish population as main goal of Nazi racial policy in the occupied territories. This lecture examines the involvement of Reich's anthropologists and ethnologists, using the example of the Góral research of Viennese ethnologist Anton A. Plügel.

Paper long abstract:

After the invasion of Poland in September 1939, the German occupying power was faced with the question of how to effectively administer the large territory. Poles living in the "racial dumping ground" of the Generalgouvernement were regarded as cheap labour. They were classified as either being of "German origin" or "inferior". National Socialist policy aimed at splitting the population groups in order to destroy national unity by strengthening local separatism - with the obedient help of pro-Nazi anthropologists and ethnologists. This lecture examines their active involvement using the example of the Góral research of the Viennese ethnologist Anton A. Plügel.

At the beginning of 1940, Anton A. Plügel (1910-1945), an enthusiastic National Socialist and alumnus of the University of Vienna's Institute of Ethnology, relocated to Cracow. There he was head of the section for Racial and Folklore Research at the Institute for German Studies in the East. The young researcher and his (mainly Viennese) team collected biometric data of the Polish population in preparation for selection and extermination. His field research among the Górals, a small population group in the southern part of Poland, was to identify so-called Aryan evidence. As proof, "Nordic racial elements", traditional folk costumes, folklore and swastikas on traditional wood carvings were used. The special treatment of the Górals by the German occupation authorities led to conflicts between them and other groups in the region, which continued in the post-war period.