Questions about Generalplan Ost

Short answers, pulled from the story.

What was Generalplan Ost and when was it developed?

Generalplan Ost was a Nazi administrative blueprint for genocide developed between 1939 and 1942. The plan intended to colonize Central and Eastern Europe with Germanic settlers while systematically exterminating or expelling indigenous Slavic populations.

Who was the driving force behind Generalplan Ost?

Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel, was the driving force behind Generalplan Ost. Himmler and his inner circle, including Konrad Meyer, drafted multiple versions of the plan to colonize the East as a racial struggle.

How many people were estimated to die under Generalplan Ost?

Estimates suggest that over 60 million people would have perished had Generalplan Ost been executed. Himmler predicted that 20 to 30 million Slavs and Jews would perish through military actions and food crises.

What was the Hunger Plan within Generalplan Ost?

The Hunger Plan was a deliberate strategy to starve millions of Eastern Europeans to death to secure food for the German war machine. Nazi planners estimated that 30 million Slavic inhabitants would die from deliberate starvation.

How did Generalplan Ost categorize different ethnic groups in Eastern Europe?

The Nazis categorized Slavs as Untermenschen or subhumans and viewed them as primitive people incapable of autonomous activity. The plan included provisions for the Germanization of certain groups deemed racially superior, such as the Baltic peoples and some Czechs.

What happened to children under the Generalplan Ost policy?

The Nazis established special institutes to systematically kidnap children from occupied territories to be raised as Germans. This policy of child abduction targeted children from Belarus, Poland, and other occupied territories to create a new generation of loyal German subjects.