0
Rapes or mass-murder were commited mainly by deserters or Red Army soldiers. I have not come across stories of Polish civilians raping or murdering German civilians, even though I have read many accounts. Certainly incidents like those did happen among civilians too. But they were relatively rare. They were also commited on pro-Polish Masurians or Silesians. However, from the accounts I read the main whirlwind came with the armies. That was the time most raping, pillaging and murder occured. Everywhere there were bands of marauders terrorising the countryside.
Polish settlers came onto German lands in several waves afterwards. Thefts, humiliation happened indeed. But it was there during occupation, during interbellum and during XIX century Prussian-German Kulturkampf too.
I'm not saying Germans were angels, surely they were not, and there were conflicting interests, but to say Germans were the only ones to blame for the war and violence, especially in the case of Poland, is ridiculous.
If we would really follow this string, it would take us back to XIX century and the Congress of Vienna 1815. Duchy of Warsaw was abolished. Or even further back to 1795 and the last division of Poland between Russia, Prussia and Austria. It was a spiral of injustice indeed. Action brought reaction, and opression brought retribution.
Bookmarks