Wartime Role

After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Frank was appointed governor-general, becoming the supreme chief of occupied Poland’s civil administration. 

With this promotion and increase in rank, Frank suddenly wielded power over new German territories. As long as he adhered to his Fuhrer’s desires, and Nazi Party principles, Frank could do as he pleased. He put his legal prowess to use, forcing Jewish citizens of his Polish lands into ghettos – primarily the infamous Warsaw ghetto – and forced labor camps.

He was a powerful man in the segregation movement, responsible for tearing Jewish citizens from their homes and lives, and exiling them into death camps. Perhaps the most damning statement in Frank’s career as a Nazi official came in December of 1941, when he gave a speech to his senior officials in the General Government – this speech explicitly explained how Hitler wished to annihilate all Jewish people, spelling out the Fuhrer’s orders to have all Jewish individuals killed without pity, and without concern.

In the months and years that followed, Frank oversaw four of the six death camps located in the General Government areas of Poland: Bełżec, Treblinka, Majdanek, and Sobibór. Though during later years and investigations Frank claimed that he had nothing to do with any extermination of the Jewish people, he was ultimately found guilty of aiding the Nazi cause after the war due to his participation in this effort.