The Deutsche Volksliste in the Łódź region during the Second World War

This article analyses the German National List (Deutsche Volksliste) compiled in the Łódź region during the Second World War. The Volksliste was part of the Nazis’ plans to re-Germanise the Łódź Germans and to separate them from the influence of Polish culture and society. The main questions addressed are the categorisation of Volksdeutsche by the Volksliste offices, and the motivations of Germans who rejected the list or applied for admission to a higher category. It is hypothesised that the criteria used for categorisation were insufficient, and that the most frequently applied criteria – language and religion – did not enable an adequate categorisation of the Łódź Germans. People accepted the list for many different reasons (in some cases they were compelled to do so), the most important reasons being economic ones – a desire to preserve one’s wealth, profession or social position. The article is based on various archival sources, including documents of the German administration from archives in Łódź, Poznań, and Warsaw, as well as documents submitted by applicants, as in the case of Oskar Ambroży Klikar, who appealed against his assignment to a low Volksliste category.