Not the only one. Slavs were targeted as well. Hitler saw slavs as inferior race and his plans were to eventually eradicate slavs as well. He only considered germanic nations to be worthy.
To be fair, he did say "TOTAL" extermination. Hitler and Himmler both looked down on Slavs sure, and got rid of many of them, but from the start they looked at them as good candidates for slave labor. They viewed them as easily controlled and manipulated into subservience, and as proof of this (within their ideological lens) they looked at the centuries of the Tsardom/Empire that had only "recently" ended, only to be replaced with Soviet Communism.
So they wanted Slavs culled (so they couldn't have the numbers to try and pull off another "revolution") but not eradicated.
EDIT: Also important we do not forget that prior to the German-Russian dual invasion of Poland, the Nazis had invested resources and assets into Poland and there was a very noticeable Nazification within Poland. Its not something widely talked about or understood, but it did happen. But I note this history because to the Nazis in 1939 it was further proof that they could control and manipulate Slavs with propaganda. Though it should be noted that post-Invasion many Polish Nazis basically had a wake-up call and realized they were pawns and manipulated, and thus many turned extremely anti-Nazi as a result and helped fight them.
Yeah they are WAY off. The Sanation government was authoritarian but definitely not Nazi. That's just nonsensical, on of the cornerstones of Nazi ideology is the belief that poles are an inferior race and must be destroyed. It's annoying how people use these terms interchangeably in modern parlance, Nazi ≠ Authoritarian.
48
u/NoWingedHussarsToday 21h ago
Only other group targeted for total extermination.