General Government - Name

Name

The full title of the regime in German until July 1940 was the Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete, a name that is usually translated as the General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories. On 31 July 1940 the name was shortened to just Generalgouvernement by governor Hans Frank on Hitler's authority. A more literal translation of Generalgouvernement would be General Governorate, however. The correct translation of the term "gouvernement" is not government but actually governorate, which is a type of administrative division or territory. It was also known colloquially as the Restpolen ("Remainder of Poland").

The designation General Government was specifically chosen in reference to the Government General of Warsaw, a civil entity created in the area by the German Empire during World War I. This 1914–1918 district existed together with an Austro-Hungarian-controlled Military Government of Lublin alongside the short-lived Kingdom of Poland, a similar rump state formed out of the then-Russian parts of Poland.