The Polnische Wehrmacht
From the spring of 1944, when the Germans realized that the war was lost, they started to look for ways of getting in touch with Polish politicians. According to reports sent to the Polish government-in-exile in London, Gestapo officials in several Polish cities were trying to talk about creating a common, anti-Communist front with the Poles, a thing that had been unheard of before. The Nazis also tried again to talk Wincenty Witos into issuing an appeal, but he refused.
Heinrich Himmler again came to Hitler asking for permission for the organization of Polish units, but Hitler stated that only Belarusians and Ukrainians, citizens of the Polish Second Republic, were allowed to serve as auxiliaries. In the fall of 1944, after the collapse of the Warsaw Uprising, Hitler finally allowed Poles to create their units.
The Polnische Wehrmacht originated in operations Weiser Adler and Berta, supported by Hans Frank, confirmed October 23, 1944 by the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) and next day by Adolf Hitler. Around 700 soldiers were recruited, carrying German uniforms with tabs reading Im Dienst der Deutschen Wehrmacht ("In service of German Wehrmacht") and tabs in the form of a hussar wing or Polish white-red flag.
On October 24, 1944, Wehrmacht Headquarters officially announced this decision. A propaganda poster was printed in Krakau (Kraków, Cracow), in which a Polish worker puts aside a shovel and takes a gun handed to him by a German soldier. News of this idea generated confusion, as people were afraid of conscription. However, German officials placated the Poles, stating that they did not treat it seriously.
On November 4, 1944, Heeresgruppe Mitte (Headquarters of the Central Group of the German Army) announced basic principles. The Germans were hoping that some 12,000 Poles would volunteer. They were promised the same treatment as German soldiers, including salaries, death insurance and health service.
In the late fall of 1944, in several Polish towns, offices for volunteers were created, some of them decorated with Polish flags. However, only 471 people signed up, in spite of German fabrications stating that the Home Army announced its alliance with the Nazis. Desperate, the occupiers tried to use prisoners, but also with no success. Out of those who volunteered, most went AWOL after some time. In January 1945, in the course of the Vistula-Oder Offensive, the Red Army overran the remaining Polish territory still in German hands, thus rendering this attempt to enlist Poles into German service largely moot.
Read more about this topic: Poles In The Wehrmacht