In 1939, the German Wehrmacht invaded Poland. Inhabitants of the region from all ethnic backgrounds were subject to numerous atrocities by Nazi Germany forces, of which the most affected were Polish and Jewish civilians. Pomerelia was made part of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia. The Nazis set up concentration camps, ethnically cleansed Poles and Jews, and systematically exterminated Poles, Roma and the Jews. In Pomerania Albert Forster was directly responsible for extermination of non-Germans in Danzig-West Prussia. He personally believed in the need to engage in genocide of Poles and stated that "We have to exterminate this nation, starting from the cradle" and declared that Poles and Jews were not human.