Intelligenzaktion (German pronunciation: [ɪntɛliˈɡɛnt͡s.akˌt͡sjoːn], intelligentsia action) was a highly secretive genocidal action of Nazi Germany against Polish elites (primarily intelligentsia; teachers, doctors, priests, community leaders etc.) in the early stages of World War II. It was conducted as part of attempted complete Germanization of western regions of occupied Poland before their planned annexation. The operation took the lives of 100,000 Poles according to Institute of National Remembrance. Most victims were massacred in remote locations in mass disappearances, and buried in clandestine grave pits. Selected few were executed openly in order to inflict terror on the general population before expulsions. The executioners from Einsatzgruppen der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD a