Wikipedia

Operation Vistula

Operation Vistula(Polish:Akcja Wisła;Ukrainian:Опера́ція «Ві́сла») was the codename for the 1947forced resettlementof close to 150,000Ukrainians(includingRusyns,BoykosandLemkos) from the south-eastern provinces ofpost-war Poland,to theRecovered Territoriesin the west of the country. The action was carried out by the Soviet-installed Polishcommunist authoritiesto remove material support to theUkrainian Insurgent Army.[1][2]The Ukrainian Insurgent Army continued its guerilla activities until 1947 inSubcarpathianandLublin Voivodeshipswith no hope for any peaceful resolution; Operation Vistula brought an end to the hostilities.[3]

Operation Vistula
Part ofPolish–Ukrainian conflict (1939–1947)

UPAsoldiers captured by Polish soldiers
Date28 April – 31 July 1947
Location
BieszczadyandLow Beskids
Result

Polish victory

  • Complete liquidation of UPA in Polish territories
  • Mass deportations of Ukrainian civilians
Belligerents
Polish People's Republic linkUkrainian Insurgent Army
Commanders and leaders
Bolesław Bierut
Stefan Mossor		 Various local leaders
Casualties and losses
Unknown 1135UPAsoldiers killed
141,000 civilians deported
"Vistula Operation" redirects here. For other uses, seeVistula Offensive (disambiguation).

In a period of three months beginning on 28 April 1947 and with Soviet approval and aid about 141,000 civilians residing aroundBieszczadyandLow Beskidswere forcibly resettled toformer German territories,ceded to Poland at theYalta Conferenceat the end ofWorld War II.[3][4]The operation was named after theVistula River,Wisłain Polish; some Polish and Ukrainian politicians as well as historians condemned the operation following the 1989fall of communisminEastern Europeand described it asethnic cleansing.[5][6]Others argued that no other means of stopping the violence existed since partisans used to regroup outside Polish borders.[3]

At the same time the Soviet Union carried out a parallel action, Operation West, in theUkrainian SSR.Although both operations were coordinated from Moscow, there was a difference in their results.[3]Operation West was conducted inWest Ukraineby the Soviet NKVD and targeted the families of suspected UPA members. Over 114,000 individuals, mostly women and children, were deported to theKazakh SSRand Siberia and forced intoextreme poverty.[3]Of the 19,000 adult males deported by the NKVD, most were sent to coal mines and stone quarries in the north. None of the people deported by the NKVD received any farms or empty homes to live in.[3]

Background

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Further information:Population exchange between Poland and Soviet Ukraine
Monument to Polish soldiers killed byUPAinJasiel,south-eastern Poland, in 1946

The goal of the operation was to suppress theUkrainian Insurgent Army(UPA), which had been fighting thePolish People's Army(LWP) in the southeast of Poland.[2]The original codename of the operation wasAkcja Wschód(Operation East), similar to Operation West (Akcja Zachód) conducted by the NKVD on the Soviet side of the border.[3]It is sometimes assumed that the cause for Operation Vistula was the assassination on 28 March 1947 of the Polish communist GeneralKarol Świerczewskiin anambushset up by the UPA.[7]

The village ofBukowskoburned down by theUPAin 1946

About 12 hours after the incident, the Polish Soviet-sponsored authorities made the decision to deport all Ukrainians and Lemkos. It is known that preparations for Operation Vistula had started in January 1947, if not earlier. On 10 September 1947 theSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Unionissued an Order No. 3214-1050, for the deportation of all Ukrainian families of alleged UPA members to Siberia.[8][3]Between 1945 and 1947 over 126,000 Ukrainians were apprehended by the NKVD and almost 32,000 of the Ukrainian underground were killed, attesting to the continuity of the same Soviet policy from before 1947.[3]

In the aftermath of the death of Karol Świerczewski, Lieutenant Colonel Wacław Kossowski, though concluding that the identity of the assailants responsible for Świerczewski's death was 'impossible to determine', nonetheless advised the Polish general staff on 11 April "As soon as possible, an Operational Group should be organized, which would elaborate a plan to include among other matters the complete extermination of the remnants of the Ukrainian population in the southeastern border region of Poland".[9]

On April 16, 1947, theMinister of Public Security (MBP)divisional generalStanisław Radkiewiczand MarshalMichał Rola-Żymierski,the Minister of National Defence, issued the operative and organization plan for an operation namedAkcja Wschód('Operation East') articulating the goal of the operation as "To solve the Ukrainian problem in Poland once and for all" and instructing the participants to "Conduct evacuation from the southern and eastern border region of all the people of Ukrainian descent...and settle them in the north-western territories of Poland in the highest possible degree of scattering...".[9]

Action participants

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Signature page of Polish-Ukrainian repatriation agreement signed byKhrushchev,1944

The operation was carried out by the Operational Group Vistula consisting of about 20,000 personnel commanded by GeneralStefan Mossor.[1]The group included soldiers of thePolish People's Armyand theInternal Security Corps,as well as functionaries of the policeMilicja Obywatelskaand the Security ServiceUrząd Bezpieczeństwa.[7]At 4am on28 April1947, six divisions of the Polish army surrounded the villages of southeastern Poland that were inhabited by Ukrainians. In a commensurate action, Soviet internal security forces and Czechoslovak border guards blocked the eastern and southern borders of Poland, preventing the deportees from fleeing.[10]Initially, the expellees comprised about 20,000Ukrainians.With time, the total number grew to 80,000 and eventually to close to 150,000 inhabitants ofPolesie,Roztocze,Pogórze Przemyskie,Bieszczady,Low Beskid,Beskid Sądecki,andRuś Szlachtowska.[1]

Resettlement of Ukrainians in 1947

The expellees were resettled over a wide area in the Northern and Western Territoriesassigned to Polandby thePotsdam AgreementincludingWarmiaandMasuria.

A consequence of Operation Vistula was the almost total depopulation ofPogórze Przemyskie,BieszczadyandBeskid Niskicoupled with theNKVD-ledforcible repatriation of Ukrainians from Polandto the Soviet Union (theUkrainian SSRandSiberia) in 1944–46. The relocation of the population put the UPA forces in Poland in the most difficult position; deprived of human and other resources, the outnumbered Ukrainian partisans were unable to uphold their armed resistance against the communist forces. Nevertheless, the UPA remained active for a few more years. After the last relocations, UPA's activities on Polish territory died out. Some Ukrainian partisans fled toWestern Europe,notably toWest Germany,and theUnited States.[11]

Process of deportation

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A principle of 'collective responsibility' was applied–all Ukrainians within the indicted area of Poland were deported regardless of political leanings, alliances and historical affiliations. Polish authorities decided to resettle "every person of Ukrainian nationality". Mixed families, communities that did not support UPA, Lemkos returning from Red Army service, "even loyal party members trained in the Soviet Union, even communists who helped 'repatriate' Ukrainians in the previous wave, were forcible resettled". Nationality was not decided by 'individual choice' but by religion, language and "frequently by the letter 'U' in theKennkartePolish citizens received from the Nazi occupation during the war ".[9]

Those who resisted deportation were imprisoned in theJaworzno prison campin Silesia.[12]In total 3,936 Ukrainians were imprisoned in Jaworzno camp, a war time affiliate of theAuschwitz-Birkenaucomplex. Of the near 4,000 Ukrainians taken to Jaworzno camp, 823 were women and children. Torture, typhus epidemics and additional exigencies resulted in the several deaths and suicides in the camp. Military tribunals were also to judge civilians and sentenced to death 173 Ukrainians on the spot during Operation Vistula.[9]

The Ukrainians were transported in compact cattle and box cars, sanitary conditions were poor and food supplies irregular, some deportees died during transit.[12]Ukrainians were packed into trains for Lublin or Oswiecim, where they were rerouted to their places of settlement. The final destination and degree of dispersal of groups was determined by the judgement of the intelligence officers, whose colleagues were waiting to receive their instruction in sealed envelopes at the end of the line.[9]

Events

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The deportations occurred in stages. Poland and theSoviet Ukraineconducted population exchanges resulting from bilateral agreements signed on9 September1944 and 16 August 1945.[6]The first transfers occurred at the end of World War II. The Poles who resided east of the newly established borders weredeported to new Poland over three years.In 1944 the expulsion from Ukraine involved 117,000 Poles officially. In 1945 the number swelled to 512,000 Poles. In 1946 the total was 158,500 Poles from the Ukrainian SSR alone.[13]

Some 482,000 Ukrainians were deported to the Ukrainian SSR between September 1944 and April 1946,[6]although some 300,000 remained in their native settlements within the borders of Poland. Many Ukrainians as well as tens of thousands of Poles (ca. 200,000 persons or more) fled from southeastern Poland to central Poland between 1944 and 1945 independently of treaties due to the pacification campaign by the Bandera faction.[3]

Operation Vistula occurred within the Polish national borders. The transfer involved persons who were internally relocated as citizens of the country. The final relocation of Ukrainians and Poles between the state borders occurred in 1951, when Poland wasforced by the Soviet Union to adjust the borderin the upperSan Riverarea and in theBelzarea for economic reasons. Poland gave up rich deposits of coal including the city ofBełzthat was in Poland, and in exchange, was assigned a stretch of barren land with low quality soil and no natural resources east of the San River and south ofPrzemyśl.The new Soviet acquisitions went to Ukraine, and populations were exchanged.[14][15]Following the transfer of land, the Soviets built large coal mines there with the total capacity of 15 million tons annually.[16]

Conditions upon resettlement

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Living standards were harsh for the deported Ukrainians, as deportees were refused compensation for the property and land they were forced to leave behind and because communities and families were separated across the four provinces of Olsztyn, Szczecin, Wrocław and Gdansk, carefully dispersed so that the Ukrainian deportees did not constitute more than 10% of the local population.[12]The expedited plan approved by Civil Security Minister Brigadier General Radkevych and Marshal Zhymerski instructed "Conduct evacuation from the Southern and Eastern border region of all the people of Ukrainian descent...and settle them in the north-western territories of Poland in the highest possible degree of scattering...".[9]

Ukrainians were faced with largely decrepit accommodations, as most habitable buildings in the 'recovered territories' had recently been moved into by newly repatriated Poles after the 1944 Polish-Soviet population transfers.[12]

They received financial credits and material help from the government, including grain shipments and other foodstuffs.[3]Dr Zbigniew Palski writes that new homes were renovated with public funds; inOlsztyn Voivodeship2,427 houses were rebuilt by the state, inSzczecin Voivodeship,only 717 although the needs were exponentially greater: reaching 10,000 households, far beyond the available state budget. Most of their personal debts, however, were remitted in the following years.[3]

Situation of Lemkos in Poland

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Lemko house inNowica

Some five thousand Lemko families returned to their home regions in south-eastern Poland in 1957 and 1958.[17]While the Polish census of 2003 shows only 5,800 Lemkos (self-identification), there are estimates that up to 100,000 Lemkos in total live in Poland today, and up to 10,000 of them in the area known asLemkovyna.[1]The largest communities of Lemkos live in the villagesŁosie,Krynica,Nowica,Zdynia,Gładyszów,Hańczowa,Zyndranowa,Uście Gorlickie,Bartne,Bielanka,and in the eastern part of Lemkovyna –Wysoczany,Mokre,Morochów,Szczawne,Kulaszne,Rzepedź,Turzańsk,Komańcza.Also in the townsSanok,Nowy Sącz,andGorlice.

Legacy

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Further information:Ukrainians in PolandandUkraine-Poland relations

On 3 August 1990, thePolish Senateadopted a resolution condemning the postwar Polish government's Operation Vistula. In response, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) adopted the statement of understanding of the Polish Senate resolution as a serious step towards the correction of the injustices towards the Ukrainians in Poland. In the same resolution the Rada condemned the criminal acts of theStalinistregime towards the Polish people.

On 18 April 2002 inKrasiczyn,Polish presidentAleksander Kwaśniewskiexpressed regret over Operation Vistula. The president described the operation as the symbol of harm against Ukrainians committed by the communist authorities. "Speaking on behalf of the Republic of Poland I want to express regret to all those wronged by the operation" - Kwaśniewski wrote in a letter to theNational Remembrance Institute(IPN) and participants in the conference on the 1947 Operation Vistula and openly rejected the notion that it should in any way be linked to earlier events in Volhynia. "It was believed for years that the Vistula operation was the revenge for slaughter of Poles by the UPA forces in the east in the years 1943-1944. Such attitude is wrong and cannot be accepted. The Vistula operation should be condemned."[18]

In 2007, president of PolandLech Kaczyńskiand president of UkraineViktor Yushchenkocondemned the operation as a violation ofhuman rights.[19]President Yushchenko also noted that the operation was executed by and was the responsibility of a "totalitarian communist regime".[20]

See also

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Inscription in Polish and Ukrainian at a church inBeskid Niski,Poland: "In memory of those expelled fromLemkivshchyna,on the 50th anniversary of Operation Vistula, 1947–1997 "

References

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  1. ^abc"Akcja" Wisła "(Wschód) przeciw UPA".Twoje Bieszczady.Retrieved20 June2015.
  2. ^abEugeniusz Misiło (Євген Місило), Wydział Polityczno-Wychowawczy 7 DP."Akcja Wisła".Przebieg i statystyki wysiedleń (Introductory notes and tables of data per each voivodeship with index of reference books).Sources: A. B. Szcześniak, W. Z. Szota,Droga do nikąd. Działalność organizacji ukraińskich nacjonalistów i jej likwidacja w Polsce,MON, Warsaw 1973, 433 pages; G. Motyka,Łemkowie i Bojkowie,andTak było w Bieszczadach,Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej, nr 8-9/2001; Andrzej Kaczyński,U nas tu, u nas tam,Rzeczpospolita, nr 106, 08.05.1997. Archived fromthe originalon January 28, 2006.Retrieved12 July2015.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^abcdefghijklDr Zbigniew Palski (30 May 2008)."Operacja Wisła: komunistyczna akcja represyjna, czy obrona konieczna Rzeczypospolitej? (Operation Vistula: communist repressions, or the necessary defense of the new Polish Republic?)".Dodatek Historyczny IPN Nr. 5/2008 (12).Nasz Dziennik,Institute of National Remembrance.Retrieved21 June2018.
  4. ^The Euromosaic notes on the Ukrainian in Poland.European Commission,October 2006. Wayback Machine.
  5. ^Timothy Snyder,To Resolve the Ukrainian Question Once and for All: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ukrainians in Poland, 1943-1947.Journal of Cold War Studies, Spring 1999.
  6. ^abcBohdan S. Kordan (1997), "Making Borders Stick: Population Transfer and Resettlement in the Trans-Curzon Territories, 1944–1949".International Migration ReviewVol. 31, No. 3., pp. 704-720 (in)Galicia: A Multicultured Land.
  7. ^abIPN Bulletin. Nr 11/46.Archived2022-06-21 at theWayback MachineSee:UPAChrinandStachsotnias.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^Постановление Совмина СССР.Подпункт "д" пункта 5 и пункт 7 Постановления Совета Министров СССР от 10 сентября 1947 г. N 3214-1050.
  9. ^abcdefSnyder, Timothy (November 2001).""To resolve the Ukrainian Question Once and For All": The Ethnic Cleansing of Ukrainians in Poland "(PDF).History Department Yale University.
  10. ^Khomyk, Andriy (2017-04-28)."70 YEARS AGO – OPERATION" VISTULA "".Lemko-OOL.Retrieved2022-07-26.
  11. ^John Prados (2006).Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA.Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 71–73.ISBN1566635748.
  12. ^abcd"Operation Wisła".encyclope điểu fukraine.Retrieved2022-07-26.
  13. ^Jerzy Kochanowski (2001)."Gathering Poles into Poland. Forced Migration from Poland's Former Eastern Territories".In Philipp Ther, Ana Siljak (ed.).Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948.Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 138.ISBN978-0-7425-1094-4.
  14. ^Sylwester Fertacz,Krojenie mapy Polski: Bolesna granica.Alfa.Retrieved from theInternet Archiveon 14 November 2011.
  15. ^J.A.S. Grenville,The major international treaties, 1914–1973.A history with guide and text.Taylor & Francis.572 pages.
  16. ^Bogdan Kawałko,"Prostowanie granicy."Archived2021-01-27 at theWayback MachineDziennik Wschodni,2006-02-03.Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania i Administracji w Zamościu.
  17. ^"Dostaną lasy albo pieniądze".Retrieved20 June2015.
  18. ^"POLANDEMBASSY.ORG".Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2015.Retrieved20 June2015.
  19. ^Office of President,Wspólne oświadczenie Prezydenta RP i Prezydenta Ukrainy z okazji 60-tej rocznicy Akcji „Wisła” Warszawa, 2007. Joint statement by Polish and Ukrainian Presidents.Archived2007-09-28 at theWayback Machine
  20. ^Office of President,Juszczenko w rocznicę akcji "Wisła": Zrobili to komuniści.

Polish sources

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Russian and Ukrainian sources

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Lemko sources

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Media related toOperation Wisłaat Wikimedia Commons

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