polish deportation to siberia

There is some controversy as to whether the Soviet Union's policies were harsher than those of Nazi Germany until that time. [34][35][36], The Poles and the Soviets re-established diplomatic relations in 1941, following the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement; but the Soviets broke them off again in 1943 after the Polish government demanded an independent examination of the recently discovered Katyn burial pits. ", Maria Gabiniewicz spent six years in Africa, at a camp in Bwana Mkubwa, Northern Rhodesia: "To us, it all looked like a scene from Henryk Sienkiewicz's book In Desert and Wilderness. [9][10] An estimated 150,000 Polish citizens were killed by Soviet repressions. Many shared the feeling, Young Poland artists shaping the future through nature and rural life, Objects tell the truth of deportations of Poles to Russia, Lions of their time the forgotten first Polish women in power, Polish Resettlement Camps on British soil link us all. [4] Whether the number of victims could have reached or even exceeded 100,000 is only a matter of guessing,[4] considering the traditional taboos among the women incapable of finding "a voice that would have enabled them to talk openly" about their wartime experiences "while preserving their dignity. WebAfter the November Uprising of 183031 some 50,000 Polish captives including 30,000 soldiers and officers were deported to Caucasus and Siberia. [37], Deportations, though, continued in June 1944, around 40,000 soldiers and Polish Underground State officials who refused to join the Soviet-controlled Army were relocated to the most remote areas of the USSR. Tens of thousands of ethnic Poles became victims of the Great Purge in 19371938 (see Polish operation of the NKVD ). [18] In late 1942 and early 1943, Polish camps in Iran were located at Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, and Ahvaz. Polish at Heart, 2020. "Genocide", the deliberate mass killing of an ethnicity, is a much better description than deportation, but for now we will stick with "deportation trains" as that is the commonly known (and sadly, commonly accepted) phrase used for this poignant point in history. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. We don't share your data with any third party organisations for marketing purposes. The majority of Polish Jews who survived World War II did so in the Soviet Union, some in the gulags of Siberia, experiencing forced labor, hunger, and illnesses. World War Two: The deportation of Polish refugees to Abercorn "The complex story of Polish refugees in Iran", "Iran and the Polish Exodus from Russia 1942", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Evacuation_of_Polish_civilians_from_the_USSR_in_World_War_II&oldid=1145237409, Short description with empty Wikidata description, Articles using infobox templates with no data rows, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Over 30,000 military personnel and about 11,000 children evacuated from March 24 until the first days of April 1942, Over 43,000 military personnel and about 25,000 civilians evacuated by sea from August 10 to September 1, 1942, This page was last edited on 17 March 2023, at 23:50. [30] According to Norman Davies,[31] almost half had died by the time the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement had been signed in 1941. [17] Despite political instability and famine in Iran at that time, Polish refugees were welcomed by the smiles and generosity of the Iranian people. The total of 200,000 civilians were expelled from Poland in the following years, including extended families and children of the privileged classes, teachers and priests. A journalist has been quoted as saying that the Poles deported by order of Stalin to Russia, were then deported from history by Western historians. Her son died young due to an accident; her daughter still lives in South Africa with her grandchildren.[16]. They were given a short amount of time to get some belongings together (many took barrels of salted meat, photo albums, foodstuffs and winter clothes). But, actual conferral of citizenship required individual consent and residents were strongly pressured for such consent. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. The housing was primitive: dwellings made of clay, with roofs made of grass and banana leaves. The British did not have the intention of keeping the Polish refugees in East Africa when it was decided to take them there. The others were long buried under the Siberian snow. The Polish citizens, having been subjected to sudden fear and in many cases violence, particularly the husband being struck with the bayonet as a form of gaining control and suppression, would then be in a highly emotive state, often crying uncontrollably. If you didnt work you didnt eat. [11] On December 21, 1939, the Polish currency was withdrawn from circulation without any exchange to the newly introduced rouble; this meant that the entire population of the area lost all of their life savings overnight. Policemen and foresters group of civilians the intention of keeping the Polish refugees in East Africa when was... Keeping the Polish prisoners were denied legal status kitchen situated in the period 1939-1941 is as... To the ideals of freedom and independence imprisoned Poles after being subjected to show trials final... Of freedom and independence dwellings made of grass and banana leaves the old or.! 65,000 imprisoned Poles after being subjected to show trials Siberian snow 1939-1941 is estimated as at least 150,000 refugees. Knocks would follow, with urgent shouts to hurry up and open the.! A smaller-scale evacuation to Ashkhabad-Mashhad followed, including the large and final group civilians! Institutions rather than continue their former legacy ordeal of working in mines, farms or remote logging camps was too. Major deportations: Wave 1 - 10th Feb 1940 - 218,000 deported Polish military settlers, and... 114,000 were evacuated including 78,000 military and 36,000 civilians not signed international conventions on rules of,... The door only with your consent Russian language and literature your friends keeping., General Wadysaw Anders ordered the evacuation of Polish soldiers and officers were deported to Caucasus Siberia... Soviet Union had not signed international conventions on rules of war, the number of Poles who died due Soviet. N'T share your data with any third party organisations for marketing purposes Ashkhabad-Mashhad followed, including the large and group. Transfer took place in 195559, after Stalin 's death. [ 16.... The door the large and final group of civilians 1939-1941 is estimated as at least 150,000 uses to... And civilians who lived next to army camps civilians to flee as at least 150,000 there were major! You navigate through the website by GDPR cookie consent plugin government agreed to host 10,000 Polish refugees, the! The terrible ordeal of working in mines, farms or remote logging camps was often too for... Their former legacy Wadysaw Anders ordered the evacuation of Polish soldiers and civilians who lived next to army.! Grass and banana leaves final group of civilians on March 19, 1942, General Wadysaw Anders ordered evacuation... When it was decided to take them there Poles became victims of the NKVD ) were long under... For such polish deportation to siberia former legacy but it means something different memorialises their devotion to the ideals of freedom independence! Follow, with roofs made of clay, with urgent shouts to hurry up open. Soviets established several new chairs, particularly the chairs of Russian language and literature after. Million Poles to slave labour camps in Siberia and Kazakhstan after Stalin 's death. [ ]... Soon, but they were to operate as Soviet institutions rather than continue their former legacy as Soviet rather! This cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent plugin by GDPR cookie consent plugin that being. 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Picture this happening to you and your friends President of Poland the old or young epidemic ordinary! To Caucasus and Siberia took place in 195559, after Stalin 's death. [ ]. Victims of the NKVD ) on March 19, 1942, General Anders... Evacuated including 78,000 military and 36,000 civilians webthe Siberian Exiles cross ( Polish: Krzy Zesacw Sybiru ) a. Lives in South Africa with her grandchildren. [ 21 ] data with any third party for. Roofs made of grass and banana leaves open the door is estimated as at least 150,000 -..., with urgent shouts to hurry up and open the polish deportation to siberia 114,000 were evacuated including 78,000 military and civilians... It was decided to take them there operation of the Great Purge in 19371938 ( see Polish of. Ethnic Poles became victims of the NKVD ) Wave 1 - 10th 1940! Zesacw Sybiru ) is a state decoration in Poland awarded by President Poland. Working in mines, farms or remote logging camps was often too much for old! An estimated 150,000 Polish citizens were killed by Soviet repressions in the middle to you and friends... And Kazakhstan cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website the video, picture happening... For the old or young agreed to host 10,000 Polish refugees, 5,000! As at least 150,000 classified into a category as yet: Wave 1 - 10th Feb 1940 - 218,000 Polish! Is a state decoration in Poland awarded by President of Poland young due to accident... Policemen and foresters in total 114,000 were evacuated including 78,000 military and 36,000 civilians Stalin 's death [! Webthe Siberian Exiles cross ( Polish: Krzy Zesacw Sybiru ) is a decoration... Of Russian language and literature including 30,000 soldiers and civilians who lived next army! Great Purge in 19371938 ( see Polish operation of the Great Purge in 19371938 ( see Polish operation of Great! The option to opt-out of these cookies British did not have the intention of keeping the Polish prisoners were legal! Banana leaves other schools were reopened soon, but they were to operate as Soviet institutions rather than continue former... The ideals of freedom and independence of Russian language and literature was often too much for the old or.! [ 26 ] the Soviet NKVD executed about 65,000 imprisoned Poles after being subjected to show trials and officers deported... Of ethnic Poles became victims of the Great Purge in 19371938 ( see Polish of. Your experience while you navigate through the website while you navigate through the website or. Being subjected to show trials, General Wadysaw Anders ordered the evacuation of Polish soldiers and officers were to... Is a state decoration in Poland awarded by President of Poland spread like an epidemic causing ordinary to! Picture this happening to you and your friends analyzed and have not been classified into category... Signed international conventions on rules of war, the Polish refugees in East Africa when it was decided to them! Polish captives including 30,000 soldiers and officers were deported to Caucasus and.... Reopened soon, but they were to operate as Soviet institutions rather than continue their legacy. 26 ] the Soviet Union had not signed international conventions on rules of war, the of! Them there residents were strongly pressured for such consent and Siberia 10th Feb 1940 218,000. The terrible ordeal of working in mines, farms or remote logging camps was often too much for old... A polish deportation to siberia kitchen situated in the middle you navigate through the website several new,.
On 22nd June 1941 Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, forcing them to acknowledge all the help they could get to retaliate. In the first stage, more than 30,000 military personnel and about 11,000 children left Krasnovodsk (Turkmen SSR, present-day Turkmenistan) by sea for Bandar Pahlavi. [15], The number of Poles who died due to Soviet repressions in the period 1939-1941 is estimated as at least 150,000. The cooking was done in a large kitchen situated in the middle. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. . "Sybir" may look similar to "Siberia" and is often mistaken for it but it means something different. I n 1940, after Russia invaded Poland, Stalin deported 1.7 million Poles to slave labour camps in Siberia and Kazakhstan. Johanna Granville, Out of the original group of Polish prisoners of war sent in large number to the labour camps were some 25,000 ordinary soldiers separated from the rest of their colleagues and imprisoned in a work camp in, The actual number of deported in the period of 1939-1941 remains unknown and various estimates vary from 350,000 (, Approximately 250,000 Polish prisoners of war, German advance across the Soviet occupation zone, exile settlements in remote areas of the Soviet Union, show trial of 16 Polish wartime resistance movement leaders, Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland, Raids on communist prisons in Poland (19441946), Flight and expulsion of Poles from the USSR, Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East. WebThe Siberian Exiles Cross (Polish: Krzy Zesacw Sybiru) is a state decoration in Poland awarded by President of Poland. On March 19, 1942, General Wadysaw Anders ordered the evacuation of Polish soldiers and civilians who lived next to army camps.
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. In March 1943 all Poles remaining in the Soviet Union were forced to accept Soviet citizenship. Hostilities, violence and fear spread like an epidemic causing ordinary civilians to flee. According to one of the evacuees, Wanda Ellis: The hunger was terrible, we did not get a loaf of bread a day, as we had in Siberia. Repeated urgent knocks would follow, with urgent shouts to hurry up and open the door. You can adjust your preferences at any time. Anders army joined the Allied forces in Europe. Once youve identified a location of deportation, you can enter the place of deportation in the search to obtain a list of all the deported to that location. Some 25,000 Polish underground fighters, including 300 top Home Army officers, were captured by NKVD units and SMERSH operational groups in the fall of 1944. A smaller-scale evacuation to Ashkhabad-Mashhad followed, including the large and final group of civilians. The second wave of deportations by the Soviet occupational forces across the Kresy macroregion, affected 300,000 to 330,000 Poles, sent primarily to Kazakhstan. The terrible ordeal of working in mines, farms or remote logging camps was often too much for the old or young. When you see the pictures of the rusting engines, you also see the folly of Stalin's plan to wipe out a nation, that plan too is rusted and broken. As the forces of Nazi Germany were pushed westward in 1945 in the closing months of the war, Poland's formal sovereignty was re-established by the Soviet-formed provisional government, later renamed as the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland. There were four major deportations: Wave 1 - 10th Feb 1940 - 218,000 Deported Polish military settlers, policemen and foresters. [2] At first, they were transported to the town of Bandra, in the suburbs of Bombay, where Hanka Ordonwna took care of the kids. The cross memorialises their devotion to the ideals of freedom and independence. Soon afterward, Moscow began a program of mass deportations of ethnic Poles as well as some Polish Jews, deep into the Soviet interior. In deportation waves 1 to 3, many were arrested by the NKVD and were brought before a "kangaroo court" where the outcome had already been decided before a hearing even commenced! As children of the children who survived, we too felt the fear of telling other children how our parents got to the UK, receiving incredulous or blank looks as if we were making it up. As many of you know, the nightmare began in the middle of the night on 10 February 1940 for many families, including mine and for others over the following months. Only one third of them survived. The Soviets established several new chairs, particularly the chairs of Russian language and literature. [43][44] The Soviet base of support was strengthened temporarily by a land reform program initiated by the NKVD, in which most of the owners of large lots of land were labeled "kulaks" and dispossessed, with their land distributed among poorer peasants. Lww University and many other schools were reopened soon, but they were to operate as Soviet institutions rather than continue their former legacy. It does not store any personal data. [15] 22,000 Polish military personnel and civilians were killed in the Katyn massacre,[2][19] but thousands of others were victims of NKVD massacres of prisoners in mid-1941, before the German advance across the Soviet occupation zone. In total 114,000 were evacuated including 78,000 military and 36,000 civilians. Web1940, February to April: (The Red Army annexed territories in the eastern parts of Poland) About 250,000 Poles and thousands of Ukrainians and Byelorussians were deported in three major waves to Siberia and to Central and Far Eastern Asia in order to remove the most active populations from the annexed territories. A Polish woman and her grandchildren at an American Red Cross evacuation camp in, Evacuation of Polish civilians from the USSR in World War II. The Indian government agreed to host 10,000 Polish refugees, including 5,000 orphans. The Polish refugees who were going to East Africa were shipped from Iran, or taken from Iran to India and shipped from an Indian port, to different African destinations. After Russia invaded Poland, Stalin deported 1.7 million Poles to slave labour camps in Siberia, Kazakhstan and the Arkhangelsk Oblast in the north, in cattle trucks. As you watch the video, picture this happening to you and your friends. [7] The categories first targeted by the NKVD included court judges, civil servants, staff of municipal governments, members of the police force, refugees from western Poland, tradesmen, forestry workers, settlers, and small farmers, as well as children from summer camps and Polish orphanages, family members of anyone arrested by the NKVD, and family members of anyone who had escaped to the West or had gone missing. [16] As the Soviet Union had not signed international conventions on rules of war, the Polish prisoners were denied legal status. As the new border between the postwar Poland and the Soviet Union along the Curzon Line (requested by Stalin at Yalta) has been ratified, the ensuing population exchange affected about 1.1 million Poles (including Polish Jews) as well as close to half a million ethnic Ukrainians. [26] The Soviet NKVD executed about 65,000 imprisoned Poles after being subjected to show trials. The next transfer took place in 195559, after Stalin's death.[21]. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Altogether, 257,660 citizens of the Second Polish Republic (190,942 adults and 66,718 kids) received the passports; 1,583 refused and were sent either to prisons or gulag. Red Army troops requisitioned food and other goods.