65th Anniversary of arrests / deportations from Poland by the Soviets in 1940. It is 65 years since the Soviets started to deport Polish civilians from the eastern part of Poland (which was still part of Poland at that time). The Poles were sent to places like Siberia and Kazakhstan to work in labour camps. Many died on the journey as well as in the camps. The first deportations started on the 10th of February 1940. It was followed by 3 further sets of deportations. Figures for the numbers deported vary, one figure I have come across is 1.7 million. I wonder how well known the arrests / deportations are outside Polish circles? Marek
I know that it happened but am ignorant about figures or accurate data. Anyone know anything more about this?
I've seen figures as high as 1.5 million. Basically, the area concerned had a large mixed population of Poles, Byelorussians, Ukrainians and Jews.
For anyone that might be interested the following web site gives extracts from a book (written in English) about Polish deportees in the Soviet Union. The extracts gives dates and numbers for the deportations and also brief details of subsequent events. http://www.wajszczuk.v.pl/english/drzewo/c...ichael_hope.htm Marek
My mother was one of those deported in February 1940. As a girl of 12, an 'enemy of the people' because her father was a forestry worker (and hence a potential partisan or someone who could aid partisans). She was taken along with her parents and two sisters to a Lesopunkt (lumber camp) in the Vologda oblast in northern Russia. Many smaller children died during the journey. My grandfather died later (after the Amnesty for Poles following Barabarossa) in Turkmenistan. No doubt my grandfather, the dead children and the hundreds of thousands of Poles who never returned from the 'Inhuman Land' ended up categorised as the '20 million Russian War Dead' beloved by Soviet propagandists... Michal from Warsaw
Hello to all the pals, My name is Malte Znaniecki, I am new on this forum and some of you know me from the Great War Forum, where I am mostly active. I am very interested in more information of deportation of polish people in 1939 - 1941 from eastern part of Poland. Especially I am interested in the part GALICIA, where members of my family lived since some 100 years before. We never heard of them again and if there is somebody who can help with further information to the region and to the ZNANIECKI family I would be very thankful. The family was living in the whole area of Poland, in US, Austria and Germany. Malte
Malte There is a discussion group where you might get more information & help. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kresy-Siberia/ Kresy-Siberia Group Marek
BBC Radio 4 - Witness, A Polish Odyssey "When Danuta Maczka was 14 years old, she and hundreds of thousands of other Poles were sent to Siberia by invading Soviet troops. But when the Nazis turned against the Soviet Union, the Polish exiles were set free and made their way to the Middle East to form an army under General Wladyslaw Anders. By the end of World War Two Danuta was driving a three-ton truck at the Battle of Monte Cassino."