Polish-Belarusian ethnic conflict
Part of Ethnic conflicts in the Soviet Union

Monument to victims of the cursed soldiers in Zaleszany, Hajnówka County
Date18 March 1921 – 1954
Location
Poland and Belarus
(Western Belorussia and Podlachia)
Territorial
changes
Belligerents

The Polish-Belarusian ethnic conflict[lower-alpha 1][4] took place on the territory of Western Belarus, Bialystochyna and Podlasie from 1921 to 1954. Relations between the two nations deteriorated during World War II, and the conflict continued after the war ended.

Interbellum

During the Russian Civil War, the Second Polish Republic, the Belarusian People's Republic, and the Soviet states vied for control of Belarusian territory. In 1921, Western Belarus was incorporated into Poland.

After Western Belarus was incorporated into the Second Polish Republic, the Belarusian population was subjected to the state's policy toward national minorities, which included Polonization.[5] The situation worsened after the death of Jozef Pilsudski in 1935. Belarusian national and cultural organizations were suppressed by the Polish authorities, and forced assimilation was intensified.[6][7]

Events of 1939

In September 1939, the Third Reich and the USSR invaded and divided the territory of Poland. Western Belarus became part of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. The local Belarusian population welcomed joining the Soviet Union. Poles were outraged by the destruction of their country. According to Markelov, they began to perceive the Belarusians as allies of the USSR. Anti-Soviet sentiment eventually turned into anti-Belarusian sentiment.[4]

During the annexation of western Belarus, there were attacks on ethnic Poles. Murders, mostly of Osadniks, took place throughout Western Belarus, but the most brutal took place in the Bialystok Voivodeship.[8] An armed uprising against the Polish authorities took place in Skidel under the leadership of former members of the Communist Party of Western Belarus.[9][10]

German occupation

With the beginning of the German occupation in 1941, the Nazi administration took advantage of the inter-ethnic tensions in the region. Two groups, the pro-Communist Partisans and the Polish Home Army group, which were part of a broad anti-Fascist movement, began to operate during the war. Despite their different political backgrounds, they occasionally collaborated in the fight against the Germans. The Home Army, on the other hand, actively fought against Belarusian collaborators.[11] During World War II, some ethnic Belarusians who had supported the Nazis turned against the Polish underground.[1]

The main conflict at that time was between the Belarusian nationalist elites and the Poles.[11]

Events after 1944

After the Wehrmacht was driven from the area around the Belarusian-Polish border, the Polish anti-Soviet underground sought to regain control of the region for Poland. The nationalist partisans attempted to drive the Belarusians across the Curzon Line, the newly proposed border between Poland and the Soviets. From 1944 to 1950, there were numerous attacks by Polish nationalists against the Belarusians, including threats, assaults, and murders. Attacks occurred in both the BSSR and the Polish People's Republic.[11]

One notorious event was the murder of 79 Belarusian peasants by a detachment of nationalists led by Romuald Rajs in January and February 1946.

Polish partisans remained in the Belarusian forests until 1954.[11]

Aftereffects

The postwar terror of the anti-Soviet underground created and reinforced a negative image of Poles among Belarusians, as they killed peaceful peasants because of their religion and nationality. Similarly, Belarusians were stereotyped by Poles as allies of the Soviets. According to some commentators, this mutual distrust hindered the development of inter-ethnic relations for a long time.[11] However, some historians have interpreted the relationship differently, placing it in a broader historical context. Compared to Poland's relations with other neighboring countries, Polish-Belarusian relations have been relatively conflict-free and free of deep-seated mutual resentment and animosity.[12]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also called the Polish-Belarusian conflict[1][2] or Interethnic tension in the Belarusian-Polish border area[3]

Literature

References

  1. 1 2 Karbowiak o konflikcie polsko-białoruskim
  2. ↑ Грыбоўскі Ю. Польска-беларускі канфлікт у Генеральнай акрузе «Беларусь» (1941—1944 гг.) // Białoruskie Zeszyty Historyczne, nr 25, 2006, s. 116—167.
  3. ↑ Великий А.Ф., Ставропольский альманах Российского общества интеллектуальной истории: вып. 6 (специальный): материалы международного научного семинара «Своё» и «Чужое» в исследовательском поле «истории пограничных областей», Пятигорск, 16-18 апреля 2004 г. – Ставрополь: Изд-во СГУ, 2004 – С.146-154.
    • Межнациональная напряженность в белорусско-польском пограничье. 1944-1946 гг.
  4. 1 2 Маркелов Н. И. Межэтнический конфликт белорусов и поляков в 1944-1950 гг. : политический и националистический аспекты // Исторический журнал: научные исследования. — 2017.
  5. ↑ Шевченко К. «Картина варварства и глупости» белорусское и украинское меньшинство II Речи Посполитой в конце 1930-х гг. // Антигитлеровская коалиция — 1939: Формула провала. Сборник статей. — М.: Кучково поле, 2019. — С. 58.
  6. ↑ Шевченко К. «Картина варварства и глупости» белорусское и украинское меньшинство II Речи Посполитой в конце 1930-х гг. // Антигитлеровская коалиция — 1939: Формула провала. Сборник статей. — М.: Кучково поле, 2019. — С. 62.
  7. ↑ "Belarus (1/5): The Worst War". IWM WEBSITE. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  8. ↑ Ігар Мельнікаў. Польскія каланісты ў Заходняй Беларусі // Новы Час : газета. — 3 сакавіка 2015.
  9. ↑ М. Дзелянкоўскі. Скідзельская быль // Помнікі гісторыі і культуры Беларусі. — № 4. — Мн.: Полымя, 1985. — ISSN 0131-2669. С.8,9.
  10. ↑ Marek Wierzbicki. Powstanie skidelskie 1939 r.. Białoruskie Zeszyty Historyczne”. 7.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Маркелов Н. И. К вопросу о межэтнических отношениях поляков и белорусов на Белосточчине в условиях немецко-фашистской оккупации (1941—1944 гг.) // Вестник АГУ : журнал. — Выпуск 2 (199). — 2017.
  12. ↑ Wierzbicki, Andrzej (2018). Polish-Belarusian Relations : Between a Common Past and the Future. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft. ISBN 978-3-8452-9114-7. OCLC 1055038909.
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  • Białorusini i stosunki polsko-białoruskie na Białostocczyźnie 1944-1956: Wybór dokumentów / Oprac. S. Iwaniuk. - Bialystok: T-wo Hist., 1988.
  • Stosunki polsko-bialoruskie w wojewodztwie bialostockim w latach 1939–1956, Warszawa 2005.
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  • Весялкоўскі Ю. Што прывяло Армію Краёву на Беларусь. — Лондан, 1995.
  • Крывашэй Дз. Беларуска-польскія адносіны ў гады нямецкай акупацыі// Białorunruskie zeszyty historyczne, nr 24, 2005. — s. 153–165.
  • Крывашэй Дз. Польская супольнасць Беларусі пад час акупацыі // Беларусь у выпрабаваннях Вялікай Айчыннай вайны: масавыя забойствы нацыстаў, Мн., 2005, с. 139–148.
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