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Poland, resettlements after 1945

YALTAThe Yalta Conference took place on 4-11 February 1945 and was a

meeting of the three Allied leaders, President Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain,

and Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union.

Some important arrangements were made then, which shaped the new borders of the Soviet Union, Poland and Germany in the post-war Europe. Poland lost a lot of its eastern territories for the Soviet Union, whereas Germany had to give away their western lands as

well as a part of Eastern Prussia. In other words, Poland was to give away 173 000 square km, which made up 47% of their pre-war

territory and gain 98 000 square km. This resulted in the resettlements of Poles and Germans on a huge scale – before the war

over 7 million Germans had lived on the lands that later became a part of Poland and approximately 13 million Poles on the territories

that used to belong to Poland, according to the data from 1939.

DISPLACEMENT OF THE POLES FROM THE EASTERN BORDERLANDS

Compulsory resettlements of Poles from the eastern areas of the former 2nd Republic of Poland, which had existed before 2nd World War, took place mainly in the years 1944-46.

The so called Polish Eastern borderlands had been lost to the Soviet Union as a result of the Yalta treatment (1945) and that is why the resettlement took place in the following years.For the ordinary people it was the end of everything. They lost all their property overnight and went on a journey to the unknown, having only a small bag of things they were able to take with themselves.Nowadays, we can meet the descendants of the displaced people in the places they settled down after the War.

Resettlements of Poles

The main waves of resettlements of Poles before and after the 2nd World War:1935-1938 – the waves of resettlements during the liquidation of Polish autonomous regions in Wolyn and during the operation of Polish NKWD

1940-1941 - during the four big deportations of the Poles from the Eastern Borderlands carried out by the Soviet Union

1955-1959 - resettlements from the Soviet Union to the Polish People's Republic

Resettlements of Germans

Germany – over 13 milion people from different regions in Central Europe were forced to move away. The vast majority of them had to leave their homes by the end of World War II or just after it. The fear of the Red Army as well as orders made by the Nazis left about 7.5 million people with no other choice, than to flee from their homeland, which in most cases happened to be eastern and central Poland, eastern Prussia, western Pomerania, eastern Brandenburg and Silesia. Alone from Wroclaw 700.000 inhabitants had to leave. Displacement orders put by the USA, UK and Russia brought 3.2 million of Germans away from territories newly granted to Poland.

Just after the war, the communist government of Poland took the Silesians through a verification process. As the result of that, those, who had German forefathers (about 300.000) were exiled. Still, those who were allowed to stay, were stimatized as germanized Slavs. From 1945 on people of ‚wrong‘ nationalities were taken in trains to labour camps.

During the first post-war years, autochthonic Pomeranians (apart from slavian Kashubians) were displaced to Germany. Their homes were taken over by people from Ukraine. The same happened to Masurians.

Operation VISTULA – 1947

International military action aimed at the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the resettlement operation organised to remove the selected groups of population (Ukrainians, Boykos, Lemkos), as well as Polish-Ukrainian mixed families from the south-eastern area of Poland on the Recovered Territories. It all took place two years after the end of World War II. It was carried out by the Polish military formations, units of the Ministry of Public Security and the civilian agencies (National Office for Repatriation).

The film "Rose"

Shows the dramatic fate of the native inhabitants of Masuria (former Prussia – part of Germany) who became second-class human beings for the new communist government, unworthy of participation in the construction of a new wonderful reality. Through the Polish Army officer's eyes we see the tragic battle for life and honor of the nation doomed by two nationalisms. It seems that in such tragic times, there is no place for love. Love, however, comes in and gives hope, but for how long..? It is not easy to live in post-war Poland. Repeated rapes, life full of terror, invigilation did not allow to live without fear. The brutal truth is shown. It is controversial but touching.

Our Folks

Sami Swoi (Our Folks) – a movie made in 1967. It was black-and-white, but in 2000 it was colorized. It is a story about two families that were resettled from Eastern Borderlands after the Second World War. It is a comedy. It lasts 78 minutes. Life shown in this movie is unrealistic. People are happy, and they do not have any problems. Despite the lack of realism, Polish people now think that it is one of the best Polish comedies ever made. Actors play realistically and with passion. The plot is really interesting. We recommend this movie to every fan of comedies.