FOR THE RECORD: UCCA's letter to Polish President Kwasniewski

Following is the text of the January 13 letter sent by the UCCA to Aleksander Kwasniewski, president of Poland, and deputies of the Sejm of Poland.

Mr. President and Honorable Deputies:

On December 11, 1946, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which defined genocide as follows:

"In the present convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such:

"(a) Killing members of the group.

"(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.

"(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.

"(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.

"(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."

Several years prior to the defining of post-World War II borders, in the spring of 1943, certain political parties in Poland raised the issue of arranging a population exchange with the USSR. In particular, they stressed the need to resettle the Ukrainian population. This issue gradually gained support within elements of Polish society which had subjected the Ukrainian minority to harsh attacks and discrimination. At the conclusion of World War II, Polish communists took control of the government. To endear itself to the populace, the post-war government sought to establish a policy towards national minorities. Interestingly enough, some of the first juridical acts of the People's Republic of Poland (the Declaration of the National Council of the People's Republic of Poland from January 1, 1944 and the Manifesto of the Polish Committee on National Liberation of July 22, 1944) stressed a nation's right to self-determination, but were silent on the rights of national minorities in Poland. This prefaced the treaty on population exchange signed between the People's Republic of Poland and the USSR on September 9, 1944.

While the treaty provided for a voluntary exchange, in fact, very quickly this safeguard was breached. Almost immediately upon the conclusion of the war, Polish troops entered the regions inhabited by Ukrainians. They surrounded villages and forced the Ukrainians to leave Poland for the Ukrainian SSR. As a result, entire villages in the Buh and Sian river regions were evacuated, many inhabitants killed, often during mass extermination, their personal possessions pillaged, some tortured and homes razed.

Greek Catholic and Orthodox clergy and property, in particular, bore the brunt of this operation. Some of the more prominent Ukrainian Catholic Churches seized and closed were: Church of the Epiphany in Krynytsia, built in 1872; Church of St. Demetrius in Leliuchiv, built in 1861; Church of St. Mary the Protectress in Labova, built in 1787; Church of Ss. Kosma and Damian in Mylyk, built in 1792; and Church of Archangel Michael in Zhegestiv, built in 1920. Of the six Ukrainian Catholic Churches in the ancient town of Sianik, only the Church of the Holy Trinity still stands.

Among the most prominent clergy was His Excellency Kyr Josaphat Kocylowsky, bishop of Peremyshl, Sambir and Sianik, who was arrested by the Polish forces, beaten, dragged to prison and delivered to the Russians in 1945. The Russians imprisoned, tortured, and finally murdered him on November 17, 1947. A striking example of this pogrom against Ukrainian churches is the incident involving the Rev. Mykhajlo Plakhta. Forcibly dragged from the altar as he celebrated holy liturgy in the village of Surochiv, the priest, his wife, and their infant son Yurko, were shot to death by Polish Communist forces.

By September 1, 1946, some 500,000 Ukrainians had been involuntarily relocated to the USSR. Approximately 200,000 Ukrainians remained in Poland, largely in mountainous, non-accessible regions controlled by the Ukrainian underground. The treaty of September 9, 1944, after two extensions, finally expired and the Ukrainian SSR was reluctant to extend it further. Nonetheless, in Poland, the problem of the remaining Ukrainian minority population had to be dealt with.

The initial suggestion to resettle the remaining Ukrainians to western Polish territory was presented to the first secretary of the Polish Workers' Party, Wladyslaw Gomulka, in November 1946. In February 1947, the deputy chief of staff of the Polish military, Gen. Stefan Mossor, articulated a laconic and clear policy: "In the spring commence an energized program to resettle these people by family, dispersing them within the 'reunified' lands where they should swiftly assimilate." On March 29, 1947, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers' Party passed a resolution: "Expeditiously resettle Ukrainians and those of mixed marriage on the 'reunified' lands (primarily northern Prussia) without creating concentrated groups and not nearer than 100 kilometers from the border." A secret document dated April 16, 1947, set forth the specifics of Special Operation "Wschod" (later renamed Operation Wisla), as follows:

"I. Purpose

"To finally solve the Ukrainian problem in Poland towards the following end:

"a) In conjunction with the State Repatriation Administration, to evacuate from the southern and eastern border region all individuals of Ukrainian nationality and resettle them on the northwestern lands with minimal density.

"b) The evacuation must include all elements of the Ukrainian nationality, including Lemkos and those of mixed Ukrainian-Polish marriages.

"c) On the territory where the underground bands are headquartered, in the southeastern region (Sianik and environs), it is necessary to conduct a complete evacuation, which will include the Polish civilian community without regard to professional, social or party affiliation. In the future, this territory is to be settled by demobilized military colonizers.

"d) The evacuation should be conducted expeditiously (within four weeks if possible) in order to enable the settlers of new lands to complete spring sowing.

"e) Simultaneously with resettlement, it is necessary to carry out an offensive against bands of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army which must be destroyed indiscriminately upon the evacuation's completion."

The text of the official document set the primary goal of this military operation: the "final solution" to the Ukrainian problem in Poland. It meant the total deportation of all ethnic Ukrainians, as well as members of mixed Ukrainian-Polish families. Vacated farms, villages and towns were to be settled by ethnic Polish settlers, preferably retired military personnel.

Quite apart from the directive's prima facie discriminatory and inhumane nature, the methods employed were egregious. At dawn, a military unit would surround the village, preventing egress. The villagers were told they had two hours to pack their possessions. A military convoy led the victims to a designated railroad station. The deportees were divided into groups. Intellectuals, clergy and those suspected of assisting the underground were arrested and sent to a concentration camp near Auschwitz. The evacuation plan provided that resettled Ukrainians should not constitute more than 10 percent of any village or town. Thus, from April 29 to August 12, 1947, some 140,000 Ukrainians were forcibly relocated. The next few months added an additional 10,000 to that number.

The resettled Ukrainians were not permitted to leave their new residences. Ukrainian churches and schools were forbidden. The evacuation plan clearly set out the purpose of the operation: "The main purpose ... is to assimilate them in a new Polish environment ... Never use the term 'Ukrainian.' Should an intellectual manage to sneak in among the deportees, resettle him separately and far-removed from any Ukrainian community."

On July 27, 1949, the victims were officially deprived of any rights regarding real and personal property left behind, which became the property of the state, including both individual and community-held property, i.e., community clubs, churches, etc. Upon the completion of the actual operation, the government commenced a new effort to expunge any trace of Ukrainian existence in southeast Poland - monuments, cemeteries, landmarks, crosses, archives, museums, libraries, street and village names were changed. Many churches became Polish Roman Catholic or storage places, their interiors desecrated and defaced.

Conclusion

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America Inc. (UCCA) is a not-for-profit American organization which represents and advocates the interests of Ukrainian Americans and Ukrainians worldwide. In this regard, the UCCA has addressed numerous issues with individual organizations and governments, especially those of the United States and Ukraine. Upon occasion, the UCCA petitions other foreign governments when extreme circumstances warrant worldwide attention.

The UCCA believes that the events in Poland from 1945 to 1947, with regard to Ukrainians, represent egregious circumstances, rising to the level of genocide as defined under the U.N. Convention. The consequences of the inhumanity inflicted upon the Ukrainian population in Poland are so exigent and the cries of the victims so compelling even today that redress must be sought, particularly at present, when Ukrainian-Polish relations have been normalized. In fact, today's Poland is manifestly tolerant, democratic and governed by the rule of law. Ukrainians will remember always that Poland first among all countries recognized the independence of Ukraine in 1991. Since then, relations between our peoples have evolved into a complementary mosaic of friendship and cooperation. This phenomenon has occurred not only on the level of governments, but also on individual levels, whether it be in Poland, Ukraine, the United States or elsewhere. Still, the legacy of Operation Wisla remains.

In the hope of further benefiting Polish-Ukrainian relations, we request that you take official note of Operation Wisla as a dark and genocidal chapter of Polish post-war history. Once you have had the opportunity for independent study and analysis, we would urgently request that you consider the following reparatory measures:

• 1. Condemn the operations conducted by the government of Poland from 1945 to 1947, aimed at the destruction of the Ukrainian nationality in Poland.
  
  
• 2. To the extent possible, restore community-held property such as churches, libraries, museums, meeting halls, etc. to the Ukrainian community in Poland.
  
  
• 3. Inasmuch as it would be difficult to restore specific individual property to the victims of Operation Wisla or their descendants, compensatory alternatives should be offered, such as the opportunity to obtain land on their ancestral territory with the rights to offset construction costs (to a specified extent) against real property assessments imposed by the government. Additional forms of relief may be deemed suitable and expedient.

In view of the commitment of your government to humane and civilized values exalting the dignity of man, we believe the legacy of Operation Wisla is an unacceptable blot upon Ukrainian-Polish relations. This organization stands ready to assist you in whatever positive action can be taken in this regard in the name of justice and humanity. We look forward to your considered response at your earliest convenience, and to our mutually beneficial communications.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 2, 1997, No. 9, Vol. LXV

| Home Page |