Tablet inscription in Polish (left) and Ukrainian: "In memory of those expelled from Lemkivshchyna, on the 50th anniversary of 'Operation Wisła,' 1947-1997."

Operation Wisła (Polish: Akcja Wisła) was the codename for the 1947 deportation of southeastern Poland's Ukrainian, Boyko and Lemko populations, carried out by the Polish Army. Over 140,000 people, mostly of Ukrainian ethnicity, residing in southeastern Poland were, often forcibly, resettled to the "Recovered Territories" in the north and west of the country. The operation was named after Poland's Wisła River. Image File history File links Akcja_wisla_cm01. ... Image File history File links Akcja_wisla_cm01. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Deportation is the expelling of someone from a country. ... Boyko or Boiko is the name for a distinctive group of Ruthenians (Ukrainian) montagnards of the Carpathian highlands. ... Lemko - one of four major groups of Ruthenian montagnards of the northwest Carpathian mountain chain, having a unique dialect and culture. ... Note: although the term recovered territories has a clear meaning in Poland and Polish historiography, it is not a widely accepted term or concept in Germany or in English-speaking nations. ... The Vistula (Polish: WisÅ‚a) is the longest river in Poland. ...

Background

The stated purpose of the operation was to suppress the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which had been terrorizing Poles in those southeastern territories since 1944. UPA propaganda poster The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian: ) was a Ukrainian guerrilla army formed on October 14, 1942, in Volhynia. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The direct pretext for Operation Wisła was the March 28, 1947, assassination of Poland's General Karol Świerczewski. He was killed in an ambush at Jabłonki, near Baligród in the Bieszczady Mountains, en route to a military post at Cisna. The ambush had allegedly been set by the UIA's Chrin and Stach sotnias.[1] Nothing was ever proven, however, and some historians allege that the assassination was organized by the Soviet NKVD^{[citation needed]}. March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in Leap years). ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Karol Åšwierczewski, Marian Spychalski and Michal Rola-Zymierski Karol Åšwierczewski, (callsign Walter) (22 February 1897 in Warsaw – 28 March 1947 at JabÅ‚onki near Baligród) was a military officer, general in service of Poland, Russia and Spain and a communist activist. ... The monument of Karol Åšwierczewski in JabÅ‚onki JabÅ‚onki near Baligród, Poland - a village in Bieszczady mountains. ... Baligród - a village and gmina in Lesko powiat Podkarpacie voivodship (since January 1st, 1999 until January 1st, 2002 in Bieszczady powiat), Poland. ... Bieszczady, Poland Bieszczady, Poland Bieszczady. ... During the Second World War, the fundamental combat unit of the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) was a kuren (or kurin) of four to eight hundred members), divided into three or four sotnias (equivalent to a company). ... State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Socialist republics Area  - Total  - % water 1st before collapse 22,402,200 km² Approx. ... The NKVD (Narodnyi Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del (help· info))(Russian: НКВД, Народный комиссариат внутренних дел) or Peoples Commisariat for Internal Affairs was a government department which handled a number of the Soviet Unions affairs of state. ...

Only a dozen hours after the incident, the Polish communist authorities took the official decision to deport all the Ukrainians and Lemkos from southeast Poland. It is known, however, that Operation Wisła had been planned many months in advance with the purpose of scattering the remaining Ukrainian minority over Poland. The Polish United Workers Party (PUWP; in Polish, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, PZPR), was the governing political party in communist_ruled Poland from its creation (through a fusion of the communist Polish Workers Party and the left wing of the Polish Socialist Party) in December 1948 until the regimes electoral...

Deportations and repressions

Memorial to those who perished at Jaworzno Concentration Camp.

According to the order of the Ministry of Recovered Territories "the main goal of the relocation of settlers "W" is their assimilation in a new Polish environment, all efforts should be exerted to achieve those goals. Do not apply the term "Ukrainians" towards the settlers. In cases when the intelligentsia element reaches the recovered territories, they should by all means be settled separately and away from the communities of the "W" settlers."[2] Image File history File links Jaworzno_trahicznyj_symwol. ... Image File history File links Jaworzno_trahicznyj_symwol. ... Note: although the term recovered territories has a clear meaning in Poland and Polish historiography, it is not a widely accepted term or concept in Germany or in English-speaking nations. ...

The operation was carried out by Operational Group Wisła consisting of about 20,000 personnel commanded by General Stefan Mossor consisting of soldiers of Polish Army and KBW, as well as functionaries of Milicja Obywatelska and UB[3]. The operation commenced at 4 a.m., April 28, 1947. Expellees were 140,000-150,000 Ukrainians and Lemkos still remaining after the 1944-1946 resettlements to the USSR, and inhabiting Polesie, Roztocze, Pogórze Przemyskie, Bieszczady, Beskid Niski, Beskid Sądecki and Ruś Szlachtowska. Polish Army (Polish Wojsko Polskie) is the name applied to the military forces of Poland. ... Korpus BezpieczeÅ„stwa WewnÄ™trznego (KBW, Internal Security Corps), special military unit established in 1945 to assure internal order, and fight with independent underground (the remnants of Polish Home Army), Ukrainian armed organizations (UIA), and German ones. ... Militsiya (Russian: мили́ция; Ukrainian: міліція; Romanian: MiliÅ£ia; literally Militia) was the generic name for the police in the Soviet Union and a few other Communist countries. ... Ub - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Polesie is one of the largest European swampy areas, located in the South-Western part of the Eastern-European Lowland, mainly within the territories of Belarus, Ukraine and partly also within Poland and Russia. ... Voivodship Subcarpathian Capital Ustrzyki Dolne Area 1138 km²  - population  - density 23 290 /km² No. ...

Intelligentsia, including the clergy (both Greek-Catholic and Orthodox), were sent from collection points to the concentration camp in Jaworzno called the Central Work Camp. At the latter camp, almost 4,000 persons were held, including 800 women and dozens of children. The captives, of whom 200 died in the camp, were subject to harsh interrogations and beatings despite none of the active members of the Ukrainian nationalist resistance (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists or the Ukrainian Insurgent Army) were sent to the camp. For the latter the farce-trial by the specially set Operation Group Wisla Tribunals or regular military tribunals were held and over 500 were sentenced to death and executed. The intelligentsia (from Latin: intelligentia) is a social class of people engaged in complex mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture: intellectuals and social groups close to them (e. ... The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... A concentration camp is a large detention center created for political opponents, enemy aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ... Jaworzno is a town in southern Poland with 98,500 inhabitants (1995). ... Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists or OUN (Ukrainian: or ОУН) was a Ukrainian political movement whose immediate purpose was to protect the Ukrainian population from repression and exploitation by governing authorities; its ultimate goal was an independent and unified Ukrainian state. ... UPA propaganda poster The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian: ) was a Ukrainian guerrilla army formed on October 14, 1942, in Volhynia. ... A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try enemy forces members during war time, it operates outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil matters; the judges are military officers; and the judges fulfill the role of jurors. ...

Abandoned Greek Catholic church in Królik Wołoski

The remaining expellees were resettled to Warmia and Masuria, in the north, or to the western Recovered Territories. The last resettlements took place as late as 1952, in Polesia. Operation Wisła closed officially with the ceremonial bestowing of decorations on the most deserving Polish soldiers, held on the Polish-Czechoslovak border. Image File history File links Królik_woÅ‚oski_opuszczona_cerkiew_grekokatolicka. ... Image File history File links Królik_woÅ‚oski_opuszczona_cerkiew_grekokatolicka. ... The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), also known as the Ukrainian Catholic Church, is one of the successor Churches to the acceptance of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir the Great (Ukrainian Volodymyr) of Kiev (Kyiv), in 988. ... Warmia in 1547 Warmia (Polish: , German: , Latin: Varmia, also historically known as Ermeland) is a region between Pomerania and Masuria in northeastern Poland. ... Masuria (Polish: Mazury; German: Masuren) is an area in northeastern Poland. ... Note: although the term recovered territories has a clear meaning in Poland and Polish historiography, it is not a widely accepted term or concept in Germany or in English-speaking nations. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Polesie (Polish spelling; Polissya, Полісся in Ukrainian, Polesye, Полесье in Russian, Palyessye or Palesse, Пале́сьсе in Belarusian, formerly also Polesia in Latin) is one of the largest European swampy areas, located in the South-Western part of the Eastern-European Lowland, within the territories of Belarus, Ukraine and Poland. ...

A consequence of Operation Wisła was the almost total depopulation of Pogórze Przemyskie, Bieszczady and Beskid Niski. The relocation of the population put the UIA in a difficult position: deprived of human and other resources, the outnumbered Ukrainian partisans were unable to hold their own against the Communist Polish Army. Nevertheless the UIA continued its fight for several more years. After the last relocations, the UIA's activities on Polish territory died out, while some Ukrainian insurgents fled to Western Europe. Voivodship Subcarpathian Capital Ustrzyki Dolne Area 1138 km²  - population  - density 23 290 /km² No. ... A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times Western Europe was largely defined by the Cold War, with the Iron Curtain separating it from Eastern Europe (Warsaw Pact countries). ...

Operation "Wisła" ended on July 31, 1947. July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ...

Repatriates and resettlers after WWII into the Newly Acquired western and northern Polish territories

The resettling have occured in three stages.

The first event occurred at the end of the Second World War. Poland and Soviet Ukraine conducted population exchanges - Poles that resided east of the established Poland-Soviet border were deported to Poland (c.a. 2 100 000 persons) and Ukrainians that resided west of the established Poland-Soviet Union border were deported to Soviet Ukraine. The evacuation to Soviet Ukraine occurred in September, 1944 – April, 1946 (c.a. 450 000 persons). Same part of Ukrainian-lemkos (c.a. 200 000 person) has left of SE-Poland voluntarily (between 1944-1945 ). Under bilateral agreements between Poland and the USSR, 9 September, 1944 and 16 August, 1945. As a result of these treaties, some 400,000 Ukrainians were deported to the Ukraine, and some 300,000 managed to stay in their native regions, within the borders of Poland. They lived in such Rusyns former territories as Lemkowszczyzna, Chełmskie and Podlasie. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... State motto: Пролетарі всіх країн, єднайтеся! Official language None. ... Lemko - one of four major groups of Ruthenian montagnards of the northwest Carpathian mountain chain, having a unique dialect and culture. ... Rusyns, also called Ruthenians, Ruthenes, Rusins, Rysins, Carpatho-Rusins, and Russniaks, are a modern group of ethnic groups that speak the Rusyn language and are descended from the minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt a Ukrainian national identity and become Ukrainians in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ...

The second event occurred in 1947 under Poland's Wisla Operation. The Ukrainian population that still existed in southeastern Poland were forcibly resettled to western and northern Poland. The resettlement to West-Poland occurred in 28 april 1947 - 31 July 1947. 130 000 - 140 000 persons lived in such districts as Rzeszowskie, Lubelskie and Małopolskie. Nobody during Operation Vistula (1947) were sent to Ukraine. The deportations to Soviet Ukraine occurred in 1945-1946. During OV the Polish government only relocated Rusyns/Ukraininians to western and northern Poland provinces. Rusyns, also called Ruthenians, Ruthenes, Rusins, Rysins, Carpatho-Rusins, and Russniaks, are a modern group of ethnic groups that speak the Rusyn language and are descended from the minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt a Ukrainian national identity and become Ukrainians in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ...

A third deportation of Ukrainians and Poles occurred in 1951. It occurred when Poland-Soviet Union adjusted the border in the upper San River area (the headwaters area of the San River) and in the Belz area. South of Przemyśl Poland was given land east of the San River and Soviet Ukraine was given land that was west of and including Bełz that was in Poland. Populations were exchanged. For alternative meanings of Przemysl see: Przemysl (disambiguation page). ... San or SAN can refer to any of the following: Look up San in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Look up san in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The situation of Lemkos in Poland after 1956

Some 5 thousand Lemko families returned to their home regions in Eastern Poland in 1957-1958.[4] Lemko - one of four major groups of Ruthenian montagnards of the northwest Carpathian mountain chain, having a unique dialect and culture. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

While the 2002/2003 Polish census shows only 5,800 Lemkos (self-identification), there are estimates that up to 100,000 Lemkos live in total in Poland today, and up to 10,000 of them in Lemkivshchyna^[5]. The larger groups of Lemkos live in villages: Łosie, Krynica, Nowica, Zdynia, Gładyszów, Hańczowa, Zyndranowa, Uście Gorlickie, Bartne, Bielanka, and in eastern part of Lemkivshchyna – Mokre, Szczawne, Kulaszne, Rzepedź, Turzańsk, Komańcza. Also in towns: Sanok, Nowy Sącz, and Gorlice. Lemkivshchyna, sometimes called Lemkovyna, Lemkivshchyna, or Łemkowszczyzna, is the land of the Lemkos (Lemki) includes the higher elevations of the Carpathians of modern-day Poland, extending to around the Poprad River to the west, and extending to the east as far as the region around Sanok, where it meets the... Krynica-Zdrój is town in southern Poland inhabited by over 13 thousand people. ... Coat of arms legendary Czech soldier Josef Åœvejk Sanok (in full The Royal Free City of Sanok, Polish: Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok) Ziemia Sanocka is a town in south-eastern Poland with 41,400 inhabitants (1995). ... Motto: Voivodship Lesser Poland Municipal government Rada Miejska Nowego SÄ…cza Mayor Józef Antoni Wiktor Area 57 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 85,700(2001 est. ... Categories: Poland-related stubs | Towns in Poland ...

Legacy

Lemko house in Przysłup village (2005)

Memories of Operation Wisła remain another scar in the complex, often troubled 20th-century relations between the Ukrainian and Polish peoples, alongside the Massacre of Poles in Volhynia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the Second World War in the wake of the interwar oppression of the Ukrainians in the Polish controlled territories that followed the brutal fights in Galicia in 1918-1919 and the subsequent Betrayal at Riga. Image File history File linksMetadata Chyża. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Chyża. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... During World War II, approximately 100. ... UPA propaganda poster The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian: ) was a Ukrainian guerrilla army formed on October 14, 1942, in Volhynia. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Orlęta, a 1926 painting by Wojciech Kossak The Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of Poland and Western-Ukrainian Peoples Republic for the control over the Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. ... It has been suggested that Galicia and Ludomaria be merged into this article or section. ... The Peace of Riga (also known as the Treaty of Riga, Polish: Traktat Ryski) signed on 18th March 1921 between Poland and Soviet Russia ended the Polish-Bolshevik War in Riga. ...

On August 3, 1990, the Polish Senate adopted a resolution condemning the postwar Polish government's Operation Vistula. In response, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) adopted the statement of understanding of the Polish Senate resolution as a serious step towards the correction of the injustices towards the Ukrainians in Poland. In the same resolution the Rada condemned the criminal acts of the Stalin regime towards the Polish people. This article is about the year. ... The Polish Senate The Senate (Senat) is the upper house of the Polish parliament. ... Verkhovna Rada. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ...

On April 18, 2002 in Krasiczyn, Poland President Aleksander Kwaśniewski has expressed regret over Operation Wisła. The President described the operation as the symbol of harm against Ukrainians committed by the communist authorities. "Speaking on behalf of the Republic of Poland I want to express regret to all those wronged by the operation" - Kwaśniewski wrote in a letter to the National Remembrance Institute and participants in the conference on the 1947 Operation Wisła. "It was believed for years that the Vistula operation was the revenge for slaughter of Poles by the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) in the east in the years 1943-1944. Such attitude is wrong and cannot be accepted. The Vistula operation should be condemned."[6] For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... Grounds of the Zamkowy Hotel in Krasiczyn Krasiczyn is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodship, Poland. ... Office President of Poland Term of office from December 23, 1995 until December 23, 2005 Profession Journalist Political party SLD Spouse Jolanta KwaÅ›niewska Date of birth November 15, 1954 Place of birth BiaÅ‚ogard, Poland Date of death {{{death_date}}} Place of death {{{death_in}}} Aleksander KwaÅ›niewski (pronounced: â–¶(?)) (born November... Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (IPN, Institute of National Remembrance) is a Polish institution created by the IPN Act in 18 December 1998. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... UPA propaganda poster The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian: ) was a Ukrainian guerrilla army formed on October 14, 1942, in Volhynia. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

See also

• Ukrainian Insurgent Army
• Minorities in Poland after the Second World War

UPA propaganda poster The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian: ) was a Ukrainian guerrilla army formed on October 14, 1942, in Volhynia. ... The history of Poland from 1945 to 1989 spans the period of Soviet Communist dominance over the Peoples Republic of Poland in the decades following World War II. These years, while featuring many improvements in the standards of living in Poland, were marred by political instability, social unrest, and...

References

• ((Polish)) Eugeniusz Misiło, Akcja "Wisła", ISBN 8390085429.
• ((Polish)) Robert Witalec, Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej nr 11 ""Kos" kontra UPA", ISSN 16419561, PDF format, last accessed 10 December 2005.
• ((Polish)) Wiktor Poliszczuk, "Akcja Wisla ­ proba oceny" 1997
• ((Polish)) Tomasz Kalbarczyk, Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej nr 1-2 "Powrót Łemków", ISSN 16419561, PDF format, last accessed 10 December 2005.
• ((Polish)) Akcja Wisła
• ((Ukrainian)) Roman Drozd, "Явожно– трагічний символ акції «Вісла»" ("Jaworzno - the tragic symbol of Wisła Action") in "Наше слово" weekly magazine, number 18, 2004
• ((Polish)) ^  Beskid Niski, Rewasz, Pruszków 1999 (in Polish language) ISBN 8385557598
• ((Ukrainian)) Subpage of Instytut Pamięci Narodowej in Ukrainian
• ((Polish)) /((Russian)) Jan Jacek Bruski, "Unjustly exciled", Wprost, Polish version April 28, 2002. Russian translation.
• ((Polish)) Władysław A. Serczyk, Historia Ukrainy, 3rd ed., Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Wrocław 2001, ISBN 8304045303
• ((Polish)) Andrzej L. Sowa, Stosunki polsko-ukraińskie 1939-1947, Kraków 1998, ISBN 839093158

This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wprost cover (May 22, 2005) Wprost is a newsmagazine in Poland, founded on December 5, 1982 as a regional magazine in Greater Poland, since 1989 it is distributed country-wide. ...

External links

• About Operation Wisła on lemko.org.
• The Consequences of the Deportation of Lemkos and the process of Polish-Ukrainian Reconciliation.
• Military Court of Operation Group "Wisla"
• ((Ukrainian)) A statement of Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR of September 9, 1990, in response to the resolution of the Senate of the Republic of Poland of September 3, 1990, regarding the "Visla" action, in Ukrainian.
• ((Ukrainian)) "Polish, Ukrainian presidents sign concord declaration" in Ukrainian Weekly
• ((Ukrainian)) /((Russian)) "Figures of the 20th century. Józef Piłsudski: the Chief who Created a State for Himself," in Zerkalo Nedeli (the Mirror Weekly), Feb. 3-9, 2001, available online in Russian and in Ukrainian.
• ((Ukrainian)) Ярослав Грицак (Yaroslav Hrytsak) (1996). Формування модерної української нації XIX-XX ст. (Formation of the Modern Ukrainian Nation in the late 19th–20th centuries), Kiev: Генеза (Heneza). ISBN 966-504-150-9., (in Ukrainian). Available online.
• ((English)) Rafał Wnuk, Recent Polish Historiography on Polish-Ukrainian Relations during World War II and its Aftermath