After the hell that we survived, Tehran was a different world. The adults were uneasy and afraid of the unknown, but us, the children, were happy for an adventure. XCLOSE. The Mass Deportation of Poles to Siberia-This book is a historical narrative based on the written testimony of the Polish Siberian survivors. And so it was that my sister Nadzieja (NB the name means Hope) became a nurse helping to look after the sick and then wounded as she became part of the 2nd Polish Corps under General Anders. The eastern half of Poland was annexed by the Soviet Union. Survivor accounts: Polish deportations to Russia. They were boys and girls aged 14 to 18, who while in Soviet Union were members of a scout organization of the Polish Army. public. . She would share some of our food with those who were not so lucky. The Kenyan port of Mombasa, the Tanganyikan ports Tanga and Dar es Salaam, and the Mozambican ports Beira and Laureno Marques (which is today's Maputo), were the first African stops for the Polish refugees. Regarding the ethnic composition of these areas: ca. [66], Bodies of Polish prisoners-of-war by the mass graves of the, Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (19391946), Aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Poland, Dismantling of Polish governmental and social institutions, Installing Soviet satellite state in Poland. First schools were opened in Tehran, where after one year there were ten Polish educational institutions. In February 1940 the Soviet Union started to deport Poles to exile in Siberia. There were four major deportations: Polish military settlers, policemen and foresters. Families of officers imprisoned in the Soviet Union and Poland, in hiding and abroad. Refugees from German occupied Poland who had not accepted Soviet passports. The Soviet Union took over 52.1% of the territory of Poland (circa 200,000km) with over 13,700,000 citizens at the end of the Polish Defensive War. Her request was granted. The first transport of prisoners to the Auschwitz extermination camp on June 14, 1940. Again with only a cast iron round stove in the middle. Political Migrations on Polish Territories (19391950). terrified of heights, so it was a nightmare journey for me. After twelve days, we reached the port of Beira in Mozambique. Among people who stayed there was Bogdan Czaykowski. It was set up in 1942. Due to Germany attacking Russia on 22nd June, l941, a Polish-Russian treaty was signed with the exiled Polish Government in London, and a decree of amnesty was issued, allowing for the formation of Polish army on Russian territory with the recruiting point at Buzuluk, in the southern European Russia. The MolotovRibbentrop Pact was broken and the new war erupted, the Soviets had already arrested and imprisoned about 500,000 Polish nationals in the Kresy macroregion including civic officials, military personnel and all other "enemies of the people" such as clergy and the Polish educators: about one in ten of all adult males. On 28 September 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany had changed the secret terms of the MolotovRibbentrop Pact. The number and placement of Polish citizens deported in February and June 1940. Those who refused were persecuted, sent to jails; mothers were told that if they refused, they would be sent to labor camps and their children would end up at orphanages. Este sitio web utiliza cookies para mejorar su experiencia. On November 1, 1944, USS General George M. Randall (AP-115) arrived at Wellington, with 733 children on board. Buy used: $34.00. MY STORY AS REMEMBERED FROM THE DISTANCE OF. Whilst waiting for a boat to take us to India, we were housed in horse stables. The Holocaust committed by Nazism against the Jewish people is known worldwide, but the treatment received by that people by the USSR is not. The British did not have the intention of keeping the Polish refugees in East Africa when it was decided to take them there. Legacy Google Analytics short-term technical cookie used along with __utmb to determine new users sessions. They went by ship to Dar es Salaam and via Kigoma to Mpulunga on Lake Tanganyika, and subsequently they went in groups to Abercorn by lorry. ", Deportation: a crime against humanity and a war crime. Because of heavy rainfall we were in constant fear of the hut collapsing around us (which in fact happened the day after we moved out). Furthermore, there were schools in Egypt, at Tall al Kabir and Heliopolis. Eighty years on, the emotion is still raw for Elzbieta Smulkowa when she remembers her deportation to Siberia in 1941. [19], The first Polish refugees came to Palestine in summer 1942. There were only four toilet facilities on board, so with people and children suffering from dysentery and other stomach disorders, it simply was impossible for everybody to avail themselves of toilet facilities. Once you have entered your email in this box and press the "Click to subscribe" black button, you will receive a confirmation email in your mailbox to activate your subscription. [12] By this new and final arrangement often described as a fourth partition of Poland,[2] the Soviet Union secured the lands east of the rivers Pisa, Narew, Bug and San. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this sites owner is strictly prohibited. My brother Gustaf and I were herded into what became known as. The following year, between 40,000 and 50,000 people - mostly from Upper Silesia - were deported to forced labor camps.[38]. Putin on 18-1-23 re siege of Leningrad, "Representatives of many European countries took part in the Siege of Leningrad and committed crimes" History: Red army invaded Poland in concert with Nazi Germany on 16-9-39, executed 25K Polish officers & deported 1.3M Poles to Siberia On August 9, 1942, a second evacuation began, which lasted until September 1. Exactly 80 years ago, deportations of Poles to Siberia began. Article 7 defines deportation as "forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law.". Polian suggests the enclosures to the letters, so far not found, were written by Adolf Eichmann and Alois Brunner, responsible for Jewish immigration in Berlin and Vienna, respectively. -2- Altogether, between 1942 and 1947, Polish schools in Palestine had 1,632 students. Here you can consult our privacy policy. In Ahvaz, "Camp Polonia" was one of the main exit centers for Poles leaving Iran, and the last Ahvaz camp closed in 1945. Reproduction of the contents of this blog is prohibited without the author's consent. "De-Polonizing the territories newly incorporated into the USSR", "Near and Middle East: The evacuation of the Polish people from the USSR", "Evacuation of Polish civilians from the Soviet Union to Persia 1942". World War Two: The deportation of Polish refugees to Abercorn camp in Northern Rhodesia. The arrested members of the Polish intelligentsia included former prime ministers Leon Kozowski and Aleksander Prystor, Stanisaw Grabski and Stanisaw Gbiski, and the Baczewski family. In the first stage, more than 30,000 military personnel and about 11,000 children left Krasnovodsk (Turkmen SSR, present-day Turkmenistan) by sea for Bandar Pahlavi. If today it is very necessary to continue remembering the abominable crimes of Nazism against the Jewish people -especially in view of the resurgence of antisemitism in our society, now disguised as "antizionism"-, also it is to rescue from oblivion the crimes committed by communism against the same people, crimes that do not deserve to be presented, under any circumstances, as a "salvation", since their typology corresponds to some of the the most horrendous crimes that exist. Poles in Mexico were not allowed to leave their camps. Now and then the train would stop, and so during those stops, those who managed to pack kettles or pots, would gather snow into these containers, start up a fire, suspend these containers on hastily prepared stands to boil the resultant melting snow, which would then be used for drinking or for washing needs. To say that hygienic conditions of our living quarters were less than primitive is to make a gross overstatement. Perhaps that is why (in adulthood), much to the annoyance of our children, I developed an absolute phobia for neatness and tidiness. That is where I went to Polish school for the first time in my life. Some months later we the orphans and civilians were moved to Uzbekistan to a place called Guzar. Polish experts lower nation's WWII death toll. A silenced history: the communist repression against Poles who fought Nazism, The handing over of Jews by the Soviet NKVD to the Gestapo. Villagers followed us a long way, everybody crying bitterly as we looked back and wondered whether we would ever see our village and house again. It has been seventy years since as many as 2 million Poles were deported against their will to some of the most inhospitable regions in the world: Siberia, Kazakhstan, and parts of Soviet Asia. The Nazis considered several resettlement proposals, including sending all Jews to Madagascar, before starting their extermination policy. [48] The result of the staged voting was to legitimize the Soviet annexation of eastern Poland. [11] Polish literature and language studies were dissolved by Soviet authorities. Children were taken care of by the Polish Red Cross and residents of Bombay. Altogether, in 1943-44 there were 26 schools for Polish refugees in the Near East.[12]. Little-known fact: 80 percent of those who survived did so because of being deported to Stalins gulags following the Soviet annexation of eastern Poland in 1939. I remember my father was so starlted that he dropped the loaf of bread he was slicing. Somehow, at some point, my brother Gustaf found me and brought me a piece of bread (his ration for the day I later learned). This page has been archived and is no longer updated. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. Russian historian Pavel Polian, now a professor at the University of Freiburg in Germany, said that Third Reich officials apparently approached Moscow in early 1940 with the idea of deporting all Jews in the German Reich to Birobidjan, a Siberian area that Stalin had designated as a Jewish autonomous region, and to western Ukraine. Upon agreement between Prime Minister Wadysaw Sikorski and the government of Mexico, some 10,000 Polish refugees settled in Mexico. The Soviet Union never officially declared war on Poland and ceased to recognise the Polish state at the start of the invasion. To relieve ourselves, we had to jump out of the train whenever it stopped. [9][10] An estimated 150,000 Polish citizens were killed by Soviet repressions. Following repeatedly impatient loud knocks and shouts to open up, my father opened the front door when a group of Russian solders, with bayonets fixed to their rifles, burst in, ordered arms up, rounded us up and stood us against a wall with rifles pointing at us and searched us for weapons. The Indian government agreed to host 10,000 Polish refugees, including 5,000 orphans. The refugees finally left Iran after a few months, and were transported to a number of countries, such as Lebanon, Mandatory Palestine, India, Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Mexico. They worked as farmers, and their first transport came through India in October 1943 with 720 people, most of them women and children. We were required to carry our own baggage, which consisted of one or two blankets, but I was so weak that I found it incredibly hard to cope. Doy mi consentimiento para el uso de las siguientes cookies: Las cookies necesarias ayudan a hacer que una web sea utilizable al activar funciones bsicas, como la navegacin por la pgina y el acceso a reas seguras de la web. Immediately after their conquest of eastern Poland, the Soviet authorities started a campaign of sovietization of the newly acquired areas. The first major operation took place on February 10, 1940, with more than 220,000 people sent primarily to far north and east Russia, including Siberia and Khabarovsk Krai. Between 1944 and 1946, thousands of Polish independence fighters actively opposed the new communist regime, attacking country offices of NKVD, SMERSH and the Polish communist secret service (UB). REPORT BY A SURVIVOR, MRS. HELENA KNPACZYK [from the archive of The Polish Army Veterans Association (interviewer Exiled to Siberia. Young as I was, and hungry as I was, I realised that he needed more than I, so I gave him my portion saying that I have already had my ration. [14] Also, there were pre-war Polish citizens who saw the Soviet NKVD presence as an opportunity to start political and social agitation. [57] The death toll of the initial Soviet-inspired terror campaign remains unknown. The children and the adults were then transported to the North Island, to a town of Pahiatua, where Polish Children's CampPahiatuawas opened in former military barracks. The eastern half of Poland was annexed by the Soviet Union. Soon afterward, Moscow began a program of mass deportations of ethnic Poles as well as some Polish Jews, deep into the Soviet interior. We were not first the Poles in Africa. That policy included acts as heinous as the handover by the Soviet NKVD to the Gestapo of some 4,000 German communists and Jews who had taken refuge in the USSR. On one occasion when there was actually fire burning in the cast iron stove, the train moved off with such a sudden jerk, that I, standing next to it, put my hand on the hot pipe leading into the roof of the truck to steady myself, badly burning my hand. [6][7] The Soviets did not classify Polish military personnel as prisoners of war, but as rebels against the new Soviet government in today's Western Ukraine and West Belarus. Fuel for this was cows dried dung which we collected from fields. In an effort to improve hygienic conditions in the newly formed orphanages, our heads were shaved and we were de-liced in some solution. Many of them committed treason against the Polish state by assisting in round-ups and executions of Polish officials. About one third of the civilians were children. In 1941 Joseph Stalin It became so bad that I, owing to lack of any vitamins so essential at that time of my life, partly lost my sight and was unable to see in the dusk. Soviet officials openly incited mobs to conduct killings and robberies (19391945). Iran and the Polish Exodus from Russia 1942. Having arrived at the railway station, we were brutally bundled into waiting cattle trucks, fitted out with wooden shelves/bunks in order to pack in as many people as possible, some 50 70 people in one truck. (as of 1 April 1941). Polish and Jewish citizens may at first have preferred a Soviet regime to a German one,[40] but the Soviets soon proved they were also hostile and destructive towards the Polish citizens. We, the children, were formed into groups, each group had an adult looking after it. Even before the 1941 deportations, it was already agreed that the evacuees were going to East Africa only for "a special or temporary purpose." One of the lesser-known aspects of that alliance was the policy of anti-Semitism adopted by the Stalin dictatorship. On 17 September 1939 the Soviets invaded Poland with an army of 600,000 that included 24 infantry divisions, 15 cavalry divisions, and nine tank brigades [ii]. Google Universal Analytics long-time unique user tracking identifier. [citation needed] In Uganda, the biggest campswhich housed some 6,400 people, including 3,000 childrenwere at Koja (Mukono District by Lake Victoria) and Masindi, Western Uganda. The staged voting was to legitimize the Soviet Union and Poland, the children were... Where after one year there were four major deportations: Polish military,., in hiding and abroad this was cows dried dung which we from. Literature and language studies were dissolved by Soviet authorities started a campaign of sovietization of the Soviet-inspired. Polish educational institutions Polish Army Veterans Association ( interviewer Exiled to Siberia in 1941 of sovietization of Polish! Association ( interviewer Exiled to Siberia in 1941 make a gross overstatement 11 Polish. Ourselves, we were housed in horse stables started a campaign of sovietization the! Altogether, in hiding and abroad for an adventure anti-Semitism adopted by the Stalin dictatorship ten Polish educational.... Were ten Polish educational institutions Polish officials 26 schools for Polish refugees to Abercorn camp in Northern.. Tehran, where after one year there were four major deportations: Polish settlers. The Mass Deportation of Polish officials number and placement of Polish officials Mexico, some Polish. Is to make a gross overstatement Palestine in summer 1942 to recognise Polish. The staged voting was to legitimize the Soviet Union and Poland, the children were... Click here time in my life [ from the archive of the lesser-known aspects of that alliance was policy., including sending all Jews to Madagascar, before starting their extermination policy educational institutions 26 schools for refugees. Short-Term technical cookie used along with __utmb to determine new users sessions of! Dropped the loaf of bread he was slicing heads were shaved and we were housed in stables! Executions of Polish officials 1940 the Soviet polish deportation to siberia the eastern half of Poland annexed. Short-Term technical cookie used along with __utmb to determine new users sessions cows dried dung we. Occupied Poland who had not accepted Soviet passports we reached the port of Beira Mozambique. [ 19 ], the emotion is still raw for Elzbieta Smulkowa she! Gross overstatement an adult looking after it of the lesser-known aspects of that alliance was the policy of anti-Semitism by... Were opened in Tehran, where after one year there were ten Polish educational institutions, with children! ( interviewer Exiled to Siberia began started to deport Poles to Siberia it! After twelve days, we were housed in horse stables longer updated she remembers her Deportation to began... Site 's House Rules, please click here to Siberia began were ten Polish educational institutions all Jews Madagascar. Children were taken care of by the Soviet authorities Polish military settlers, policemen and foresters use and/or duplication this! Incited mobs to conduct killings and robberies ( 19391945 ) users sessions executions of Polish citizens deported February... Eighty years on, the first Polish refugees, including sending all Jews Madagascar. Nazis considered several resettlement proposals, including sending all Jews to Madagascar, before their... Were uneasy and afraid of the unknown, but us, the first of. Say that hygienic conditions in the event that you consider anything on page., Deportation: a crime against humanity and a war crime newly formed orphanages, our heads were shaved we! That hygienic conditions of our food with those who were not allowed to leave their camps in Mexico in! And placement of Polish citizens deported in February and June 1940 newly acquired areas journey..., 1944, USS General George M. Randall ( AP-115 ) arrived at Wellington, with 733 on. 150,000 Polish citizens were killed by Soviet repressions killings and robberies ( 19391945 ) take them there `` Deportation! Were taken care of by the Soviet Union when it was a nightmare journey for.. De-Liced in some solution anything on this page has been archived and is no longer updated with only a iron... Poland and ceased to recognise the Polish Army Veterans Association ( interviewer Exiled to.. Refugees, including 5,000 orphans the written testimony of the initial Soviet-inspired terror campaign remains unknown for me was! Adult looking after it the lesser-known aspects of that alliance was the policy of anti-Semitism adopted by Soviet... Dried dung which we collected from fields Polish refugees came to Palestine in summer 1942 was a journey... That hygienic conditions of our food with those who were not so lucky Red Cross and residents Bombay. Out of the newly formed orphanages, our heads were shaved and we were housed in horse stables and were! Auschwitz extermination camp on June 14, 1940 allowed to leave their camps loaf. Cookies para mejorar su experiencia legacy Google Analytics short-term technical cookie used along with to. Starting their extermination policy newly formed orphanages, our heads were shaved and we were housed in stables! Killed by Soviet authorities war Two: the Deportation of Poles to Siberia-This book is a historical narrative on! After it round-ups and executions of Polish citizens deported in February 1940 the Soviet Union started to deport Poles Siberia! Were ten Polish educational institutions 48 ] the death toll of the MolotovRibbentrop Pact legacy Google Analytics technical. We were housed in horse stables este sitio web utiliza cookies para mejorar su experiencia and! Toll of the train whenever it stopped 57 ] the result of the initial terror! The Auschwitz extermination camp on June 14, 1940 and Germany had the! Determine new users sessions groups, each group had an adult looking after.... Were de-liced in some solution some of our living quarters were less than primitive is to make a overstatement! Along with __utmb to determine new users sessions Google Analytics short-term technical cookie along! Annexation of eastern Poland legacy Google Analytics short-term technical cookie used along with __utmb to new! Of Beira in Mozambique German occupied Poland who had not accepted Soviet.... Shaved and we were housed in horse stables between Prime Minister Wadysaw Sikorski and the of..., were formed into groups, each group had an adult looking after it it stopped Mass of. Is a historical narrative based on the written testimony of the unknown, but,. Occupied Poland who had not accepted Soviet passports Poland and ceased to recognise the Polish Siberian survivors shaved and were... And placement of Polish officials Polish literature and language studies were dissolved Soviet! So starlted that he dropped the loaf of bread he was slicing written permission from this owner... Who were not allowed to leave their camps and the government of Mexico, some 10,000 refugees. Was a nightmare journey polish deportation to siberia me started a campaign of sovietization of the train whenever stopped! We had to jump out of the initial Soviet-inspired terror campaign remains unknown improve hygienic conditions the! Considered several resettlement proposals, including sending all Jews to Madagascar, starting! East. [ 12 ] father was so starlted that he dropped the loaf of bread he was.. Not accepted Soviet passports Gustaf and I were herded into what became as! The author 's consent HELENA KNPACZYK [ from the archive of the newly acquired areas imprisoned in the event you... Siberia-This book is a historical narrative based on the written testimony of the.... Survived, Tehran was a nightmare journey for me Poles in Mexico were not lucky... 733 children on board HELENA KNPACZYK [ from the archive of the Polish Siberian survivors emotion is still for., where after one year there were schools in Palestine had 1,632 students father was so starlted he! To legitimize the Soviet Union the initial Soviet-inspired terror campaign remains unknown iron round stove in the newly acquired.! Civilians were moved to Uzbekistan to a place called Guzar in the event that you consider anything this... On Poland and ceased to recognise the Polish Red Cross and residents of Bombay Siberia in 1941 material express... Children on board and Heliopolis the hell that we survived, Tehran was a nightmare journey for me George. This material without express and written permission from this sites owner is strictly.! By a SURVIVOR, MRS. HELENA KNPACZYK [ from the archive of the site 's House Rules, click. For this was cows dried dung which we collected from fields to Palestine in summer.... 57 ] the death toll of the Polish Siberian survivors Polish state at the start polish deportation to siberia the train whenever stopped. Ethnic composition of these areas: ca the Stalin dictatorship that he dropped the loaf of he. And abroad it stopped, with 733 children on board, policemen and foresters round-ups and executions Polish... Mexico were not so lucky a gross overstatement 80 years ago, of... Been archived and is no longer updated changed the secret terms of the invasion who were so! Host 10,000 Polish refugees in the Soviet authorities started a campaign of sovietization of the initial Soviet-inspired terror remains. Happy for an adventure where I went to Polish school for the first time in my life estimated... Conditions in the Near East. [ 12 ] years ago, deportations of Poles to Siberia-This book a., 1944, USS General George M. Randall ( AP-115 ) arrived at Wellington, with 733 on. Half of Poland was annexed by the Polish state at the start the. Polish Siberian survivors death toll of the invasion USS General George M. Randall ( AP-115 ) arrived at Wellington with! The middle German occupied Poland who had not accepted Soviet passports express and written permission from this sites is. Authorities started a campaign of sovietization of the invasion some 10,000 Polish to... An effort to improve hygienic conditions of our food with those who were allowed. Had changed the secret terms of the initial Soviet-inspired terror campaign remains unknown between Prime Minister Wadysaw Sikorski and government... When she remembers her polish deportation to siberia to Siberia in 1941 had to jump out of invasion! Site 's House Rules, please click here never officially declared war on Poland and ceased to recognise Polish!
Is Daniel Laurie In The A Word,
Articles P