Belarusian minority in Poland
Encyclopedia
Belarusian minority in Poland is composed of 48,700 people according to the Polish census of 2002
. This number decreased in the last decades from over 300,000 due to an active process of assimilation. Most of them live in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
.
However, a small but unconfirmed Belarusian population is in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship
in western Poland. They may been assimilated in the Polish population, but Belarusian culture has not firmly disappeared in the whole of Poland since WWII.
(predominant ancestors of modern Belarusians) minority in 16th century, when after the Union of Lublin
in 1569 Poland gained control over some of eastern territories formerly belonging to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
. Poland retained control over that region until the partitions of Poland
in the late 18th century. In time, the Belarusian culture and nationality started to develop in that region, but also increasing number of people became Polonized
. Later influences, particularly Lithuanization
and Russification
, further contributed to the blurry ethnic border and resulted in a region with many territories with significant minority of one culture or another.
In 1921, at the end of the Polish-Soviet War
, Belarusian territories were divided between Second Polish Republic
and Soviet Russia
under the terms of the Peace of Riga
. Thus the newly reborn Poland gained a disputed territory, known as Kresy
or West Belarus
, inhabited by both Belarusians and Poles. According to the Polish census of 1921
, there were around 1 million Belarusians in the country. According to Soviet sources, there were 3 million Belarusians in 1921. Most historians estimate the number of Belarusians in Poland at that time to be from 1.7 million up to 2 million. Belarusians formed 3.1% of the populations of the Second Polish Republic, mostly inhabiting the east-central voivodeships
, particularly the Nowogródek Voivodeship
.
Several thousand Poles were settled
in the area pursuant to the legislation of December 20, 1920. In the elections of November 1922
, a Belarusian party (in the Blok Mniejszości Narodowych coalition) obtained 14 seats in the Polish parliament
(11 of them in the lower chamber, Sejm
). In the spring of 1923, Polish prime minister
Władysław Sikorski ordered a report on the situation of the Belarusian minority in Poland. That summer, a new regulation was passed allowing for the Belarusian language
to be used officially both in courts and in schools. Obligatory teaching of the Belarusian language was introduced in all Polish gymnasia
in areas inhabited by Belarusians in 1927.
In the 1921-1926 period Poland did not have a consistent policy towards its ethnic minorities. Belarusian schools, not being subsidized by the Polish government, were facing severe financial problems already by 1921. After an early period of liberalization, tensions between increasingly nationalistic Polish government and various increasingly separatist ethnic minorities started to grow, and Belarusian minority was no exception. Belarusian organization, The Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union
, was banned in 1927, and opposition to Polish government was met with state repressions. Nonetheless compared to the (larger) Ukrainian minority
, Belarusian was much less politically aware and active, and thus suffered fewer repressions then the Ukrainians.
Increasingly, Belarusians in Poland faced extensive Polonization
, though the suppression of Belarusian identity was not as deep compared to the Russification
of Soviet Belarus
across the border. After the 1930 elections in Poland
, Belarusian representation in the Polish parliament
was reduced and in the early 1930s the Polish government started to introduce policies intended to Polonize
minorities.
In 1935, after the death of Józef Piłsudski, a new wave of repressions was released upon the minorities, with many Orthodox
churches and Belarusian schools being closed. In 1938 about 100 Orthodox churches were destroyed or converted to Roman Catholic ones in the eastern parts of Poland, the majority of them in ethnically Ukrainian territories. Use of the Belarusian language
was discouraged. Not a single Belarusian school survived until the spring of 1939, and only 44 schools teaching the Belarusian language still existed in Poland at the beginning of World War II
.
Belarusian leadership was sent to Bereza Kartuska prison
. Earlier, Belarusian political leaders reported to the League of Nations of tens of thousands being flogged by police, and subject to torture in interrogations. According to Belarusian accounts, sixty to seventy peasants were hanged daily during anti-guerrilla campaigns.
After the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
and pursuant German
and Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939
, portrayed by Soviet propaganda as 'liberation of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine', some Belarusians welcomed unification with Belorussian SSR, although attitudes of many changed after experiencing the Soviet terror. Nonetheless from 1939, with the exception of a brief period of Nazi occupation, almost all Belarusians previously living in Poland would live in the Belorussian SSR.
It was initially planned to move the capital of the Byelorussian SSR to Vilnius
. However, the same year Stalin ordered that the city and surrounding region be transferred to Lithuania
, which some months later was also invaded by Soviet Union and became a new Soviet Republic - Lithuanian SSR
. Minsk therefore was proclaimed the capital of the enlarged Byelorussian SSR
. The borders of the BSSR were again altered somewhat after the war (notably the largely Polish area around the city of Białystok was returned to Poland) but in general they coincide with the borders of the modern Republic of Belarus.
After entering the Soviet Union, the people of Western Belarus, especially those who favored democracy and Belarusian independence, immediately faced violent repression from the NKVD
, which may explain incidents of local collaboration with Germans during the Nazi occupation of Belarus. Refugees from Western Belarus were arrested by Soviet authorities and frequently executed, Kurapaty
graves contain many products from Poland - cloths, shoes. The most prominent victim of NKVD was the activist and linguist Branislaw Tarashkyevich
.
The Belarusian minority has been active in political life in Poland since 1989.
In the 2006 elections to the Podlasie Sejmik, the Białoruski Komitet Wyborczy (Belarusian Electoral Committee) received 7,914 votes (2.05%), however this was not enough to receive any seats in the Council. The most votes from this list were for Jan Czykwin (2,405), Eugeniusz Wappa (1,669) and Eugeniusz Mironowicz (1,119).
When the local elections were repeated in the region on 20 May 2007, the Belarusians again submitted their own electoral committee, which for the first time had several Lithuanians running on the list, in their region of Sejny and Punsk.
There's an unknown number of Belarusians in northwest Poland, but some Polish Belarusians were relocated there by the Soviet invasion of Germany in April 1945 and the captured lands of formerly German Pomerania
was annexed by Poland.
Polish census of 2002
- Significant ethnic minorities :In addition to Poles, ethnic groups of more than 25,000 people compose the following:-References:...
. This number decreased in the last decades from over 300,000 due to an active process of assimilation. Most of them live in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
.
However, a small but unconfirmed Belarusian population is in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship, , is a voivodeship in northwestern Poland. It borders on Pomeranian Voivodeship to the east, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the southeast, Lubusz Voivodeship to the south, the German federal-state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north...
in western Poland. They may been assimilated in the Polish population, but Belarusian culture has not firmly disappeared in the whole of Poland since WWII.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Poland first acquired a RuthenianRuthenians
The name Ruthenian |Rus']]) is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians...
(predominant ancestors of modern Belarusians) minority in 16th century, when after the Union of Lublin
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was...
in 1569 Poland gained control over some of eastern territories formerly belonging to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
. Poland retained control over that region until the partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
in the late 18th century. In time, the Belarusian culture and nationality started to develop in that region, but also increasing number of people became Polonized
Polonization
Polonization was the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular, Polish language, as experienced in some historic periods by non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially influenced by Poland...
. Later influences, particularly Lithuanization
Lithuanization
Lithuanization is a process of cultural assimilation - adoption, either forced or voluntary, of Lithuanian culture or language, experienced by non-Lithuanian people or groups of people.- History :...
and Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
, further contributed to the blurry ethnic border and resulted in a region with many territories with significant minority of one culture or another.
1918-1939
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
, Belarusian territories were divided between Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
and Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
under the terms of the Peace of Riga
Peace of Riga
The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga; was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, between Poland, Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish-Soviet War....
. Thus the newly reborn Poland gained a disputed territory, known as Kresy
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
or West Belarus
West Belarus
West Belarus is the name used in reference to the territory of modern Belarus which belonged to the Second Polish Republic between 1919 and 1939. The area of West Belarus was annexed into the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic following staged elections soon after the Nazi-Soviet Invasion of...
, inhabited by both Belarusians and Poles. According to the Polish census of 1921
Polish census of 1921
The Polish census of 1921 or First General Census in Poland was the first census in the Second Polish Republic, performed on September 30, 1921 by the Main Bureau of Statistics ....
, there were around 1 million Belarusians in the country. According to Soviet sources, there were 3 million Belarusians in 1921. Most historians estimate the number of Belarusians in Poland at that time to be from 1.7 million up to 2 million. Belarusians formed 3.1% of the populations of the Second Polish Republic, mostly inhabiting the east-central voivodeships
Administrative division of Second Polish Republic
Administrative division of Second Polish Republic became an issue immediately after Poland regained independence in the aftermath of the First World War, 1918...
, particularly the Nowogródek Voivodeship
Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919-1939)
Nowogródek Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division of the Second Polish Republic between 1919 and 1939, with the capital in Nowogródek . Following German and Soviet Invasion of Poland of September 1939, Poland's borders were redrawn in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact...
.
Several thousand Poles were settled
Osadnik
Osadniks was the Polish loanword used in Soviet Union for veterans of the Polish Army that were given land in the Kresy territory ceded to Poland by Polish-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty of 1921 .-Colonization process:Shortly before the battle of Warsaw on August 7, 1920, the Premier of Poland,...
in the area pursuant to the legislation of December 20, 1920. In the elections of November 1922
Polish legislative election, 1922
The Polish legislative election, 1922 lasted from 2 to 12 November and was the second election in the Second Polish Republic. The elections were won by Polish Right party, National Populist Association , however it did not obtain a majority - it got only 98 out of 444 seats...
, a Belarusian party (in the Blok Mniejszości Narodowych coalition) obtained 14 seats in the Polish parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
(11 of them in the lower chamber, Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
). In the spring of 1923, Polish prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Władysław Sikorski ordered a report on the situation of the Belarusian minority in Poland. That summer, a new regulation was passed allowing for the Belarusian language
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
to be used officially both in courts and in schools. Obligatory teaching of the Belarusian language was introduced in all Polish gymnasia
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in areas inhabited by Belarusians in 1927.
In the 1921-1926 period Poland did not have a consistent policy towards its ethnic minorities. Belarusian schools, not being subsidized by the Polish government, were facing severe financial problems already by 1921. After an early period of liberalization, tensions between increasingly nationalistic Polish government and various increasingly separatist ethnic minorities started to grow, and Belarusian minority was no exception. Belarusian organization, The Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union
Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union
The Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union was a socialist political party in Poland-controlled West Belarus that demanded independence of Belarus and social rights for the discriminated Belarusian minority in mid-war Poland. The BPWU was created in 1925 by a group of Belarusian deputies of the...
, was banned in 1927, and opposition to Polish government was met with state repressions. Nonetheless compared to the (larger) Ukrainian minority
Ukrainian minority in Poland
The Ukrainian minority in Poland is composed of 27,172 people according to the Polish census of 2002. Most of them live in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship , followed by West Pomeranian , Podkarpackie and Pomeranian Voivodeship ....
, Belarusian was much less politically aware and active, and thus suffered fewer repressions then the Ukrainians.
Increasingly, Belarusians in Poland faced extensive Polonization
Polonization
Polonization was the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular, Polish language, as experienced in some historic periods by non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially influenced by Poland...
, though the suppression of Belarusian identity was not as deep compared to the Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
of Soviet Belarus
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. It was one of the four original founding members of the Soviet Union in 1922, together with the Ukrainian SSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
across the border. After the 1930 elections in Poland
Polish legislative election, 1930
Polish legislative election, 1930, also known as the Brest elections , were the elections to the Sejm on 16 November 1930. The pro-Sanacja Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem party took 56% of the votes...
, Belarusian representation in the Polish parliament
Polish parliament
Polish parliament is an expression referring to the historical Polish parliaments. It implies chaos and general disorder, and that no real decision can be reached during sessions...
was reduced and in the early 1930s the Polish government started to introduce policies intended to Polonize
Polonization
Polonization was the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular, Polish language, as experienced in some historic periods by non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially influenced by Poland...
minorities.
In 1935, after the death of Józef Piłsudski, a new wave of repressions was released upon the minorities, with many Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
churches and Belarusian schools being closed. In 1938 about 100 Orthodox churches were destroyed or converted to Roman Catholic ones in the eastern parts of Poland, the majority of them in ethnically Ukrainian territories. Use of the Belarusian language
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
was discouraged. Not a single Belarusian school survived until the spring of 1939, and only 44 schools teaching the Belarusian language still existed in Poland at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Belarusian leadership was sent to Bereza Kartuska prison
Bereza Kartuska prison
The Bereza Kartuska detention camp was a Polish prison, principally for political prisoners of the sanacja regime, that was operated in 1934–39 at Bereza Kartuska in the former Polesie Province ....
. Earlier, Belarusian political leaders reported to the League of Nations of tens of thousands being flogged by police, and subject to torture in interrogations. According to Belarusian accounts, sixty to seventy peasants were hanged daily during anti-guerrilla campaigns.
After the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
and pursuant German
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
and Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939
Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)
The 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland was a Soviet military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II. Sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union did so from the east...
, portrayed by Soviet propaganda as 'liberation of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine', some Belarusians welcomed unification with Belorussian SSR, although attitudes of many changed after experiencing the Soviet terror. Nonetheless from 1939, with the exception of a brief period of Nazi occupation, almost all Belarusians previously living in Poland would live in the Belorussian SSR.
It was initially planned to move the capital of the Byelorussian SSR to Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. However, the same year Stalin ordered that the city and surrounding region be transferred to Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, which some months later was also invaded by Soviet Union and became a new Soviet Republic - Lithuanian SSR
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...
. Minsk therefore was proclaimed the capital of the enlarged Byelorussian SSR
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. It was one of the four original founding members of the Soviet Union in 1922, together with the Ukrainian SSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
. The borders of the BSSR were again altered somewhat after the war (notably the largely Polish area around the city of Białystok was returned to Poland) but in general they coincide with the borders of the modern Republic of Belarus.
After entering the Soviet Union, the people of Western Belarus, especially those who favored democracy and Belarusian independence, immediately faced violent repression from the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
, which may explain incidents of local collaboration with Germans during the Nazi occupation of Belarus. Refugees from Western Belarus were arrested by Soviet authorities and frequently executed, Kurapaty
Kurapaty
Kurapaty is a wooded area on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, in which a vast number of people were executed between 1937 and 1941 by the Soviet secret police, the NKVD.The exact count of victims is uncertain, NKVD archives are classified in Belarus...
graves contain many products from Poland - cloths, shoes. The most prominent victim of NKVD was the activist and linguist Branislaw Tarashkyevich
Branislaw Tarashkyevich
Branisłaŭ Adamovič Taraškievič was a Belarusian public figure, politician, and linguist.He was the creator of the first standardization of the modern Belarusian language in the early 20th century. The standard was later Russified by the Soviet authorities...
.
1989 - present
In the 2006 elections to the Podlasie Sejmik, the Białoruski Komitet Wyborczy (Belarusian Electoral Committee) received 7,914 votes (2.05%), however this was not enough to receive any seats in the Council. The most votes from this list were for Jan Czykwin (2,405), Eugeniusz Wappa (1,669) and Eugeniusz Mironowicz (1,119).
When the local elections were repeated in the region on 20 May 2007, the Belarusians again submitted their own electoral committee, which for the first time had several Lithuanians running on the list, in their region of Sejny and Punsk.
There's an unknown number of Belarusians in northwest Poland, but some Polish Belarusians were relocated there by the Soviet invasion of Germany in April 1945 and the captured lands of formerly German Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
was annexed by Poland.