Kresy
Encyclopedia
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, western Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, as well as eastern 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...
, with such major cities, as Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, 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...
, and Hrodna
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
and 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...
, until 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...
. In the interbellum Poland, the term Kresy roughly equated with the lands beyond the Curzon Line
Curzon Line
The Curzon Line was put forward by the Allied Supreme Council after World War I as a demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and Bolshevik Russia and was supposed to serve as the basis for a future border. In the wake of World War I, which catalysed the Russian Revolution of 1917, the...
, suggested in December 1919 by the British Foreign Office as eastern border of Poland. In September 1939, after the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
occupied these territories and incorporated them into the Soviet republics of Ukraine
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
, Belarus and Lithuania
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...
. These Soviet gains were ratified by the Western Allies
Western Allies
The Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
at the Tehran conference
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943, most of which was held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference amongst the Big Three in which Stalin was present...
, the Yalta conference
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...
and the Potsdam conference
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
. When the Soviet Union broke up, they remained part of those respective republics after they gained independence. Even though Kresy, or Eastern Borderlands, do not belong to Poland any longer, the area is still inhabited by a numerous Polish minority, and memory of Polish Kresy is still cultivated.
Etymology
Polish word kresy (borderlands) is the plural form of the word kres, which can be translated as end, term, limit. According to Zbigniew GołąbZbigniew Gołąb
Zbigniew Gołąb was a Polish American linguist and Slavist. He was described as "one of the world's greatest experts on the Macedonian language and the leading expert on Macedonian-Arumanian contact"...
, it is "a medieval borrowing from German word Kreis", which in the Middle Ages meant Kreislinie, Umkreis, Landeskreis, Bezirk (borderline, circuit, district). Samuel Linde
Samuel Linde
Samuel Bogumił Linde was a linguist, librarian, and lexicographer of the Polish language. He was director of the Prussian-founded Warsaw Lyceum during its existence , and an important figure of the Polish Enlightenment.-Life:Samuel Gottlieb Linde was born in Toruń, Royal Prussia, a province of the...
in his Dictionary of the Polish Language gives a different etymology of the term. According to him, kresy originally meant borderline between Poland and Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
, in the area of the lower Dnieper. The word kresy was probably used for the first time in literature by Wincenty Pol
Wincenty Pol
Wincenty Pol was a Polish poet and geographer.-Life:Pol was born in Lublin , to Franz Pohl , a German in the Austrian service, and his wife Eleonora Longchamps de Berier, from a French family living in Poland. Pol fought in the Polish army in the November 1830 Uprising and participated in the 1848...
in his poems "Mohort" (1854) and "Pieśń o ziemi naszej". Pol claimed that it was the line from the Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
to the Dnieper River, the Tatar borderland. At the beginning of the 20th century, the meaning of the term expanded to include the lands of the former eastern provinces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, to the east of Lwów - Wilno line. In the 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...
, the borderlands were equated with the land to the east of Curzon line
Curzon Line
The Curzon Line was put forward by the Allied Supreme Council after World War I as a demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and Bolshevik Russia and was supposed to serve as the basis for a future border. In the wake of World War I, which catalysed the Russian Revolution of 1917, the...
. Currently, the term describes all eastern lands of the Second Polish Republic that do not belong to Poland any longer, plus lands further east, which had belonged to the Commonwealth before 1772, and in which existed Polish communities.
Kingdom of Poland and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish expansion eastwards dates back to the earliest days of Poland. In 1018, King Bolesław I Chrobry invaded Kievan Rus, (see: Boleslaw I's intervention in the Kievan succession crisis, 1018), capturing KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, and re-annexing Red Strongholds. In 1340, Red Ruthenia
Red Ruthenia
Red Ruthenia is the name used since medieval times to refer to the area known as Eastern Galicia prior to World War I; first mentioned in Polish historic chronicles in the 1321, as Ruthenia Rubra or Ruthenian Voivodeship .Ethnographers explain that the term was applied from the...
came under Polish control, which opened these lands for Polish colonization and 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...
. 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...
of 1569, more Polish settlers moved to eastern borderlands of the vast Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. Most of them came from Polish provinces of Mazovia
Mazovia
Mazovia or Masovia is a geographical, historical and cultural region in east-central Poland. It is also a voivodeship in Poland.Its historic capital is Płock, which was the medieval residence of first Dukes of Masovia...
and Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland is one of the historical regions of Poland, with its capital in the city of Kraków. It forms the southeastern corner of the country, and should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only a small, southern part of Lesser Poland...
. They gradually moved eastwards, inhabiting sparsely populated areas, dominated by local peoples (Lithuanians
Lithuanians
Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
and Ruthenians
Ruthenians
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...
). Furthermore, upper classes of Kresy accepted Polish culture and language, which resulted in their polonization. The year 1772 marked first partition of the Commonwealth (see 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...
). By 1795, whole eastern half of the country was annexed by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, and these lands came to be called Stolen Lands
Western Krai
Western Krai or Stolen Lands is an unofficial name, introduced in 1834 by a Polish historian Maurycy Mochnacki, of the westernmost parts of the Imperial Russia, but excluding the Kingdom of Poland...
. Even though Poles were in the minority in those areas, Stolen Lands were important part of Polish culture, with such colleges, as Wilno University and Liceum Krzemienieckie
Liceum Krzemienieckie
Liceum Krzemienieckie was a renowned Polish high school, which existed from 1805 to 1831, and then in the interbellum period, from 1922 to 1939.-Beginnings:...
. Since a number of inhabitants actively participated in national rebellions (November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
, January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
), Russian authorities exercised persecutions, forced resettlement, penal deportations to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, and denationalization of Poles.
Kresy between World Wars
The years 1918 - 1921 were especially turbulent for Kresy, as it was the time of the rebirth of the Polish state and the formation of new borders. At that time, Poland was fighting three wars to establish its eastern borders: with Ukraine (see Polish–Ukrainian War), Soviet Russia (see Polish-Soviet WarPolish-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...
), and Lithuania (see Polish–Lithuanian War
Polish–Lithuanian War
The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius , and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny...
). All these conflicts were won by Poland, and as a result, it annexed territories that had previously been under Russian administration situated to the east of the Curzon line, plus formerly Austrian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
Eastern Galicia. This area later formed eastern provinces of the Second Polish Republic. Kresy known in the interbellum period comprised eastern part of Lwów Voivodeship
Lwów Voivodeship
Lwów Voivodeship was an administrative unit of interwar Poland . According to Nazis and Soviets it ceased to exist in September 1939, following German and Soviet aggression on Poland . The Polish underground administration existed till August 1944.-Population:Its capital, biggest and most...
, Nowogródek Voivodeship, Polesie Voivodeship
Polesie Voivodeship
Polesie Voivodeship was an administrative unit of interwar Poland . It ceased to exist in September 1939, following German and Soviet aggression on Poland .-Population:...
, Stanisławów Voivodeship, Tarnopol Voivodeship
Tarnopol Voivodeship
Tarnopol Voivodeship was an administrative region of interwar Poland with an area of 16,500 km², 17 counties, and capital in Tarnopol...
, Wilno Voivodeship
Wilno Voivodeship
The Wilno Voivodeship was one of Voivodeships in the Second Polish Republic, with the capital in Wilno. It was created in 1926 and populated predominantly by Poles with notable minorities of Belarusians, Jews, and Lithuanians....
, Volhynia Voivodeship, and eastern part of Białystok Voivideship. Polish government carried out active policy of Polonization of these areas (see Osadnik
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,...
), and in southeastern part of Kresy, conflicts with local Ukrainians were frequent (see Pacification of Ukrainians in Eastern Galicia (1930)
Pacification of Ukrainians in Eastern Galicia (1930)
Pacification of Ukrainians refers to the punitive action by police and military of the Second Polish Republic against the Ukrainian minority in Poland in September–November 1930 in response to a wave of more than 2,200 acts of sabotage against Polish property in the region...
).
Beyond eastern border of the Second Polish Republic remained numerous Polish settlements, especially around Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Zhytomir and Berdychev. In late 1920s and early 1930s, Soviet authorities created two Polish Autonomous District
Polish Autonomous District
Polish Autonomous Districts were national raions in the interbellum period possessing some form of a national autonomy in the Ukrainian and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republics of the USSR...
s in Belarus and Ukraine, but during Polish operation of the NKVD
Polish operation of the NKVD
The Genocide of Poles in the Soviet Union often referred to as, the Polish operation of the NKVD, was a coordinated action of the Soviet NKVD and the Communist Party in 1937–1938 against the entire Polish minority living in the Soviet Union, representing only 0.4 percent of Soviet citizens...
, most of Poles in those areas were murdered, and the remaining ones were resettled to Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
(see also Poles in the former Soviet Union).
Kresy during and after World War Two
As a consequence of the Molotov-Ribbentrop PactMolotov-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...
, on September 17, 1939 the territory was annexed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(see Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
), and a significant part of the ethnic Polish population of Kresy was deported to other areas of the Soviet Union including Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. The new border between Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and the Soviet Union was designated by a formal Agreement on Borders and Friendship, signed on September 29, 1939. After rigged elections
Elections to the People's Assemblies of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus
Elections to the People's Assemblies of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, which took place on October 22, 1939, were an attempt to legitimate territorial gains of the Soviet Union, at the expense of the Second Polish Republic...
, communist governments for Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were formed and immediately announced their intention of joining their respective republics to the Soviet Union (see also Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union). After the German invasion of the USSR, the southeastern part of Kresy was included in Greater Germany's General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
, whilst the rest was passed to the Reichskommissariat
Reichskommissariat
Reichskommissariat is the German designation for a type of administrative office headed by a government official known as a Reichskommissar...
s Ostland
Reichskommissariat Ostland
Reichskommissariat Ostland, literally "Reich Commissariat Eastland", was the civilian occupation regime established by Nazi Germany in the Baltic states and much of Belarus during World War II. It was also known as Reichskommissariat Baltenland initially...
and Ukraine
Reichskommissariat Ukraine
Reichskommissariat Ukraine , literally "Reich Commissariat of Ukraine", was the civilian occupation regime of much of German-occupied Ukraine during World War II. Between September 1941 and March 1944, the Reichskommissariat was administered by Reichskommissar Erich Koch as a colony...
. In 1943 - 1944, units of Ukrainian Insurgent Army, with help of local Ukrainian peasants, carried out mass murder of Poles living in southeastern Kresy (see Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
The Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia were part of an ethnic cleansing operation carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army West in the Nazi occupied regions of the Eastern Galicia , and UPA North in Volhynia , beginning in March 1943 and lasting until the end of...
).
In January 1944, Soviet troops reached the former Polish-Soviet border, and by the end of July 1944 they again brought the whole territory that had been annexed by the USSR in September 1939 under their control. During the Teheran Conference in 1943, a new Soviet-Polish border was established, in effect sanctioning most of the Soviet territorial acquisitions from September 1939, and ignoring protests from the Polish emigre government in London. The Potsdam Conference, via substantive recognition of the pro-Soviet Polish Committee of National Liberation
Polish Committee of National Liberation
The Polish Committee of National Liberation , also known as the Lublin Committee, was a provisional government of Poland, officially proclaimed 21 July 1944 in Chełm under the direction of State National Council in opposition to the Polish government in exile...
, implicitly consented to the deportation of the Polish people from Kresy (see Polish population transfers (1944–1946)). Most of Polish inhabitants of Kresy were ordered by the Soviets to move to formerly German eastern provinces, the so-called Recovered Territories
Recovered Territories
Recovered or Regained Territories was an official term used by the People's Republic of Poland to describe those parts of pre-war Germany that became part of Poland after World War II...
of the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. Poles from southern Kresy (current Ukraine) settled mainly in Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, while those from north (Belarus and Lithuania) moved to 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...
and Masuria
Masuria
Masuria is an area in northeastern Poland famous for its 2,000 lakes. Geographically, Masuria is part of two adjacent lakeland districts, the Masurian Lake District and the Iława Lake District...
.
Frequently whole Kresy villages and towns moved in one rail transport to new locations. The village of Biała, near Chojnów
Chojnów
Chojnów is a small town in Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is located on the Skora river, a tributary of the Kaczawa at an average altitude of above sea level. Chojnów is the administrative seat of the rural gmina called Gmina Chojnów, although the town is...
, is still divided into two parts - Lower Biała, and Upper Biała. Lower Biała was settled by people who used to live in a Bieszczady village of Polana near Ustrzyki Dolne
Ustrzyki Dolne
Ustrzyki Dolne is a town in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine, with 9,383 inhabitants .Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship , it is the capital of Bieszczady County....
(this area belonged to the Soviet Union until 1951, see 1951 Polish–Soviet territorial exchange), while inhabitants of the village Pyszkowce near Buchach
Buchach
Buchach is a small city located on the Strypa River in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine...
(Polish: Buczacz) moved to Upper Biała. Every year in September Biała is home to an annual festival called Kresowiana. In Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
and Polish West Pomerania
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 the immediate postwar period, one-third of Polish settlers were either people from Kresy, or Sybiraks. In 1948, people born in the Eastern Borderlands made up 47,5% of the population of Opole
Opole
Opole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
, 44,7% of Baborów
Baborów
Baborów is a small town in Poland near Głubczyce, Opole Voivodeship.The first mention of the town comes from 1296 in which a wójt Jarosław is mentioned. The town was most likely founded by a Bohemian magnate, Bavor . Later it was part of an independent principality, the Austro Hungarian Empire,...
, 47,5% of Wołczyn, 42,1% of Głubczyce, 40,1% of Lewin Brzeski
Lewin Brzeski
Lewin Brzeski is a town in Brzeg County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,843 inhabitants .-External links:*...
, and 32,6% of Brzeg
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
. In 2011, people with Kresy background made up 25% of the population of the Opole Voivodeship
Opole Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Opole Voivodeship is divided into 12 counties : 1 city county and 11 land counties. These are further divided into 71 gminas.The counties are listed in the following table .- Economy :...
. The town of Jasień was settled by people from the area of Ternopil
Ternopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
in late 1945 and early 1946, while Poles from Borschiv
Borschiv
Borshchiv is a city in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Borshchivskyi Raion and is located at around . City population is 11,382 ....
(Polish: Borszczów) moved to Trzcińsko-Zdrój
Trzcinsko-Zdrój
Trzcińsko-Zdrój is a town in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,591 inhabitants .-External links:*...
and Chojna
Chojna
Chojna is a small town in western Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately 60 km south of Szczecin and participates in the Douzelage....
. The situation was completely different in Wschowa
Wschowa
Wschowa is a town in the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland with 14,607 inhabitants . It is the capital of Wschowa County.-History:Wschowa was originally a border fortress in a region disputed by the Polish dukes of Silesia and Greater Poland. After German colonists had established a settlement nearby,...
and its county. In 1945 - 1948, more than 8,000 people moved there. They came from different areas of Kresy - Ashmyany, Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....
, Rivne
Rivne
Rivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
, Lviv, Brody
Brody
Brody is a city in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Brody Raion , and is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately 90 kilometres northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv...
, Dziatłava district
Dziatłava district
Dziatłava district - a district in Hrodna vobłaść of Belarus.The administrative center is Dziatłava....
, and Ternopil
Ternopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
.
Interwar Kresy and its population
The population of Kresy was multi-ethnic, primarily comprising Poles, UkrainiansUkrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
and Belarusians
Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
. According to official Polish statistics from interwar period, Poles formed the largest ethnic group in these regions, and were demographically the largest ethnic group in the cities. Other national minorities included Lithuanians
Lithuanians
Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
(in the north), Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
(scattered in cities and towns across the area), Czechs (in Volhynia), and also Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
.
- Lwów VoivodeshipLwów VoivodeshipLwów Voivodeship was an administrative unit of interwar Poland . According to Nazis and Soviets it ceased to exist in September 1939, following German and Soviet aggression on Poland . The Polish underground administration existed till August 1944.-Population:Its capital, biggest and most...
; 58% Polish, 34% Ukrainian, 8% Yiddish - Nowogrodek Voivideship; 53% Polish, 39% Belarusian, 7% Yiddish, 1% Russian
- Polesie VoivodeshipPolesie VoivodeshipPolesie Voivodeship was an administrative unit of interwar Poland . It ceased to exist in September 1939, following German and Soviet aggression on Poland .-Population:...
; 63% "Other" or Tutejsi, 14% Polish, 10% Yiddish, 6% Belarusian, 5% Ukrainian - Stanisławów Voivodeship; 69% Ukrainian, 23% Polish, 7% Yiddish, 1% German
- Tarnopol VoivodeshipTarnopol VoivodeshipTarnopol Voivodeship was an administrative region of interwar Poland with an area of 16,500 km², 17 counties, and capital in Tarnopol...
; 49% Polish, 46% Ukrainian, 5% Yiddish - Wilno Voivodeship; 60% Polish, 23% Belarusian, 8% Yiddish, 3% Russian, 8% Other (including Lithuanian)
- Volhynia Voivodeship; 68% Ukrainian, 17% Polish, 10% Yiddish, 2% German, 1% Russian, 2% Other
- Białystok Voivodeship; 67% Polish, 16% Belarusian, 12% Yiddish, 3% Russian, 2% Other
- LwówLvivLviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
- pop. 312 200, - WilnoVilniusVilnius 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...
- pop. 195 100, - StanisławówIvano-FrankivskIvano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....
- pop. 60 000, - Brześć nad BugiemBrest, BelarusBrest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
- pop. 50 700, - GrodnoHrodnaGrodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
- pop. 49 700, - RówneRivneRivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
- pop. 41 900, - BorysławBoryslavBoryslav is a city located on the Tysmenytsia River , in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. The city is designated as a separate raion within the oblast....
- pop. 41 500, - ŁuckLutskLutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...
- pop. 35 600, - TarnopolTernopilTernopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
- pop. 33 900.
Prominent Poles born in Kresy
A number of influential figures in Polish history were born in the area of kresy (note: the following list does not include Poles born in the cities of Lwow (Lviv), and Wilno (Vilnius) - see List of Leopolitans, List of Vilnius-related people). The family of current President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, hails from northern Lithuania. The mother of Bogdan ZdrojewskiBogdan Zdrojewski
Bogdan Zdrojewski is a Polish politician who was the first president of Wrocław after the fall of communism in Poland, and held the seat from 1990 to 2001. Afterwards he was a senator and member of the Polish Sejm. Since November 2007, he has been the Minister of Culture and National...
, Minister of Culture and National Heritage is from Borysław
- Tadeusz CzackiTadeusz CzackiTadeusz Czacki , was a Polish historian, pedagogue and numismatist. Czacki played an important part in the Enlightenment in Poland.-Biography:...
, historian, born in Poryck, now Pavlivka, current Ukraine, - Joseph ConradJoseph ConradJoseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
, novelist in English, born in Berdichev, current Ukraine, - Ignacy DomeykoIgnacy DomeykoIgnacy Domeyko or Domejko was a 19th-century geologist, mineralogist and educator who was born in Nesvizh, Imperial Russia , into a Polish-Lithuanian family...
, 19th-century geologist, born in Niedźwiadka Wielka, current Belarus, - Benedykt Dybowski, naturalist and physician, born near Nowogródek, current Belarus,
- Mirosław Hermaszewski, astronaut, born in Lipniki, current Ukraine,
- Zygmunt GlogerZygmunt GlogerZygmunt Gloger was a Polish historian, archeologist, geographer and ethnographer, bearer of Wilczekosy coat of arms.-Life:...
, historian, archeologist, geographer and ethnographer, born in Kamionka Podolska, current Ukraine, - Artur GrottgerArtur GrottgerArtur Grottger – 1867) was a Polish painter and graphic designer, one of the most prominent artists of the early 19th century despite his brief life.-Biography:...
, painter, born in Otynevychi, current Ukraine, - Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, writer and poet, born in KalnikKalnikKalnik is a municipality in the Koprivnica-Križevci County in Croatia. According to the 2011 census, there are 1,361 inhabitants in the area.-References:...
, current Ukraine, - Hugo Kołłątaj, social and political activist, political thinker, historian and philosopher, born in Dederkały Wielkie, current Ukraine,
- Ryszard KapuścińskiRyszard KapuscinskiRyszard Kapuściński was a Polish journalist and writer whose dispatches in book form brought him a global reputation. Also a photographer and poet, he was born in Pińsknow in Belarusin the Kresy Wschodnie or eastern borderlands of the second Polish Republic, into poverty: he would say later that...
, reporter, born in PinskPinskPinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
, current Belarus, - Tadeusz KościuszkoTadeusz KosciuszkoAndrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish–Lithuanian and American general and military leader during the Kościuszko Uprising. He is a national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus...
, national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus, born in the village of Mereczowszczyzna, current Belarus, - Stanisław Maczek, tank commander in World War II, born in Szczerzec, current Ukraine,
- Ernest MalinowskiErnest MalinowskiErnest Adam Malinowski was a Polish engineer.Malinowski constructed at that time the world's highest railway Ferrocarril Central Andino in the Peruvian Andes in 1871-1876.-External links:...
, railway engineer/ builder, born in Seweryny, current Ukraine, - Adam MickiewiczAdam MickiewiczAdam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
, a national poet of Poland, born in ZavosseZavosseZavosse is a village in Belarus, in the Baranavichy Raion of Brest Voblast.The village was the site of the farm and manor house belonging to the Mickiewicz family, probably the birthplace in 1798 of Adam Mickiewicz, when the area lay within the Russian Empire.In 1806 the lands...
(Polish: Zaosie), current Belarus, - Czesław Miłosz, poet, recipient of the Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
, born in Seteniai, current Lithuania, - Stanisław MoniuszkoStanisław MoniuszkoStanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. His output includes many songs and operas, and his musical style is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
, composer, born in current Belarus, - Gabriel NarutowiczGabriel NarutowiczGabriel Narutowicz was a Lithuanian-born professor of hydroelectric engineering at Switzerland's Zurich Polytechnic, and Poland's Minister of Public Works , Minister of Foreign Affairs , and the first president of the Second Polish Republic....
, first President of the Second Polish Republic, born in TelsiaiTelšiaiTelšiai , is a city in Lithuania with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on Lake Mastis.-Names:...
, current Lithuania, - Adam NaruszewiczAdam NaruszewiczAdam Stanisław Naruszewicz was a Polish nobleman from an impoverished aristocratic family, poet, historian, dramatist, translator, publicist, Jesuit and titular Bishop of Smolensk and bishop of Łuck .His family had a small estate in Polesie and he was educated at Pinsk.As a senator he...
, poet, historian, dramatist, translator, publicist, born in PinskPinskPinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
, current Belarus, - Julian Ursyn NiemcewiczJulian Ursyn NiemcewiczJulian Ursyn Niemcewicz was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of May 3, 1791.-Life:...
, poet, playwright and statesman, born near BrestBrest, BelarusBrest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
, current Belarus, - Czesław Niemen, singer, born in Stare Wasiliszki, current Belarus,
- Eliza OrzeszkowaEliza Orzeszkowa-External links:...
, writer, born in Milkowszczyzna, current Belarus - Ignacy Jan PaderewskiIgnacy Jan PaderewskiIgnacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
, composer, diplomat, politician, born the village of Kurilovka, current Ukraine, - Józef Piłsudski, statesman, Chief of State, First Marshal, and leader of the Second Polish Republic, born in ZalavasZalavasZalavas is a small village in Švenčionys district municipality, Lithuania. It is located on the Mera river near the Lithuanian state border with Belarus. According to the 2001 census, it had 173 residents. It is the birthplace of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, who later became Chief of State of...
(Polish: Zułów), current Lithuania, - Stanisław August Poniatowski, last King of Poland, born in VowchynVowchynVoŭčyn is a village in Kamenets Raion, Brest Voblast, Belarus. It was the birthplace of the last king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski.-History:...
, current Belarus, - Jan PotockiJan PotockiCount Jan Nepomucen Potocki was a Polish nobleman, Polish Army Captain of Engineers, ethnologist, Egyptologist, linguist, traveler, adventurer and popular author of the Enlightenment period, whose life and exploits made him a legendary figure in his homeland...
, writer and adventurer, author of The Manuscript Found in SaragossaThe Manuscript Found in SaragossaThe Manuscript Found in Saragossa , is a frame-tale novel by the Polish Enlightenment author, Count Jan Potocki...
, born in Pikov, current Ukraine, - Edward Rydz-Śmigły, marshal of Poland, born in Lapshin, current Ukraine,
- Juliusz Słowacki, the father of modern Polish drama, born in KremenetsKremenetsKremenets is a city in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kremenets Raion , and rests 18 km north-east of the great Pochayiv Monastery...
(Polish: Krzemieniec), current Ukraine, - John III SobieskiJohn III SobieskiJohn III Sobieski was one of the most notable monarchs of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, from 1674 until his death King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Sobieski's 22-year-reign was marked by a period of the Commonwealth's stabilization, much needed after the turmoil of the Deluge and...
, King of Poland, born in OleskoOleskoOles'ko is small town in Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine.It was the seat of the rebbes of Alesk, and also the birthplace of Jan III Sobieski, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania....
, current Ukraine, - Karol SzymanowskiKarol SzymanowskiKarol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
, composer, born in Tymoszówka, current Ukraine, - Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland, born in VyshnivetsVyshnivetsVyshnivets is a small town in the Zbarazkyi Raion of the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine. The town is located on the Horyn River, a right tributary of the Prypiat. The population of the town is 3,469...
(Polish: Wiśniowiec), current Ukraine, - Wiktor ThomméeWiktor ThomméeWiktor Thommée was a Polish military commander and a Brigadier General of the Polish Army. A veteran of the Great War and the Russian Civil War, he is best known for his command over Piotrków Operational Group and the battle of the Bzura during the Polish Defensive War of 1939.- Early life :Wiktor...
, Brigadier General of the Polish Army, born in ŠvenčionysŠvencionysŠvenčionys is a city located north of Vilnius in Lithuania. It is the capital of the Švenčionys district municipality. As of 2005, it had population of 5,658 of which about one-third is part of the Polish minority in Lithuania.- Name :...
, current Lithuania, - Franciszek Żwirko, aviator, born in ŠvenčionysŠvencionysŠvenčionys is a city located north of Vilnius in Lithuania. It is the capital of the Švenčionys district municipality. As of 2005, it had population of 5,658 of which about one-third is part of the Polish minority in Lithuania.- Name :...
, current Lithuania.
Kresy in Polish culture
Since some of the most distinguished names in Polish literature were born in Kresy (Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki or Czesław Miłosz), Eastern Borderlands have been mentioned and described in several works. Mickiewicz's Pan TadeuszPan Tadeusz
Pan Tadeusz, the full title in English: Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Lithuanian Foray: A Nobleman's Tale from the Years of 1811 and 1812 in Twelve Books of Verse is an epic poem by the Polish poet, writer and philosopher Adam Mickiewicz...
begins with the Polish language invocation, "O Lithuania, my fatherland, thou art like good health...". Other notable books that take place in Kresy, are Nad Niemnem
Nad Niemnem
Nad Niemnem is a Positivist novel written by Eliza Orzeszkowa in 1888 during the foreign Partitions of Poland. Its main purpose was to present the Polish society and its own internal dynamics as they were in mid–18th century, in reference to the Polish January Uprising against the Russian occupation...
, Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass is the English title of Sanatorium Pod Klepsydrą, a novel by the Polish writer and painter Bruno Schulz, published in 1937.-Plot introduction:...
, With Fire and Sword
With Fire and Sword
With Fire and Sword is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1884. It is the first volume of a series known to Poles as the Trilogy, followed by The Deluge and Fire in the Steppe , also translated as Colonel Wolodyjowski...
, Fire in the Steppe
Fire in the Steppe
Fire in the Steppe is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1888. It is the third volume in a series known to Poles as "the Trilogy," preceded by With Fire and Sword and The Deluge...
. In Communist Poland, all Kresy-related topics, such as Polish heritage in the East, or Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
The Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia were part of an ethnic cleansing operation carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army West in the Nazi occupied regions of the Eastern Galicia , and UPA North in Volhynia , beginning in March 1943 and lasting until the end of...
were banned for propaganda reasons, because these lands belonged to the Soviet Union. In official documents, people born in Eastern Borderlands were presented as born in the Soviet Union, and very few Kresy-themed books or films were created at that time. One of the exceptions was immensely popular comedy trilogy by Sylwester Chęciński
Sylwester Checinski
Sylwester Chęciński is a Polish film and television director.-Filmography:*Rozmowy Kontrolowane *Kochaj albo rzuć *Nie ma mocnych *Sami Swoi -References:...
(Sami swoi
Sami swoi
Sami swoi is the first part of a Polish comedy trilogy of movies by Sylwester Chęciński...
from 1967, Nie ma mocnych from 1974, and Kochaj albo rzuć from 1977). The trilogy tells the story of two quarreling families, who after the end of the Second World War were resettled from current Western Ukraine to Lower Silesia, after Poland's borders were shifted westwards.
After collapse of the Communist system, Kresy returned to Polish culture. Numerous books and albums are published about Eastern Borderlands, frequently with original photos from the prewar era. Good examples of such publications are albums Kresy in Photos of Henryk Poddębski, published in May 2010 in Lublin, with forewords by well-known people with Kresy background - Anna Seniuk
Anna Seniuk
Anna Seniuk is a Polish TV and theatre actress.After World War II, together with other Poles from Stanisławów, she was forced by the Soviet government to leave her hometown, settling in the town of Zator, near Oświęcim...
, Krzesimir Dębski
Krzesimir Debski
Krzesimir Dębski is a Polish composer, conductor and jazz violinist. His music career as an musician has been that of a performer as well as composer of classical music, opera, television and feature films.-Professional career:...
and Maciej Płażyński, The World of Kresy, with numerous photos, postcards and maps, Sentimental Journeys. Travel across Kresy with Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda is a Polish film director. Recipient of an honorary Oscar, he is possibly the most prominent member of the unofficial "Polish Film School"...
and Daniel Olbrychski
Daniel Olbrychski
Daniel Olbrychski is a Polish actor best known for leading roles in several Andrzej Wajda movies and also known for playing the Russian defector and spymaster Vassily Orlov, alongside Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie in the movie Salt....
, and The Encyclopedia of Kresy, with 3600 articles, and foreword by another famous person from Kresy, Stanisław Lem.
In Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine
At present, the territory known to Poles as Kresy belongs to independent nations of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. Ethnic Poles still live in those areas, in Lithuania they are the largest ethnic minority in the country (see Poles in Lithuania), in Belarus they are the second largest ethnic minority in the country after the Russians (see Poles in Belarus), and in Ukraine, they officially number almost 150,000, but Polish organizations claim that the number of Poles in Ukraine may reach up to 2 million, with most of them assimilated. (see Poles in Ukraine). Furthermore, there is a 50,000 Polish minority in Latvia.Numerous Polish organizations are active in former Eastern Borderlands, such as Association of Poles in Ukraine, Association of Polish Culture of the Lviv Land
Association of Polish Culture of the Lviv Land
Association of the Polish Culture of the Lviv Land is a Polish minority association, active in Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It was founded on December 3, 1989 in Lviv and its first director was Professor Leszek Mazepa...
, Federation of Polish Organizations in Ukraine, Union of Poles in Belarus
Union of Poles in Belarus
The Union of Poles in Belarus is an organization located in the Eastern European country of Belarus. The group, which has a membership of 20,000 people, represents the Polish minority in Belarus, numbering about 400,000, as per official data .Lately, the group has received international attention...
, and Association of Poles in Lithuania
Association of Poles in Lithuania
The Association of Poles in Lithuania is an organization formed in 1989 to bring together members of Polish minority in Lithuania. It numbers between 6,000 to 11,000 members. It defends the civil rights of the Polish minority and engages in educational, cultural and economic activities...
. There are Polish sports clubs (Pogoń Lwów
Pogon Lwów
LKS Pogoń Lwów is a former Polish professional sports club which was located in Lwów , and existed from 1904 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It was the second oldest Polish football club behind other teams from Lwów - Czarni and Lechia...
, Polonia Vilnius), newspapers (Gazeta Lwowska
Gazeta Lwowska
Gazeta Lwowska is a Polish language biweekly magazine, published since December 24, 1990 in Lviv , Ukraine. The publication refers to the traditions of a Polish language paper Gazeta Lwowska, which was published between 1811 and 1944 and as such was one of the oldest Polish newspapers.Originally,...
, Kurier Wileński
Kurier Wilenski
Kurier Wileński is the main Polish-language newspaper in Lithuania. Printed in Vilnius, it is the only Polish-language daily newspaper published east of Poland...
), radio stations (in Lviv and Vilnius), numerous theatres, schools, choirs and folk ensembles. Poles living in Kresy are helped by government-sponsored organization Fundacja Pomoc Polakom na Wschodzie
Fundacja Pomoc Polakom na Wschodzie
Fundacja Pomoc Polakom na Wschodzie is a foundation created by Polish government in order to facilitate the cooperation between Polish government and Polonia in the East . Among the goals of the foundation is to provide support for Polish cultural and educational institutions abroad....
, as well as other organizations, such as Association of Help of Poles in the East Kresy (see also Karta Polaka). Money is frequently collected to help those Poles who live in Kresy, and there are several annual events, such as Christmas Package for a Polish Veteran in Kresy, and Summer with Poland, sponsored by Association "Polish Community", in which Polish children from Kresy are invited to visit Poland. Polish language handbooks and films, as well as medicines and clothes are collected and sent to Kresy. Books are most often sent to Polish schools which exist there - for example, in December 2010, University of Wroclaw organized event called Become a Polish Santa Claus and Give a Book to a Polish Child in Kresy. Polish churches and cemeteries (such as Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów
Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów
The Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów is a memorial and a burial place for the Poles and their allies who died in Lviv during the hostilities of the Polish-Ukrainian War and Polish-Soviet War between 1918 and 1920....
) are renovated for money from Poland. For example, in Nysa
Nysa
- People :*Nysa , daughter of Laodice IV and Antiochus, wife of Pharnaces I of Pontus* Nysa of Cappadocia, daughter of Pharnaces I of Pontus and Nysa, wife of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia and mother Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia...
, money is collected to renovate a Roman-Catholic church in Lopatyn near Lviv, while residents of Oława collect funds to renovate a church in Sasiv, also in the area of Lviv. Also, physicians from Kraków's organization Doctors of Hope regularly visit Eastern Borderlands, and Polish Ministry of Education runs a special program, which sends Polish teachers to former Soviet Union. In 2007, more than 700 teachers worked in the East, most of them in Kresy. Studio East of Polish TV Wrocław organizes event called Save your grandfather's tomb from oblivion (Mogiłę pradziada ocal od zapomnienia), during which students from Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
visit Western Ukraine, to clean Polish cemeteries there. In July 2011, about 150 students cleaned 16 cemeteries in the area of Lviv, Ternopil
Ternopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
, also Podolia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
and Pokuttya
Pokuttya
Pokuttya or Pokuttia is a historical area of East-Central Europe, between upper Prut and Cheremosh rivers, in modern Ukraine. Historically it was a culturally distinct area inhabitated by Ukrainians and Romanians on the previously unpopulated borderlands between the lands of Lviv and Halych...
.
Kresy in contemporary Poland
Even though Poland lost Eastern Borderlands as a result of World War Two, Poles still vividly remember those lands. Since Poles from current Western Ukraine mostly moved to SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, the city of Wrocław is regarded as miasto lwowskie (Lwów-like city), while Toruń
Torun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
, Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
and Olsztyn
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
are regarded as miasta wileńskie (Wilno-like cities). Ossolineum
Ossolineum
The Ossolineum or Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich a meritorious department for Polish science and culture , which was founded for the Polish Nation in 1817 by Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński, and was opened in 1827 in Lviv.It was one of the most important Polish...
, famous library from Lviv, is now located in Wrocław, Polish academics from Lviv established Polish-language University of Wrocław and Silesian University of Technology
Silesian University of Technology
Silesian University of Technology is a university located in Gliwice, Silesia, Poland. It was founded in 1945 by Polish professors of the Lwow Polytechnic, who were forced to leave their native city and move to the Recovered Territories .The Silesian University of Technology has 12...
, at the same time, Polish academics from Vilnius opened Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń is located in Toruń, Poland. It was named after Nicolaus Copernicus who was born in this town in 1473.-The beginnings of higher education in Toruń:...
.
There are numerous Kresy-oriented organizations, with the largest one, World Congress of Kresy Inhabitants (Światowy Kongres Kresowian), located in Bytom
Bytom
Bytom is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The central-western district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Bytom is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bytomka river .The city belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship since...
, and branches scattered across Poland, as well as in other countries. The Congress organizes annual World Convention and Pilgrimage of Kresy Inhabitants to Jasna Góra Monastery
Jasna Góra Monastery
The Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland is the most famous shrine to the Virgin Mary in Poland and the country's greatest place of pilgrimage - for many its spiritual capital. The image of Black Madonna of Częstochowa, to which miraculous powers are attributed, is Jasna Góra's most...
.
Other important Kresy organizations, active in contemporary Poland, are:
- Polskie Towarzystwo Miłośników Miasta Krzemieńca i Ziemi Krzemienieckiej (Polish Association of Lovers of Krzemieniec and Krzemieniec Land) from PoznańPoznanPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
. - Stowarzyszenie Kresowe "Podkamień” (Kresy Association “Podkamien”) from Wołów,
- Stowarzyszenie Odra-Niemen (Association OdraOdraOdra may refer to:* Oder, a river in Czech Republic, Poland and Germany* Odra , a computer once made in Poland* Name of several Polish football clubs, e.g...
- Niemen) from Wrocław, - Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół Ziemi Drohobyckiej (Association of Friends of Drohobycz Land) from LegnicaLegnicaLegnica is a town in south-western Poland, in Silesia, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the plain of Legnica, riverside: Kaczawa and Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is currently the seat of the county...
, - Stowarzyszenie Rodzin Osadników Wojskowych i Cywilnych Kresów Wschodnich (Association of Families of OsadnikOsadnikOsadniks 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,...
s of Eastern Borderlands) from Warsaw, - Towarzystwo Miłośników Kultury Kresowej (Association of Friends of Kresy Culture) from Wroclaw,
- Towarzystwo Miłośników Wołynia i Polesia (Association of Lovers of Volhynia and Polesie) from Warsaw,
- Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich (Association of Lovers of Lwów and Southeastern Kresy) from Wrocław, with branches in Brzeg, Bydgoszcz, Bytom, Chełm, Gdańsk, Jelenia Góra, Kłodzko, Kraków, Leszno, Lublin, Poznań, Szczecinek, Świdwin, Warszawa, Węgliniec and Zabrze,
- Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Grodna i Wilna (Association of Friends of Grodno and Wilno), with branches in Białystok, Ełk, Gdańsk, Giżycko, Lublin, Łódź, Ostrołęka, Stargard Szczeciński, Warszawa, Węgorzewo, Wrocław,
- Związek Sybirakow (Association of Sybiraks) from Warsaw, with branches scattered across Poland and abroad.
Every year, in Masuria
Masuria
Masuria is an area in northeastern Poland famous for its 2,000 lakes. Geographically, Masuria is part of two adjacent lakeland districts, the Masurian Lake District and the Iława Lake District...
n town of Mrągowo
Mragowo
Mrągowo is a town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship of northeastern Poland, the capital of Mrągowo County and the seat the Gmina Mrągowo...
, there is Festiwal Kultury Kresowej (Festival of Kresy Culture), sponsored among others by the Senate of the Republic of Poland and the Minister of Culture of Poland, with patronage of the First Lady Anna Komorowska. The Festival is broadcast by TVP2 and TVP Polonia
TVP Polonia
TVP Polonia is the international channel of the Telewizja Polska . The channel is co-funded by the TVP and the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and broadcasts from the TVP headquarters in Warsaw...
, and in 2011 it was organized for the 17th time. Among participants of the 2011 Festival, there were such artists, as Folk Ensemble Mozyrzanka from Mozyr, Children and Youth Band Tęcza from Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Folk Band Kresowianka from Ivyanets
Ivyanets
Ivyanets is a township in the Valozhyn Raion of the Minsk Voblast, Belarus. It is located in a hilly and woody area on the river Volma. It is known since mid-15th century as a privately owned settlement of Sollohub family. Originally known as Givenech, presumably derived from Lithuanian gyventi –...
, Polish Academic Choir Zgoda from Brest
Brest, Belarus
Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
, Instrumental Band Biedronki from Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Vocal Duo Wspólna wędrówka from Minsk, Children's Polonia Ensemble Dolinianka from Stara Huta (Ukraine), Ensemble Fujareczka from Sambir
Sambir
Sambir is a city in the Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Sambir Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. It is located at around , close to the border with Poland.-History:...
, Ensemble Boryslawiacy from Boryslav
Boryslav
Boryslav is a city located on the Tysmenytsia River , in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. The city is designated as a separate raion within the oblast....
, Ensemble Niebo do Wynajecia from Stralhivci (Ukraine), Polish Dance and Song Ensemble Wilenka from Vilnius, Dance and Song Band Troczenie from Trakai
Trakai
Trakai is a historic city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies 28 km west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. Trakai is the administrative centre of Trakai district municipality. The town covers 11.52 km2 of...
, Band Wesołe Wilno from Vilnius, Song and Dance Ensemble Kotwica from Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, and Folk and Polish Folklore Dance and Song Ensemble Syberyjski Krakowiak from Abakan
Abakan
Abakan is the capital city of the Republic of Khakassia, Russia, located in the central part of Minusinsk Depression, at the confluence of the Yenisei and Abakan Rivers. Population: -History:...
in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
Other notable Kresy-oriented festivals are:
- Dzień Kresowiaka (Kresy Inhabitant Day) in the village of Lagiewniki near MalborkMalborkMalbork is a town in northern Poland in the Żuławy region , with 38,478 inhabitants . Situated in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously assigned to Elbląg Voivodeship...
, - Dzień Kresowy (Kresy Day) in WschowaWschowaWschowa is a town in the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland with 14,607 inhabitants . It is the capital of Wschowa County.-History:Wschowa was originally a border fortress in a region disputed by the Polish dukes of Silesia and Greater Poland. After German colonists had established a settlement nearby,...
, - Dzień Kultury Kresowej (Day of Kresy Culture) in Kędzierzyn-KoźleKedzierzyn-KozleKędzierzyn-Koźle is the capital city of Kędzierzyn-Koźle County, Silesia, Poland. Kędzierzyn-Koźle is a place of a major river port, has rail connections with all major cities of Poland and serves western outskirts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union....
, - Dni Kultury Kresowej (Days of Kresy Culture) in Białystok,
- Dni Kultury Kresowej (Days of Kresy Culture) in BrzegBrzegBrzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
, - Dni Kultury Kresowej (Days of Kresy Culture) in ProchowiceProchowiceProchowice is a town in Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Prochowice. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany....
, - Kaziuki (Kaziuko mugėKaziuko mugeKaziuko mugė is a large annual folk arts and crafts fair dating to the beginning of the 17th century. It was originally held at the two main markets in Vilnius, Lithuania, as well as in the city streets....
), an annual folk arts and crafts fair, which takes place in VilniusVilniusVilnius 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...
, is organized in several Polish cities (GdańskGdanskGdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, OlsztynOlsztynOlsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
, PoznańPoznanPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Suwałki, WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
), on initiative of Poles resettled from Vilnius, - Kresowy Festiwal Polonijny Młodzieży Szkolnej (Kresy Festival of PoloniaPoloniaThe Polish diaspora refers to people of Polish origin who live outside Poland. The Polish diaspora is also known in modern Polish language as Polonia, which is the name for Poland in Latin and in many other Romance languages....
Schoolchildren) in ZamośćZamoscZamość ukr. Замостя is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants , situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship , about from Lublin, from Warsaw and from the border with Ukraine...
, - Legnickie Dni Kultury Kresowej (Legnica Days of Kresy Culture) in LegnicaLegnicaLegnica is a town in south-western Poland, in Silesia, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the plain of Legnica, riverside: Kaczawa and Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is currently the seat of the county...
, LubinLubinLubin is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. From 1975–1998 it belonged to the former Legnica Voivodeship. Lubin is the administrative seat of Lubin County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Lubin, although it is not part of the territory of the latter,...
, JaworJaworJawor is a town in south-western Poland with 24,347 inhabitants . It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship . It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław.In the town can be found a Protestant Church of Peace...
, ChojnówChojnówChojnów is a small town in Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is located on the Skora river, a tributary of the Kaczawa at an average altitude of above sea level. Chojnów is the administrative seat of the rural gmina called Gmina Chojnów, although the town is...
, - Lipcowy Festiwal Kresowy (July Kresy Festival) in RejowiecRejowiecRejowiec may refer to the following places:*Rejowiec, Greater Poland Voivodeship *Rejowiec, Lublin Voivodeship *Rejowiec, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship...
, - Międzynarodowy Festiwal Kultury Kresowej (International Festival of Kresy Culture) in Jarosław,
- Prezentacja Kultury Polaków z Kresów Wschodnich i Bukowiny (Show of Culture of Poles from Eastern Borderlands and Bucovina) in Zielona GóraZielona GóraZielona Góra is a city in Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland, with 117,557 inhabitants within the city limits and 294,000 inhabitants within the metropolitan area, including three neighbouring counties ....
, SzprotawaSzprotawaSzprotawa is a town in Poland, in Lubusz Voivodeship, in Żagań County. It has 12,648 inhabitants .- History :The first information about the terrains of today's Szprotawa comes at 1000 from the chronicle of bishop Thietmar of Merseburg, who accompanied the emperor Otto III on pilgrimage to the...
, Nowa SólNowa SólNowa Sól is a town on the Oder River in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the capital of Nowa Sól County and had a population of 40,351 as of 2006.-History:...
, KożuchówKozuchówKożuchów is a town in Lubusz Voivodeship, Poland.- External links :*...
, ŻagańZaganZagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland... - Świdnicki Dzień Kultury Kresowej i Lwowa (Świdnica Day of Kresy and Lwow Culture) in ŚwidnicaSwidnicaŚwidnica is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. It has a population of 60,317 according to 2006 figures. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh largest town in that voivodeship. From 1975–98 it was in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship...
.
In Lubaczów
Lubaczów
Lubaczów is a town in southeastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine, with 12,405 inhabitants .Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship , it is the capital of Lubaczów County and is located 50 kilometers northeast of Przemyśl....
is Museum of Kresy, and there is a project, supported by local government, to create a Museum of Eastern Borderlands in Wrocław, the city where a number of Poles from Kresy settled after World War Two. Numerous photo albums and books, depicting cities, towns and landscapes of Kresy are published every year in Poland. In Chełm, there is Kresy Bicycle Marathon, Polish Radio Białystok every week broadcasts Kresy Magazine, dedicated to history and present times of Eastern Borderlands. Every Sunday, Polish Radio Katowice broadcasts a program based on famous prewar Lwów's Merry Wave, every Tuesday, Polish Radio Rzeszów broadcasts a program Kresy Landscapes. In Wrocław, Association of Remembrance of Victims of Ukrainian Nationalists publishes Na Rubieży (On the Border) magazine. Among best known Kresy activists of contemporary Poland are Father Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski
Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski
Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski is a Polish Roman Catholic and Armenian Catholic priest, author and activist...
, and Dr. Tadeusz Kukiz, father of popular singer Paweł Kukiz. Since 2007, annual medals Heritage of Eastern Borderlands are awarded in Wrocław. The 2011 recipient was emeritus Archbishop of Wrocław, Henryk Gulbinowicz. Participants of annual Katyn Motorcycle Raid (Motocyklowy Rajd Katyński) always visit Polish centers in Kresy, giving presents to children, and meeting local Poles.
Program of 2011 Days of Kresy Culture (October 22-23) in Brzeg
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
covered such events, as: Kresy themed cabaret, promotion of Kresy books, Eastern Borderlands cuisine, mass in a local church, meetings with Kresy activists and scholars, and theatre shows of Brzeg's Garrison Club as well as Lwów Eaglets Middle School number 3 in Brzeg. Organizers of the festival assured that for the two days Brzeg would turn into the "capital of interwar Polish Kresy".
Kresy dialect of Polish language
Since Polish presence in the area of Eastern Borderlands dates back to hundreds of years, in the course of the time two groups of Kresy dialects of Polish languagePolish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
emerged - northern (dialekt północnokresowy), and southern (dialekt południowokresowy). Both dialects have been influenced by East Slavic languages
East Slavic languages
The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. It is the group with the largest numbers of speakers, far out-numbering the Western and Southern Slavic groups. Current East Slavic languages are Belarusian, Russian,...
, mainly Ukrainian and Belarusian (but also Lithuanian), and to native speakers of Polish, Kresy dialects are easy to distinguish, as they sound more "musical". Before World War Two, both dialects were commonly used in Eastern Poland, but after the war, when thousands of people were forced to move out of Kresy, and settle in Western Poland, Kresy dialects lost its speakers. Northern Kresy dialect is still used along the Lithanian-Belarusian border, where Poles still live in large numbers, but southern Kresy dialect has been on the decline, as in Western Ukraine Poles are scattered and do not make a majority of population in any district. Among Kresy dialect arguably the most notable and popular is Lwów dialect
Lwów dialect
The Lwów dialect is a local variety of the Polish language characteristic of the inhabitants of the city of Lviv , now in Ukraine. Based on the substratum of the Malopolonia dialect, it was heavily influenced by borrowings from other languages spoken in Central Europe, notably German and Yiddish,...
, which emerged in 19th century and gained much popularity and recognition in the 1920s and 1930s, in part due to countrywide popularity of numerous artists and comedians using it (see also: Dialects of the Polish language
Dialects of the Polish language
In Polish linguistic tradition there are seven general dialectal groups of the Polish language, each primarily associated with a certain geographical region...
).
See also
- Lithuanian and Belarusian Self-DefenceLithuanian and Belarusian Self-DefenceLithuanian and Belarusian Self-Defence was a voluntary military formation composed primarily of Poles that was created in the aftermath of First World War during the formation of Second Polish Republic in the Kresy Polish-Russian borderlands....
- Lwów EagletsLwów EagletsLwów Eaglets is a term of affection applied to the Polish teenagers who defended the city of Lviv in Eastern Galicia, during the Polish-Ukrainian War .-Background:...
- Peace of RigaPeace of RigaThe 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....
- Poles in the former Soviet Union
- Polish areas annexed by the Soviet UnionPolish areas annexed by the Soviet UnionImmediately after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Union invaded the eastern regions of the Second Polish Republic, which Poles referred to as the "Kresy," and annexed territories totaling 201,015 km² with a population of 13,299,000...
- Polish historical regionsPolish historical regionsPolish historic regions are regions that were related to a former Polish state, or are within present-day Poland without being identified in its administrative division....
- Polish National-Territorial RegionPolish National-Territorial RegionThe Polish National-Territorial Region was an autonomous region in Lithuania, self-proclaimed by the local Poles on 6 September 1990. The region included areas surrounding Vilnius , capital of Lithuania, where Poles formed the majority...
- PoloniaPoloniaThe Polish diaspora refers to people of Polish origin who live outside Poland. The Polish diaspora is also known in modern Polish language as Polonia, which is the name for Poland in Latin and in many other Romance languages....
- Republic of Central LithuaniaRepublic of Central LithuaniaThe Republic of Central Lithuania or Middle Lithuania , or simply Central Lithuania , was a short-lived political entity, which did not gain international recognition...
- Repatriation of Poles (1955–1959)Repatriation of Poles (1955–1959)Repatriation of Polish population in the years of 1955–1959 was the second wave of forced repatriation of the Poles living in the territories annexed by the Soviet Union. It was the aftermath of the death of Stalin and start of destalinization...
- Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (1939–1946)
- Suwałki Agreement
- Treaty of Brest-LitovskTreaty of Brest-LitovskThe Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
- Treaty of Warsaw (1920)Treaty of Warsaw (1920)The Treaty of Warsaw of April 1920 was an alliance between the Second Polish Republic, represented by Józef Piłsudski, and the Ukrainian People's Republic, represented by Symon Petlura, against Bolshevik Russia...
- Vilnius RegionVilnius regionVilnius Region , refers to the territory in the present day Lithuania, that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time,...
- Volhynia ExperimentVolhynia ExperimentThe Volhynia Experiment was a cultural and political program by the interwar Polish government in the province of Volhynia whose purpose was the create a Ukrainian identity that was also loyal to the Polish state. It was hoped that this program would furthermore lead to pro-Polish sympathies in...
- West Ukrainian People's Republic
- Żeligowski's MutinyZeligowski's MutinyŻeligowski's Mutiny was a sham mutiny led by Polish General Lucjan Żeligowski in October 1920, which resulted in the creation of the short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania. Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski had surreptitiously ordered Żeligowski to carry out the operation, and revealed the...