Amnesty for Polish citizens in USSR
Encyclopedia
Amnesty for Polish citizens in USSR refers to an amnesty
in USSR for those deprived of their freedom resulting in temporary stop of persecutions of Polish citizens under Soviet control.
Soviet Union invaded Poland in 1939
, breaking relations with the Polish government and repressing Polish citizens in the occupied territories. The outbreak of the Soviet-German War in 1941 and Sikorski-Mayski Negotiations
led to the change of Soviet policies towards the Poles, as leniency was needed if Soviets were to recruit and create a Polish force under their command
. On 12 August of that year Soviets issued an amnesty to Polish citizens .
Those who could prove they were Polish citizens had their citizenship restored (it had been annulled in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion in 1939). Yet there was no clear definition of the "Polish citizenship" and eventually the Soviets limited it only to Polish ethnicity (which de facto covered some Polish Jews, but not the Ukrainian or Belorussians who were former citizens of the Second Polish Republic
). The decree did not cover people imprisoned or under investigation by the Soviets; and it was common for 'special cases' to be denied the amnesty on technical grounds or even denied information about the amnesty or the possibility of joining the Polish forces. Also some commanders of labour camps refused to release Polish citizens enslaved in them. According to an NKVD
document of 1 August, 381,220 people were to be covered by the amnesty; however the generally accepted figure was over 1.5 million were deported.
The term amnesty
is criticized in Polish historiography, as it implies the Soviet Union had a legal basis for persecute Polish citizens (some of whom, for example, were persecuted for "treason of Soviet Union" - even though they had been Polish citizens in independent Poland, not breaking any Polish laws).
However the Soviet Union claimed that the territories they occupied in 1939 were Russlan, and by virtue of a referendum they had organised, the inhabitants of these territories were therefore Russian citizens. Whereas Polish Prime Minister Sikorski's critics in the Polish government-in-exile held the view that an "amnesty" could only be granted by a State to its own citizens and these citizens were Polish. Dr. Józef Retinger — of whom Anthony Eden
had said that after Sikorski was the most important person in the negotiations — states that the blame for using the word "amnesty" rather than "release" was entirely on the Polish side and not the Russians. In his memoirs Retinger writes; "I am afraid that the responsibility for this lies on the shoulders of a good Polish diplomat, Mr Potulicki, who drafted this document.". According to Retinger, Potulicki had erroneously used the word "amnesty" and not "release" in the text of the treaty and there was no time to change the document before the signing took place.
After the Anders Army
left Soviet sphere of influence, repressions towards the Polish citizens reintensified. Stalin affectively revoked the Amnesty on 16 January 1943 when all Polish citizens including Ethnic Poles were once again declared part of the population of the Soviet Union.
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
in USSR for those deprived of their freedom resulting in temporary stop of persecutions of Polish citizens under Soviet control.
Soviet Union invaded 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...
, breaking relations with the Polish government and repressing Polish citizens in the occupied territories. The outbreak of the Soviet-German War in 1941 and Sikorski-Mayski Negotiations
Sikorski-Mayski Agreement
The Sikorski–Mayski Agreement was a treaty between the Soviet Union and Poland signed in London on 30 July 1941. Its name was coined after the two most notable signatories: Polish Prime Minister Władysław Sikorski and Soviet Ambassador to the United Kingdom Ivan Mayski.- Details :After signing...
led to the change of Soviet policies towards the Poles, as leniency was needed if Soviets were to recruit and create a Polish force under their command
Polish Armed Forces in the East
Polish Armed Forces in the East refers to military units composed of Poles created in the Soviet Union at the time when the territory of Poland was occupied by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the Second World War....
. On 12 August of that year Soviets issued an amnesty to Polish citizens .
Those who could prove they were Polish citizens had their citizenship restored (it had been annulled in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion in 1939). Yet there was no clear definition of the "Polish citizenship" and eventually the Soviets limited it only to Polish ethnicity (which de facto covered some Polish Jews, but not the Ukrainian or Belorussians who were former citizens of 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 decree did not cover people imprisoned or under investigation by the Soviets; and it was common for 'special cases' to be denied the amnesty on technical grounds or even denied information about the amnesty or the possibility of joining the Polish forces. Also some commanders of labour camps refused to release Polish citizens enslaved in them. According to an 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....
document of 1 August, 381,220 people were to be covered by the amnesty; however the generally accepted figure was over 1.5 million were deported.
The term amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
is criticized in Polish historiography, as it implies the Soviet Union had a legal basis for persecute Polish citizens (some of whom, for example, were persecuted for "treason of Soviet Union" - even though they had been Polish citizens in independent Poland, not breaking any Polish laws).
However the Soviet Union claimed that the territories they occupied in 1939 were Russlan, and by virtue of a referendum they had organised, the inhabitants of these territories were therefore Russian citizens. Whereas Polish Prime Minister Sikorski's critics in the Polish government-in-exile held the view that an "amnesty" could only be granted by a State to its own citizens and these citizens were Polish. Dr. Józef Retinger — of whom Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
had said that after Sikorski was the most important person in the negotiations — states that the blame for using the word "amnesty" rather than "release" was entirely on the Polish side and not the Russians. In his memoirs Retinger writes; "I am afraid that the responsibility for this lies on the shoulders of a good Polish diplomat, Mr Potulicki, who drafted this document.". According to Retinger, Potulicki had erroneously used the word "amnesty" and not "release" in the text of the treaty and there was no time to change the document before the signing took place.
After the Anders Army
Anders Army
The Anders Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the period 1941-1942, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders...
left Soviet sphere of influence, repressions towards the Polish citizens reintensified. Stalin affectively revoked the Amnesty on 16 January 1943 when all Polish citizens including Ethnic Poles were once again declared part of the population of the Soviet Union.
See also
- Katyn massacreKatyn massacreThe Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
- 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...
- Repatriation of PolesRepatriation of PolesRepatriation of Poles can refer to:*Repatriation of Poles *Repatriation of Poles...
- Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (1939-1946)Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (1939-1946)In the aftermath of the German and Soviet invasion of Poland, which took place in September 1939, the territory of Poland was divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union . Both powers were hostile to Poland's sovereignty, the Polish culture and the Polish people, aiming at their destruction...
- List of Soviet Union prison sites that detained Poles
Further reading
- Micheal Hope, The Abandoned Legion, ISBN 1-904639-09-7
- Jan T. Gross, Revolution From Abroad, ISBN 0-691-09603-1
- Lucjan Krolikowski Stolen Childhood, ISBN 0-595-16863-9
- Tadeusz Piotrowski Poland's Holocast ISBN 0-7864-0371-3
- Stefan Waydenfeld The Ice Road: An Epic Journey from the Stalinist Labor Camps to Freedom ISBN 978-1607720034