Poland and Poles in the Political Strategy of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists from 1929 to 1942: The Genesis of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army’s ‘Anti-Polish Action’ Cover Image

Польща і Поляки в політичній стратегії ОУН (1929–1942)
Poland and Poles in the Political Strategy of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists from 1929 to 1942: The Genesis of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army’s ‘Anti-Polish Action’

Author(s): Ołeksandr Zajcew
Subject(s): Political history, Social history, Political behavior, Social Theory, Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Sociology of Politics
Published by: Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN
Keywords: Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists; political strategy; Ukrainian-Polish relations; Mykhailo Kolodzins'kyi; World War II; Banderites; anti-Polish action;

Summary/Abstract: In the 1930s, the political strategy implemented by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) contained various projects for solving the ‘Polish question’ during the future national revolution: from the forced repatriation of colonists resettled in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia in the 1920s and 1930s to the ‘final solution’ of the question by exterminating some of the Poles and expelling the rest to their ethnic lands. The last concept, proposed by Mykhailo Kolodzins’kyi, was supported by the most radical group of OUN activists. At first, they had no decisive influence on decision-making. After the outbreak of World War II, a series of events led to the strengthening of the OUN’s radical wing. The turning point was the proposal by the military referents of the OUN(b) at the end of 1942 to carry out the forced eviction of Poles during future general mobilisation. At the beginning of 1943, the concept of ‘cleansing the territory’ of the Polish population finally prevailed in the Volhynian leadership of the OUN(b).

  • Issue Year: 50/2022
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 195-233
  • Page Count: 23
  • Language: Ukrainian