Aspekty wojskowe i społeczne przejmowania byłych ziem Prus Wschodnich w granice państwa polskiego po II wojnie światowej
Military and Social Aspects of the Incorporation of the Former East Prussian Lands into the Territory of the Polish State After World War II

Summary/Abstract: At the ‘Big Three’ conferences in Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam, the fate of the lands lying within the borders of East Prussia was decided. The province was to cease to exist and its territory was to become part of Poland and the Soviet Union. In the spring of 1945, the southern part of East Prussia, known as Warmia and Masuria, was to be annexed to Poland. This was not an easy process, as the Prussian lands were still inhabited by the German population and occupied by the Red Army. As part of the settlement of Poles arriving in Prussia from the territory of the Second Polish Republic in Olsztyn, the process of taking over the lands previously granted by the Polish administration began. In addition, Polish Army units were deployed in order to ensure the safety of the arriving settlers and expatriates. The aim of this article is to analyse the social and military efforts made to incorporate the southern part of East Prussia into Poland, which was a highly problematic process. The local and military administration, which were created from scratch had the hard task to overseeing it, despite their lack of experience and their dependence on Soviet military commanders.

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