An academic article (with several maps) showing the demographics of Poland's Recovered Territories in 1950

[Futurist]

Here is an academic article (with several maps) showing the demographics of Poland's Recovered Territories in 1950

https://content.sciendo.com/view/journa ... 0-0027.xml

What I find interesting is Figure 7 in this article. Specifically, I find it interesting that ex-USSR Poles were largely (if not mostly) resettled in Lower Silesia and East Brandenburg whereas Central Poland Poles (as in, those who actually agreed to move) were largely resettled in southern East Prussia (Masuria), Gdansk (Danzig), and Pomerania. Diaspora Poles who returned to Poland after the end of World War II were likewise largely resettled in Lower Silesia whereas Masuria and especially Upper Silesia had huge remaining autochthon populations in 1950.

[henryk]

Unfortunately the names of areas from which the settlers left are sloppy and inconsistent. USSR is not defined except by inference. I guess it means USSR post-War II, which includes the former (pre-WWII) Baltic Republics and the Eastern Borderlands. Presumably the additional part of post- WWII Lithuania is from the Eastern Borderlands. In the introduction:

The second great movement was the settlement of the Recovered Lands. These lands were settled by Polish people who came from the eastern parts of pre-war Poland (Eastern Borderlands of pre-war Poland 2), from the USSR (about 666,000 people in total)

. Where are these 666 000 people from?

On figure 7, FPL= settlers from the former Polish Lands (except ....) must mean pre-WWII Poland (except...). USSR=resettlers from the Soviet Union = post-WWII USSR. Your term "diaspora Poles" = "from other countries."

My relatives, that resettled (from FPL), went to four areas: 1) Darlowo, on the coast, about half way between Slupsk and Koszalin, 2) Wroclaw, 3) Katowice Silesia, and 4) Klodzko, in the bulge into Czechia, south of Wroclaw. I don't know the reasons for the selections. Voluntary/non-voluntary?

[Futurist]

Where are these 666 000 people from?

Maybe from pre-1939 Soviet Ukraine? Here's a 1926 map of Poles in the Ukrainian SSR:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... 1926ua.PNG

[Futurist]

The map above is of the Polish % out of the total population in various parts of the Ukrainian SSR in 1926, BTW.

[henryk]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poles_in_Ukraine

In the Ukrainian SSR east of the Zbruch river, in 1926 there were 476.435 Poles, which was 1.6% of total population of Soviet Ukraine. Of these, 48.8% listed Ukrainian as their native language.[10] In the Ukrainian SSR there was a Polish Autonomous District#Marchlewszczyzna, near Zhytomyr, created in 1926, but it was disbanded in 1935 and its Polish inhabitants were either murdered or deported to Kazakhstan. Actually, the former Polish Autonomous District is a territory with largest ethnic Poles concentration in Ukraine, the former Polish Autonomous District capital Dovbysh population is predominantly Polish and Catholic.

In the 1937-8 Polish Operation of the NKVD, 55,928 people were arrested in the Ukrainian SSR, of which 47,327 were shot and 8,8601 were sent to gulags.[24] Not all of those arrested were Polish.[25] The Polish population in the Ukrainian SSR fell from 417,613 in 1937 to 357,710 in 1939.[26]


Map showing percentage of population who are of Polish origin in Ukrainian SSR, 1926
That number has been steadily decreasing over the past half a century; the censuses of Soviet Ukraine gave the following numbers: 1959 – 363,000; 1970 – 295,000; 1979 – 258,000 and 1989 – 219,000. This decline can be explained due to policies of Sovietization, which aimed to destroy Polish culture on Soviet Ukraine.

As most Poles from the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union were transported to Poland (primarily Regained Territories), there were actually relatively few Poles left on the former southeastern territories of the Second Polish Republic incorporated into Soviet Union.

357 710 only accounts for one half of 666 000. The 1945 number was probably a lot less than 357 710.

[Futurist]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poles_in_Ukraine

In the Ukrainian SSR east of the Zbruch river, in 1926 there were 476.435 Poles, which was 1.6% of total population of Soviet Ukraine. Of these, 48.8% listed Ukrainian as their native language.[10] In the Ukrainian SSR there was a Polish Autonomous District#Marchlewszczyzna, near Zhytomyr, created in 1926, but it was disbanded in 1935 and its Polish inhabitants were either murdered or deported to Kazakhstan. Actually, the former Polish Autonomous District is a territory with largest ethnic Poles concentration in Ukraine, the former Polish Autonomous District capital Dovbysh population is predominantly Polish and Catholic.

In the 1937-8 Polish Operation of the NKVD, 55,928 people were arrested in the Ukrainian SSR, of which 47,327 were shot and 8,8601 were sent to gulags.[24] Not all of those arrested were Polish.[25] The Polish population in the Ukrainian SSR fell from 417,613 in 1937 to 357,710 in 1939.[26]


Map showing percentage of population who are of Polish origin in Ukrainian SSR, 1926
That number has been steadily decreasing over the past half a century; the censuses of Soviet Ukraine gave the following numbers: 1959 – 363,000; 1970 – 295,000; 1979 – 258,000 and 1989 – 219,000. This decline can be explained due to policies of Sovietization, which aimed to destroy Polish culture on Soviet Ukraine.

As most Poles from the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union were transported to Poland (primarily Regained Territories), there were actually relatively few Poles left on the former southeastern territories of the Second Polish Republic incorporated into Soviet Union.

357 710 only accounts for one half of 666 000. The 1945 number was probably a lot less than 357 710.

There were also Poles in other SSRs--not only in the Ukrainian SSR--no?

[henryk]

True, but how many were killed 1937 to 1945?

[Futurist]

True, but how many were killed 1937 to 1945?

A couple hundred thousand, perhaps?

[Sid Guttridge]

I wonder what "indigenous population" means on some maps, particularly in the former Silesia and East Prussia.

I assume it means Slavs of various sorts who were already resident, rather than Germans who were allowed to stay.

Sid.

[Sid Guttridge]

I wonder what "indigenous population" means on some maps, particularly in the former Silesia and East Prussia.

I assume it means Slavs of various sorts who were already resident under Germany, rather than Germans who were allowed to stay.

Sid.

[Steve]

This may explain who the communists considered as the “indigenous population”. Taken from Germans to Poles by Hugo Service page 234

“western upper Silesia’s Communist controlled state authorities did not believe that they were “verifying” hundreds of thousands of people as ethnic Poles who were not in fact ethnic Poles. Rather, they were convinced that these were “indigenous” Poles whose “Polish national consciousness” had simply not yet fully “crystallized”. They therefore accompanied their “verification action” with measures aimed at culturally and linguistically assimilating these “indigenous Poles” into mainstream Polish society. They referred to these measures as “re-Polonization”

“Re-Polonization took on particular significance in western Upper Silesia because the vast majority of the people living in Poland’s new territories who were “verified” as ethnic Poles in the second half of the 1940s resided in that region”.

“Communist led authorities launched the “re-Polonization action” in the region in early autumn 1946”

“Western Upper Silesia’s Communist led authorities, moreover increasingly interpreted the speaking of German by “indigenous Poles” not merely as a matter of convenience but one of wilful subversion.

If you did not speak any Polish or the Silesia Polish dialect and were unable to show some sort of Polish connection you could be classed as a German.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Steve,

Many thanks. That usefully clarifies the matter.

Cheers,

Sid.

[Futurist]

I wonder what "indigenous population" means on some maps, particularly in the former Silesia and East Prussia.

I assume it means Slavs of various sorts who were already resident under Germany, rather than Germans who were allowed to stay.

Sid.

Those were Silesians and Masurians. The former were considered Poles in Imperial Germany whereas some (but not all) of the latter were considered their own linguistic category in Imperial Germany:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... h_1900.png



Interestingly enough, both Masurians and western Upper Silesians (in spite of many of them being Polish) previously voted to remain a part of Germany after the end of World War I:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_East ... plebiscite

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Silesia_plebiscite

[Futurist]

This may explain who the communists considered as the “indigenous population”. Taken from Germans to Poles by Hugo Service page 234

“western upper Silesia’s Communist controlled state authorities did not believe that they were “verifying” hundreds of thousands of people as ethnic Poles who were not in fact ethnic Poles. Rather, they were convinced that these were “indigenous” Poles whose “Polish national consciousness” had simply not yet fully “crystallized”. They therefore accompanied their “verification action” with measures aimed at culturally and linguistically assimilating these “indigenous Poles” into mainstream Polish society. They referred to these measures as “re-Polonization”

“Re-Polonization took on particular significance in western Upper Silesia because the vast majority of the people living in Poland’s new territories who were “verified” as ethnic Poles in the second half of the 1940s resided in that region”.

“Communist led authorities launched the “re-Polonization action” in the region in early autumn 1946”

“Western Upper Silesia’s Communist led authorities, moreover increasingly interpreted the speaking of German by “indigenous Poles” not merely as a matter of convenience but one of wilful subversion.

If you did not speak any Polish or the Silesia Polish dialect and were unable to show some sort of Polish connection you could be classed as a German.

There were also the Masurians in southern East Prussia, who spoke Polish but were politically staunchly pro-German if the 1920 plebiscite results in that region are anything to go by (98% for Germany, 2% for Poland!). Of course, Poland wanted to get any Poles that it could get after the end of World War II regardless of whether they were pro-Polish or pro-German. Though I did read that a lot of Masurians emigrated and moved to Germany after 1956 once they were allowed to do so.

Some additional information about them can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masurians

Interestingly enough, Poles were generally Catholic but Masurians were Protestant.

[Futurist]

Here's a 1919 ethnolinguistic map of Poland and its neighbors:

https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital ... dm/id/962/



Poles are in red on this map and you can visibly see Polish-majority communities in southern East Prussia (Masuria) and western Upper Silesia--both located outside of Poland's post-World War I borders--on this map.