What did Poland do before World War II?

Before World War II, Poland always wanted to play the role of a separatist and tried to expand its territory. 1. Polish refugees in exile in the Soviet Union1September 1939 17 After the Soviet Union sent troops to Poland, it took in nearly 250,000 Polish prisoners of war. From the beginning, the disposal of Polish army prisoners of war was taken into account by the Soviet government. On September 1939, the People's Committee of Internal Affairs established the Prisoner of War Administration, which was responsible for handling prisoner of war affairs. On the 23rd, the Regulations on Prisoner of War Concentration Camp was promulgated, which stipulated the organization, staffing and departmental functions of prisoner of war concentration camps. Most prisoners of war were sent to eight concentration camps and two distribution stations in the Soviet Union. While dealing with the issue of prisoners of war, the Soviet Union also carried out "Sovietization" in eastern Poland to achieve effective control over the occupied areas. The Soviet authorities believe that there are a large number of residents in Dongbo who will never accept Soviet ideology, and the existence of these people is undoubtedly a great threat to the Soviet Union. As a result, the Soviet authorities quickly launched political actions to "eliminate politically unreliable people." [1] After the Soviet Union entered Dong Bo, it registered the identities of local residents in detail, including age, gender, race, belief, occupation and other information, which accelerated the speed of exile. A large number of Polish civilians were arrested and exiled in various political names. "The Soviet authorities used the same method for all exile operations: three people formed a group, usually an official of the People's Committee of the Interior, a militia and a soldier of the Soviet Red Army. They usually go to the victim's home in the middle of the night, and the family has only half an hour to two hours to prepare items and food that do not exceed 220 pounds per person. " [2] Exiles don't know when or why they were arrested. Because they didn't understand the screening standards of the Soviet Union, exile caused great panic in Dong Bo. 1940- 194 1 year, the Soviet union exiled and moved a large number of residents in eastern Poland for four times. The first time was in February, 1940. "Immigrants and exiles are mainly settlers from Ukraine and the western states of Belarus and their families, totaling139596" [3]. These people are mainly farmers and forestry workers, and most of them are placed in the northern part of the European part of the Soviet Union. The second time was in April, 1940. "The exiles are mainly the families of suppressed Polish officers, police, gendarmes, landlords, factory owners and participants in uprising organizations, about 6 10000", [4] most of them are women and children, and they are assigned to six states where Kazakhstan joined the Republic of China; The third time was June 1940. Exiles come from refugees who fled from occupied areas of Pohland to occupied areas of Soviet Union and settled in Siberia and northern Europe of Soviet Union. "Many of them refused to accept Soviet citizenship, so they were also regarded as political suspects." 〔5〕; The fourth time was June 194 1, mainly the refugees who fled from eastern Poland to Lithuania during the Soviet invasion. After arriving in the Soviet Union, the man was forced to be separated from his family and sent to a labor camp in Sverdlovsk region, while his family was arranged in Altai Territory or Kazakhstan. From the national attribute, exiles include Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Jews, but Poles are the majority. The fate of exiles is also different. The survival rate of the first group of exiles is higher than that of the later ones. Even after the promulgation of 194 1 Soviet Amnesty, few exiles were able to leave the Soviet Union. At present, the specific statistics of the total number of exiles are quite different in academic circles, ranging from 300 thousand to 65438+200 thousand, and there is no conclusion. Although there are relevant records in the archives of the Soviet Union, the records of the Internal Affairs Committee may only include pure Poles for political reasons, but there is also a lack of data on the mortality rate of exiles. The living environment of exiles is extremely bad, and the living and sanitation conditions are very poor. Refugees exiled to Kazakhstan were forced to live in mud huts. The roof is made of wood, the ground is pure soil, and there is no furniture in the house. "Both sides of the roof, walls and ground are coated with a mixture of clay and animal manure as waterproof layers." [6] In such an environment, it is easy to breed bedbugs and fleas. Refugees have to work on collective farms in exchange for food. In refugee areas near rivers, livestock and people often drink and bathe in the same river, and the sanitary conditions are worrying, so many Polish refugees built their own bathhouses and toilets after a while. Refugees whose settlements are far away from rivers can only live by well water, thus limiting the water supply. Many children have to pick up livestock manure for waterproof housing and winter heating. Refugees exiled to Siberia and northern Europe in the Soviet Union, although there are many houses left by people persecuted by Stalin in some areas, their living conditions are equally worrying. Anyone who has reached the age of 16 must take part in the work of cutting down trees and transporting firewood. "Even in winter, when the temperature drops to -70℃ and there is almost no sunshine, I still work." [7] Food is distributed according to the work quota and its completion. For the elderly and children, they can only rely on the rations of other family members to survive. The medical conditions in exile are even more backward. Once a wound accidentally appears at work, it is easy to be infected. Many Polish refugees have edema due to hunger, and skin diseases are also spreading among the refugees. "In Siberia, many people died of pneumonia and devastating typhus." For these Polish refugees, survival became their only desire. Second, the outbreak of the Soviet-German War and the resettlement of Polish refugees1On June 22, 939, the German army launched an attack on the Soviet Union, and the outbreak of the Soviet-German War provided an opportunity for the Soviet Union and Poland to improve relations and solve various problems, which became a turning point in the fate of Polish refugees in the Soviet Union. On the night of the war, Churchill welcomed the Soviet Union to join the war against Germany by radio. The relationship between the Soviet Union and Poland was once an important issue for Britain to consider in its relations with the Soviet Union. Under the Soviet-German war, rebuilding the relationship between the Soviet Union and the Polish government in exile is a top priority for Britain, which has a very important impact on the relationship between Britain and the Soviet Union and the process of the German war. Under the coordination of the British government, Polish Prime Minister in exile Sicorschi and Soviet Ambassador to Britain Ivan Meschi held talks in London on July 5th. "Poles have the following two purposes: the Soviet government recognizes that the agreement of 1939 between Germany and Russia to divide Poland is invalid; Release all Polish prisoners of war and civilians transferred to the Soviet Union after Russia occupied eastern Poland. " [9] In the first negotiation, Poland raised the border issue, but because the Soviet Union excluded western Ukraine and western Belarus from the "Polish border", Su Bo had a dispute on this issue. Sicorschi decided to shelve the border issue first, but was opposed by Polish Foreign Minister Zaleski and two other cabinet members. 12 In July, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a war agreement against Germany and formally formed an alliance. Britain does not want Poland to affect the wartime alliance between Britain and the Soviet Union. Churchill believed that "the future territorial issue of Poland must be postponed until the situation improves." "After deepening the experience of Hitler's partnership with the war, the major allies will be able to solve the territorial issue through friendly discussions at the conference table." 10 Under the pressure of Britain, Bo signed a mutual assistance agreement on July 30th, namely "Sicorschi-Maiski Agreement". Source: theoretical observation