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Polish–Ukrainian Conflict (1939–1947)
The Polish–Ukrainian conflict took place from 1939 to 1947. It was fought primarily between irregular Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Ukrainian and Polish Underground State, Polish units, with limited participation by Soviet partisans and the Red Army, as well as Kingdom of Romania, Romanian, Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Hungarian, Nazi Germany, German and Third Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovak armed formations. Fighting was concentrated in south-eastern Kresy region (today Western Ukraine) of the Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Second Polish Republic. The Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupation of Poland by Germany and Soviet Union in September 1939 led to demands by Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Ukrainian nationalists for a new Ukrainian national government (1941), Ukrainian state which would include the Polish territories of Eastern Galicia and Wołyń (''Volhynia''). Background Ukrainian radical nationalism In 1920, exiled Ukrainian officers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kresy
Eastern Borderlands (), often simply Borderlands (, ) was a historical region of the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic. The term was coined during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic with a Polish minority, it amounted to nearly half of the territory of interwar Poland. Historically situated in the eastern Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, following the 18th-century foreign partitions it was divided between the Empires of Russia and Austria-Hungary, and ceded to Poland in 1921 after the Treaty of Riga. As a result of the post-World War II border changes, all of the territory was ceded to the Soviet Union, and today the area of Kresy is divided between Western Ukraine, Western Belarus, and south-eastern Lithuania. The region gave rise to the Kresy myth, a collection of nostalgic views about the area. After the fall of Communism in Europe and dissolution of the Soviet Union a major economic conflict emerged about the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Armed Forces (Second Polish Republic)
Polish Armed Forces () were the armed forces of the Second Polish Republic from 1919 until the demise of independent Poland at the onset of Second World War in September 1939. History The outbreak of First World War meant that a huge number of Poles from the lands of the Polish partitions were forced to stand as soldiers in the ranks of German, Russian and Austro-Hungarian armies.In addition to these troops, Polish volunteer units were formed to fight either on the side of the coalition or central states. A branch of 'Bajonians' was established in France and in Poland by Witold Ostoja-Gorczyński ( Legion of Puławy). However, these were small units. The first ceased to exist due to losses, and the second could not grow due to political considerations. The Polish Legions were the greater union of the Polish Army of the independent Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. They were created in 1914 by brigadier Józef Piłsudski. The members of these formations were members of underg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Operational Group (Ukrainian Insurgent Army)
The Western Operational Group of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (), also known as UPA-West (), was one of the three operational groups of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. History UPA-West was established in December 1943 as one of the UPA's three operational groups, alongside and UPA-North. A fourth operational group, , was planned but never realised. UPA-West was formed as a successor to the (UNS), a unit of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists. It retained the leadership of the UNS (including leader ), as well as the right to use the name of the UNS. At lower levels, the transition from the UNS to UPA-West took until March 1944. UPA-West grew to become one of the largest and most effective groups of the UPA (in particular, the 4th Military District), and the operational group was assisted logistically by the OUN, which provided food and weaponry and organised recruitment efforts. However, with the gradual decline of the UPA insurgency, it would be eventually cease to f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ministry Of State Security (Soviet Union)
The Ministry of State Security (, ), abbreviated as MGB (), was a ministry of the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1953 which functioned as the country's secret police. The ministry inherited the intelligence and state security responsibilities of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) and People's Commissariat for State Security (NKGB). The MGB was led by Viktor Abakumov from 1946 to 1951, then by Semyon Ignatiev until Stalin's death in 1953, upon which it was merged into an enlarged Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). Origins of the MGB The MGB was just one of many incarnations of the Soviet State Security apparatus. After the revolution, the Bolsheviks relied on a strong political police or security force to support and control their regime. During the Russian Civil War, the Cheka were in power, relinquishing it to State Political Directorate (GPU) in 1922 after the fighting was over. The GPU was then renamed The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Internal Security Corps
The Internal Security Corps (, KBW) was a special-purpose military formation in Poland under History of Poland (1945–1989)#Stalinist era (1948–1956), communist government, established on 24 May 1945. History The KBW consisted of 10 new cavalry regiments, an infantry division, and two buffer brigades. The corps itself was subordinate to the Ministry of Public Security (Poland), Ministry of Public Security. By the end of August 1945, its force was made up of 29,053 soldiers and 2,356 officers. The KBW was called forth to protect key public infrastructure such as railways, but mainly to combat and suppress the Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1946), anti-Communist resistance in Poland, including activities of the "Cursed soldiers" as well as all organizations which continued their armed struggle against the Communist takeover, such as the Freedom and Independence (WiN), the National Armed Forces (NSZ), and the remnants of the Polish Home Army (AK) among others. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars to oppose the military forces of the new nation's adversaries during the Russian Civil War, especially the various groups collectively known as the White Army. In February 1946, the Red Army (which embodied the main component of the Soviet Armed Forces alongside the Soviet Navy) was renamed the "Soviet Army". Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was split between the post-Soviet states, with its bulk becoming the Russian Ground Forces, commonly considered to be the successor of the Soviet Army. The Red Army provided the largest land warfare, ground force in the Allies of World War II, Allied victory in the European theatre of World War II, and its Soviet invasion of Manchuria, invasion of Manchuria assisted the un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) secret police organization, and thus had a monopoly on intelligence and state security functions. The NKVD is known for carrying out political repression and the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin, as well as counterintelligence and other operations on the Eastern Front of World War II. The head of the NKVD was Genrikh Yagoda from 1934 to 1936, Nikolai Yezhov from 1936 to 1938, Lavrentiy Beria from 1938 to 1946, and Sergei Kruglov in 1946. First established in 1917 as the NKVD of the Russian SFSR, the ministry was tasked with regular police work and overseeing the country's prisons and labor camps. It was disbanded in 1930, and its functions dispersed among other agencies before being reinstated as a commissariat of the Soviet Union ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milicja Obywatelska
Milicja Obywatelska (MO; ), known as the Citizens' Militia in English, was the national police organization of the Polish People's Republic. The MO was established on 7 October 1944 by the Polish Committee of National Liberation under Chief Commander Franciszek Jóźwiak to police Red Army controlled areas of Poland during World War II. It became the official police force with the founding of the Polish People's Republic in 1947, effectively replacing the pre-war '' Policja'' as the main uniformed civilian police of Poland during the communist era. The MO was headquartered in Warsaw while training for the force was conducted in the town of Legionowo. The MO was supported by two paramilitary formations: the elite Motorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia (ZOMO) and the reservist Volunteer Reserve of the Citizens' Militia (ORMO). In most cases it represented a state-controlled force used to exert political repression, especially with its elite ZOMO squads. The MO continue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ministry Of Public Security (Poland)
The Ministry of Public Security (), was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it was known as the Security Office (, UB), and from 1956 to 1990 as the Security Service (, SB). The initial UB was headed by Public Security General Stanisław Radkiewicz and supervised by Jakub Berman of the Polish United Workers' Party, Polish Politburo. The main goal of the Department of Security was the swift eradication of anti-communist structures and socio-political base of the Polish Underground State, as well as the persecution of former underground soldiers of the Home Army () and later anti-communist organizations like Freedom and Independence (WiN). The Ministry of Public Security was established on 1 January 1945 and ceased operations on 7 December 1954. It was the chief secret service in communist Poland during the period of Stalinism. Throughout its existence, the UB was responsible for brutally beatin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
People's Army (Poland)
The People's Army (AL; ; ) was a communist partisan force of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) active in Occupied Poland during World War II from January to July 1944. It was created on the order of the Soviet-backed State National Council to fight against Nazi Germany and support the Red Army against the German forces in Poland. The ''Armia Ludowa'' was formed from the '' Gwardia Ludowa'' ("People's Guard") to aid the creation of a pro-Soviet communist government in Poland and, along with the National Armed Forces, refused to join the structures of the Polish Underground State and Home Army. It participated in a number of uprisings and supported Red Army offensives through Poland. The ''Armia Ludowa'' became part of the new Polish People's Army of the Soviet Polish Armed Forces in the East after seven months of existence. The ''Armia Ludowa'' was heroized in the Polish People's Republic with its size and actions being exaggerated in propaganda in communist Poland. Since the fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish People's Army
The Polish People's Army (, ; LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East during the latter stages of the Second World War (1943–1945), and subsequently the armed forces of the Polish communist state (1945–1989), which was formalized in 1952 as the Polish People's Republic. The creation of communist-led Polish armed forces that were outside the command of the Polish government-in-exile was allowed and facilitated by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, following efforts made in the early 1940s by Soviet-based Polish exiles Wanda Wasilewska and Zygmunt Berling. Initially called the Polish Army in the USSR from 1943 to 1944, it became the Polish Troops and Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland from 1944 to 1952, and thereafter the Armed Forces of the Polish People's Republic. During these restructurings, the Polish military was increasingly integrated into Soviet military and command structures, becoming comparatively more distinct and independent in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Armed Forces
National Armed Forces (; NSZ) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy (Poland), National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and Gwardia Ludowa, communist partisans. There were also cases of fights with the Home Army. At the end of the war, some units and structures of this organization cooperated with the Nazis and Gestapo (as in the case of the Holy Cross Mountains Brigade and Hubert Jura) and committed crimes motivated by antisemitism. Most NSZ units did not submit to the Polish government-in-exile and conducted fratricidal fights with other Polish partisan units. From 1944 to 1946, the NSZ fought as part of the anti-communist resistance, including after the postwar Polish People's Republic was established. History The NSZ was created on September 20, 1942, as a result of the merger of the Military Organization Lizard Union (''Organizacja Wojskowa Związek Jaszczurczy'') an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
