The Bieżeństwo (, , ) was a mass evacuation during World War I, in Polish context and historiography also called exile, resettlement or displacement of the population, mainly of Orthodox faith, from the western governorates of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

into the depths of Russia, after the German troops broke through the front line in the period from May 3 to September 1915. The apogee of the Bieżeństwo fell in the period from spring to autumn 1915.

History

Due to the military failures of the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

and the rapidly advancing offensive of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

after the

Battle of Gorlice A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

, the Empire authorities began a wide-ranging

propaganda campaign White propaganda is propaganda that does not hide its origin or nature. It is the most common type of propaganda and is distinguished from black propaganda which disguises its origin to discredit an opposing cause. It typically uses standard pu ...

, calling on civilians to immediately evacuate into the depths of the

. In order to persuade people to leave, they threatened them with murders, rapes, robberies and other cruel repressions that the local

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

population was to suffer at the hands of the Germans. Real events such as war crimes in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

(the burning of

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, mass executions in

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

), the destruction of

Kalisz Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...

or the incidents in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

at the beginning of the war could have contributed to the spread of such news. In this way, the scorched earth tactic was used. Families of officials, employees of many industrial plants, railway workers, etc. were also evacuated. As a result of the agitation, 2 to 3 million people left their hometowns, including about 800 thousand residents of the Grodno Governorate. Up to 80% of the inhabitants left the lands east of

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

. The chaotic flight into the depths of Russia lasting many months claimed many victims. The escape took place in the heat, without adequate food or even water. Graves of the dead remained by the roads, and some of the bodies were not buried. The conditions were conducive to outbreaks of epidemics and led to mass deaths of children. One of the consequences of the evacuation was the evacuation of the Imperial Warsaw University to

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

, this evacuated university is today's

Southern Federal University Southern Federal University (), abbreviated as SFedU () and formerly known as Rostov State University (1957–2006), is a public university in Rostov Oblast, Russia with campuses in Rostov-on-Don and Taganrog. In 2023 ''US News & World Repor ...

. Following the return of the deportees to Poland, a fashion began to decorate village houses in

Podlachia Podlachia, also known by its Polish name Podlasie (; ; ), is a historical region in north-eastern Poland. Its largest city is Białystok, whereas the historical capital is Drohiczyn. Similarly to several other historical regions of Poland, e.g ...

region.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*{{cite book, first1 = Aneta, last1= Prymaka-Oniszk , title = Bieżeństwo 1915. Zapomniani uchodźcy , year = 2016 , isbn = 978-83-8049-350-6 , place = Wołowiec , publisher= Wydawnictwo Czarne, lang=pl Refugees Polish refugees Russian Empire in World War I History of Eastern Orthodoxy History of Poland (1795–1918)