S T A L I N ‘ S  E T H N I C  C L E A N S I N G

Stalin’s Ethnic Cleansing is an anthology of the tetimonies of Polish citizens from Poland’s Eastern Borderlands, Kresy, who were known as ‘osadnicy’. They lived on ‘osady’ (settlements), plots of land which had been awarded to the demobilised Polish military officials and their families as a reward for their services during the 1918-1920 war. Following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Poland on 17 September 1939, they were crammed into goods wagons and deported as disposable labour into the depths of the USSR by Stalin’s NKWD (KGB).

There were four such deportations:
9 -10 February 1940
12 -13 April 1940
8 – 29 June 1940
13 – 22 June 1941

Some testimonies come also from those driven into exile after 1941 right up until 1948.
The breadth and depth of the testimonies range from descriptions of life in pre-war Kresy, the varied inter-ethnic relations before and during the war and to the deportations themselves. They describe the journey to the camps and kolkhozes, the struggle to survive in the Soviet Union, Stalin’s “amnesty” following Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union and their subsequent journeys to freedom.
Not all the Poles from this region were deported and some testimonies describe the lives of those who stayed behind.
The book first appeared in Polish in 1996 under the title “Z KRESÓW WSCHODNICH R.P. NA WYGNANIE”,  published by the Ognisko Rodzin Osadników Kresowych (Association of the Families of the Borderland Settlers).

We would like to thank Pan Ryszard Grzybowski, former Chairman of OROK, for giving us permission to use this amazing material for our website.
This book, translated into English by Eric Whittle and Bronia Kacperek, provides witness to the suffering and courage of the Poles from the Kresy, as well as to the history of Soviet aggression and Stalin’s contempt for suffering humanity. The following are some of the individual testimonies from the book.

Introductory Contributions

Click the link on the left – testimonies under construction will be uploaded in due course.

001	From the editorial committee			The Editors explain why the book was published.
002	Foreword to the English edition	Eric Whittle		The translator explains his approach to the task.
003	Foreword	Fr. Zdzisław Peszkowski		A foreword written in Jasna Góra during a Borderlanders pilgrimage in 1996.

Testimonies

Art.No	Osada	Province	Author	Maiden Name	Summary
007	Bałaskowszczyzna	Nowogródek	Aleksander  Nowicki
008	Bałaskowszczyzna	Nowogródek	Maria Dryguniewicz
009	Budowla	Białystok	Maria Szuba-Tomaszewska
010	Klucz	Nowogródek	Wanda Wysocka
011	Lachów	Wołyń	Julia Prochorowicz
012	Lewszowo	Białystok	Józefa Jędrzejczyk
013	Puzieniewicze	Nowogródek	Pelagia Stańczak-Czarnecka
014	Radziwiłłów	Wołyń	Janina Chojnacka
015	Reymontów (alt Rejmontów)	Wołyń	Anna Bielińska
016	Wąsowicze	Wołyń	Zofia Gawrońska
017	Woławel	Polesie	Rozalia Grobel
018	Zosin	Nowogródek	Franciszek Muszyński
019	Arsonowicze	Wołyń	Genowefa Kwiecińska	Staniszewska
020	Bajonówka	Wołyń	Genowefa Lacka	Gawel-Nosek
021	Batorówka	Wołyń	Wanda Szwender	Godawa
022	Batorówka	Wołyń	Jadwiga Kapszewicz	Barut
023	Batorówka	Wołyń	Kazimierz Barut		On leaving the train to try and buy some sandwiches, he became separated from his mother for 7 years
024	Belweder	Wołyn	Kazimierz Wira		His father died in Kagan near Bukhara and he joined the Cadets
025	Bolesławice	Wołyń	Henryka Kłopecka	Leonowicz
026	Under Construction
027	Bortnica	Wołyń	Izabela Mączko	Czerkawska
028	Bortnica	Wołyń	Danuta Byrtus	Szubert
029	Under Construction
030	Under Construction
031	Under Construction
032	Under Construction
033	Under Construction
034	Under Construction
035	Under Construction
036	Under Construction
037	Under Construction
038	Janówka	Wołyń	Tadeusz Walczak
039	Under Construction
040	Under Construction
041	Under Construction
042	Under Construction
043	Under Construction
044	Karczowka	Wołyń	Józef Pajdowski
045	Under Construction
046	Under Construction
047	Under Construction
048	Krechowiecka	Wołyń	Danuta  Gradosielska	Mączka
049	Under Construction
050	Under Construction
051	Under Construction
052	Under Construction
053	Under Construction
054	Listopadówka	Wołyń	Aleksander Ptak
055	Maczkowce	Wołyń	Zofia Repa	Stepek
056	Under Construction
057	Under Construction
058	Under Construction
059	Under Construction
060	Ostrowska near Beresteczko and Pleszów	Wołyń	Maria Cymborska	Tais
061	Under Construction
062	Under Construction
063	Piłsudczyzna	Wołyń	Wanda Bitner	Krzysztofiak
064	Under Construction
065	Under Construction
066	Under Construction
067	Radziwiłłow	Wołyń	Jerzy Kucięba
068	Under Construction
069	Under Construction
070	Under Construction
071	Under Construction
072	Under Construction
073	Under Construction
074	Rejtanów	Wołyń	Dorota  Jasińska	Jarosz
075	Under Construction
076	Under Construction
077	Under Construction
078	Under Construction
079	Rokitnianka	Wołyń	Bronisław Turzyński
080	Rokitna	Wołyń	Maria Poźniak	Turzyńska
081	Under Construction
082	Under Construction
083	Under Construction
084	Under Construction
085	Under Construction
086	Under Construction
087	Under Construction
088	Under Construction
089	Under Construction
090	Szyły	Wołyń	Jerzy Żegota-Januszajtis
091	Under Construction
092	Under Construction
093	Under Construction
094	Under Construction
095	Under Construction
096	Wąsowicze	Wołyń	Regina Krozowska	Gawronska
097	Witosowo	Wołyń	Zofia Waleria Rydz
098	Under Construction
099	Under Construction
100	Wola Wilsona	Wołyń	Każimierz Bełda
101	Under Construction
102	Under Construction
103	Chylin	Polesie	Telesfor Sobierajski
104	Karłowicze	Polesie	Maria Juralewicz	Sztela
105	Karłowicze	Polesie	Halina Gluba	Szulińska
106	Under Construction
107	Under Construction
108	Terebieżów	Polesie	Halina Powroźnik	Wadlewska
109	Under Construction
110	Under Construction
111	Under Construction
112	Wysokie	Polesie	Marian Marzojty (Morzajew)
113	Adampol	Nowogródek	Zofia Szyman	Górska
114	Bałaskowszczyzna	Nowogródek	Olimpia (Ola) Barton	Nowicka
115	Under Construction
116	Jodańce	Nowogródek	Henryk Madany
117	Kuchczyce	Nowogródek	Helena Derwich	Ćwirko
118	Under Construction
119	Under Construction
120	Under Construction
121	Under Construction
122	Under Construction
123	Łohwinowicze	Nowogródek	B.M.Trybuchowski
124	Under Construction
125	Under Construction
126	Niechniewicze	Nowogródek	Witold Szabunio
127	Under Construction
128	Under Construction
129	Under Construction
130	Puzieniewicze	Nowogródek	Stanisław Świercz
131	Puzieniewicze	Nowogródek	Alina Frost	Świercz
132	Budowla	Białystok	Władysław Krupa
133	Under Construction
134	Jatwiesk	Białystok	Sabina Sienko	Salamonczyk
135	Under Construction
136	Under Construction
137	Rogoźnica Mała	​Białystok	Stanisława Simpson	Krajewska
138	Under Construction
139	Under Construction
140	Under Construction
141	Under Construction
142	Zarębkowo	Wilno	Maria Czajka	Leduchowicz
143	Serniczki	Wołyń	Maria Macheta	Przysiecka
144	Under Construction