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Thursday marks 82nd anniversary of first mass deportation of Poles to East

Thursday marks the 82nd anniversary of the first mass deportation of Polish citizens to the East conducted by the NKWD – the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. It began on the night of February 9-10, 1940 and involved approximately 140,000 people.

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In 1940, Genowefa Krystyna Czepiel and her family were exiled deep into the territory of Soviet Union.

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From February 10, 1940 to June 1941, the authorities of the Soviet Union occupying the territory of the Second Polish Republic organised four deportations of Polish citizens of various nationalities to the East.

The first deportation covered mainly the families of state officials – landowners, judges, prosecutors, policemen, foresters, as well as military personnel, including participants of the Polish-Bolshevik war. Those exiled went to the northern regions of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

As historians emphasise, the first deportation, which involved approximately 140,000 people, was the largest and most tragic in terms of the number of victims. Many (as much as one fifth) inhabitants of Białystok, north-eastern Poland, and the surrounding area were displaced and, as the city’s authorities remind, almost every family was affected by the Soviet persecution.

The total number of Polish citizens deported deep into the Soviet Union between 1940-41 is not known. Historians from the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) estimate this number at several hundred thousand Polish citizens.

According to the Association of Siberians – a Polish organisation grouping former exiles, the real numbers are much higher and amount to as much as 1.3 million Polish citizens, of whom one in three died.

The city of Białystok commemorated the victims of the deportation on Wednesday evening, photo: PAP/Artur Reszko

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Białystok commemorates the victims

On Wednesday evening, the city of Białystok commemorated the victims of the deportation by lighting candles on the railway tracks by the Sybir Memorial Museum, running from the museum towards the former railway station, from which transports of residents of Białystok and the surrounding area to the East were sent.

The main anniversary celebrations will be held in the city on Thursday and will include, among others, museum celebrations and the Sybir Memorial Run, which will take place in two formulas – virtual, which can be joined by anyone, and stationary.

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