Resettlement of the Inhabitants of Galicia from the 800-meter Border Strip in 1940 in the Light of Unpublished Archival Sources
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The purpose of the study is to estimate the scale of the forced resettlement of residents from the border zone in the western regions of the Ukrainian SSR in 1940, broken down by individual settlements. The research methodology is based on the principles of objectivity and historicism; historical-critical, historical-comparative, and historical-geographical methods were applied. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the introduction into scientific circulation of appendices to the decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR and the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine «On the resettlement and relocation of the population of the 800-meter border zone in the western regions of the Ukrainian SSR and the clearing of buildings from this zone» (April 3, 1940) with lists of villages and hamlets in the Lviv, Stanislav, Ternopil, and Drohobych regions whose residents were to be relocated. These appendices have not been previously published; they are deposited in the collection of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Fond 1) at the Central State Archives of Public Organizations and Ukrainica. The prospect for further research lies in bringing to light little-known archival documents and published memoirs regarding the resettlement and deportations of Ukrainians in the 20th century. Conclusions. According to the decree of April 3, 1940, on the newly annexed territories of the former Lviv, Stanislav, and Ternopil voivodeships of the Republic of Poland (where the Lviv, Drohobych, Stanislav, and Ternopil oblasts of the Ukrainian SSR were established), it was planned to relocate over 85,000 people whose homes fell within the border zone. An analysis of statistical data indicates that out of the 199 settlements affected by the relocation, at least 30 villages and hamlets faced total disappearance as a result of this operation. 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Source: Archivi Ukraїni
Author: Bohdan Smereka
Language: English
Topic: Soviet and Russian History
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7204759379