Michal Šmigeľ: Lemko Refugees from Poland in Slovakia in 1945 – 1946

The forced resettlement of the Ukrainians (the so-called Lemkos and Boikos) from south-eastern Poland to the Soviet Ukraine in 1945-1946, often carried out in a violent way, was part of the plan to attain homogeneity of Poland as a one-nation state without ethnic minorities. In autumn 1945, as a result of political pressure exerted on them by the Polish government and its subordinate bodies and under the impact of a growing number of brutal acts of the Polish troops and militia engaged in the transfer of the Lemko and the Boiko people into the U.S.S.R. and after the burst-out of the so-called Ukrainian Uprising in this area, a part of the Lemko population sought refuge in neighbouring districts in north-eastern Slovakia. Despite the difficult economic situation in this region Slovak authorities provided the refugees with accommodation and food; later on, in spring 1946, when their numbers increased, they were detained in camps. Although the Lemkos made attempts to be accorded asylum in Czechoslovakia, in the second half of 1946, they were deported back and handed over to the Polish authorities, continuing the forced transfer and expulsion of this minority from Poland.

Lemko refugees, ethnic minorities, Poland, Slovakia, Soviet Union, 1945, resettlement, post-war society