Opinions & Interviews

Historian: Red Army was met with joy during reunification of Western Belarus with BSSR

Igor Marzalyuk

MINSK, 10 September (BelTA) – The vast majority of the non-Polish population in the Western Belarusian lands welcomed Red Army soldiers with joy and hope when they began their liberation campaign in Western Belarus on 17 September 1939, Chairman of the Standing Commission on Education, Culture and Science of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, historian Igor Marzalyuk said in a news episode of BelTA’s project True History. Lectures by Igor Marzalyuk.

First and foremost, Igor Marzalyuk turned to the history of World War II, which began on 1 September 1939, with Germany’s invasion of Poland. Although Poland’s allies, Britain and France, declared war on Germany on 3 September, virtually no active military operations were conducted on the Western Front. As a result, this initial phase of the global conflict became known as the Phoney War.

“Despite the resistance of the Polish army, the Nazis managed to quickly occupy most of Poland and reach the Curzon Line, which separated ethnically Polish lands from ethnically Belarusian and Ukrainian ones,” the historian explained. “Under these circumstances, an order for a liberation campaign was issued to the Red Army units of the Belarusian Front on 16 September. It was declared that its goal was to protect the lives and property of the Belarusian and Ukrainian population.”

On 17 September 1939, Soviet troops crossed the Polish border, launching a liberation campaign that concluded on 25 September 1939. The mission was aided by the active resistance of residents across numerous Western Belarusian towns and villages. Local citizens disarmed the Polish police and military settlers while launching a broad campaign to support the new order. Railway bridges, industrial plants, and other key facilities were put under guard.

“The vast majority of the non-Polish population in Western Belarus welcomed Red Army soldiers with joy and hope. As one contemporary Polish historian wrote, everyone of non-Polish descent on these lands rejoiced at the arrival of the Red Army and the fact that Polish rule there had come to an end,” Igor Marzalyuk emphasized.

Soon, new governing bodies began to emerge in Western Belarus. Temporary administrations were established in voivodeships, powiats, and cities, while rural committees were formed in towns and villages. “Let me emphasize: for the first time, Belarusians felt like real human beings on their ethnic lands, like people who have the right to govern and to be elected to governing bodies in their own territory,” the historian added.

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