The life of the polish people of the Volyn border in the First World War

OLGA M. BILOBROVETS.

[restabs text=”More” tabcolor=”#dd9933″ tabheadcolor=”#1e73be”]
[restab title=”ABSTRACT” active=”active”]

The article shows the situation of the border counties of the Volyn province during the First World War, which suffered significant losses. The repeated turnaround stay in this territory of the Russian and Austro-German Army led to a devastating destruction of the economy, property, human victims, the forced evacuation of the population. The reconstruction of the destroyed farm began after the transition of these territories again under the power of Russia in 1916. The local authorities assessed the damage and the amount needed to cover them. Volyn’s assistance was provided by the central and provincial authorities. Through these territories, the flow of refugees from the Kingdom of Poland and Galicia did not stop, which in 1915 reached the maximum. In Volhynia, as well as in other places of the Russian Empire, Polish non-governmental organizations acted for the help of the Poles who suffered in the war. Assistance to the countrymen was established through the departments of the Petrograd Organization Helping War Victims and Central Committee, which in 1915 began to operate in Russia. In their activity, there are two phases, the boundary of which is the military actions of spring-summer 1915. Despite the limited possibilities, in the first period, the Polish population of the region collected funds and material things that sent to Warsaw to support their countrymen and, to a lesser extent, provided relief to settlers. Since the summer of 1915, after the occupation of Warsaw by Germany, the influx of refugees from the Kingdom of Poland and Galicia has increased significantly. It was accompanied by the forced evacuation of the population from the border areas of Volyn province into the Ukrainian lands. The main task of Polish public organizations was the need to take care of Poles’ refugees. They began to set up shelters for children and adults, food items, and a search bureau for refugees. After the February Revolution of 1917, the sociopolitical life of the region intensified. Representatives of the local Polish gentry and intelligentsia initiated the creation of political, cultural and educational organizations, which were subordinated to the Polish Executive Committee in Russia for the purpose of a united Polish policy. Polish associations began to create Polish houses and Polish schools for the revival of national life.[/restab]

[restab title=”KEYWORDS“]

Volyn border, the First World War, refugees, Polish social life [/restab]

[restab title=”FULL TEXT“]DOWNLOAD.[/restab][/restabs]