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WWII Siberian Exile

@polishodyssey

#OTD in 1940, the #USSR began the third wave of deportations from occupied eastern #Poland. This deportation targeted refugees who had escaped from western to eastern Poland following the German invasion. #WWII

In December 1939, the #USSR and #Germany had agreed to repatriate refugees from their respective occupied territories. Those in the Soviet zone who wished to return to the German zone were required to register with the German authorities and vice versa. #WWII

164,000 people applied to leave the Soviet zone, but Germany only accepted 66,000. The #NKVD then ordered the deportation of refugees who applied to return to #Germany but were not accepted by the German authorities. #WWII

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WWII Siberian Exile

@polishodyssey

#OTD in 1940, the #USSR began the second #WWII mass deportation of #Polish citizens from eastern Polish borderlands occupied by the Soviets on Sept.17, 1939. Polish civilians were deported by the USSR in four waves that occurred from Feb. 10, 1940 through mid-June 1941.

Each deportation had a distinctive character & targeted specific populations of Polish people in occupied eastern Poland.The deportation of April 13 targeted small farmers, tradesmen, civil servants, and the families of those who had been arrested or taken as POWs by the Soviets.

Many of those deported on April 13 were family members of the #Polish officers, policemen, and intelligentsia who were executed by the #USSR during the #Katyń massacre; roughly 80 percent of those included in this deportation were women and children. #WWII

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