Ruthenians in Lemkivina
Ruthenians from Poland have traditionally lived in their “Lemkivina.”2 It was roughly on the territory of present-day Malopolskie and Subcarpathian voivodeships,3 that is, the southeastern part of Poland near the border with Slovakia. The whole area where they lived stretched across the Slovak border and above the Slovak towns from Stará Ľubovňa to Medzilaborce. The term Ruthenian in Poland was in no way recorded separately and was not the subject of a particular population census.4
Ruthenians living near the Polish-Slovak borders met each other on both sides of the state borders. Their language was shared. There were no major differences in it. They traded together and maintained contacts with each other. This was before the Second World War. They kept their contacts during the war and shortly afterwards too. They also participated together in Christian pilgrimages, and if needed they even provided mutual lodging. It was not unusual for Ruthenians, both from the Slovak side and the Polish side, to be joined in marital bonds. Together with Ukrainians in Poland, they were mainly part of the Greek Catholic Church.
The Second World War
During the Second World War, on Lemko territory, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army5 fought battles over this region. The Polish government sought to protect its sovereignty. It attached the Ruthenians to Ukrainian nationality. In this way it created a single national unit by combining two different nations. This “Ukrainian” nationality was to be resettled. The aim was to prevent possible repeated fighting that would disrupt the integrity of Poland. The Lemkos themselves thus became victims of that period’s state ethnic policy. It should be noted that Ruthenians did not support any armed actions that would endanger peace or the sovereignty of the state. They were also not part of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Even so, tragic events entered Ruthenian—Lemko history. These events were three deportations, due to which they were forcibly displaced together with Ukrainians6.
Deportation of Ruthenians and Operation Vistula
The deportation of the Lemkos itself was divided into three phases.7 1. The deportation started in 1940. It involved deporting them to the USSR. It removed up to 15% of the Ruthenian minority even during the Second World War. 2. The deportation phase took place in 1945–1946. It was stronger than the first and again led to the USSR. It removed up to 60–70% of Ruthenians who lived in the Lemkivina. 3. The deportation phase was called Operation Vistula. It was the last and historically the best-known phase of the deportation of this national minority. The Lemkos, together with Ukrainians, were resettled to the western territory of Poland. That is, to places from which Germans had first been forcibly moved after the war. At first, Poles from the USSR came to those places and were located there immediately after the war. So they were not “alone”; they also settled deportees there. By Action Vistula, the remaining part of Ruthenians was deported.
The first two deportations were based on “voluntary” departure. In reality they were not voluntary. “According to the 1944 agreement between the Polish government and the USSR, the Ukrainian minority from Poland was to be deported to the USSR, and residents of Polish and Jewish nationality from the USSR were to be resettled to Poland.” (Šmigeľ, Syrný; 2004) People were forced to move. Agitators who came among the people persuaded them that life would be easier in the Soviet Union and that the situation in Poland was bad because it was wartime. “During the second deportation, in 1945, right after the front had moved on, Russian agents went from house to house and insisted on departure to Russia. ‘Here are mountains here—there are plains. This is bad soil. There are beautiful lands there.’ They said.”8 (Bogacz, 2019, p. 113) Some Ruthenians were persuaded. The whole deportation was primarily violent and based on persuasion with threats.
Operation Vistula was a deportation to western Poland. The official motive of this action was to strip the Ukrainian Insurgent Army of its membership base and its food supplies. This raises the question of whether this was about repopulating former German areas to which new settlers were forcibly brought (compare Bogacz, 2019, p. 8). It should be added that this deportation aimed to violate the national principle—break up the Ruthenian group and thus accelerate their assimilation. Since their life was closely linked to religion, the aim of the deportation was also the liquidation of the local Greek Catholic Church. “In this space, the Greek Catholic Church, as a representative of Ukrainian nationality in Poland, posed a certain danger to the communist government. This stemmed mainly from its connection with the Vatican.” (Kuzmová, 2010, p. 2) “Moreover, for official state policy, this church represented Ukrainian nationality.” (Kuzmová, 2010, p. 1) And this nationality also included Ruthenians...
Even before the implementation of Operation Vistula, there were announcements and reports to the public to prepare for departure. People had to pack for the road. Some people believed this. They prepared food, in case they had to leave. Beforehand, people prepared potatoes they baked and other foods. When the Polish army arrived, which was responsible for their good by “better tomorrows,” they jumped onto wagons they had arranged themselves and which were to take them to the trains. Those trains then carried them into the unknown. In the entire unorganized chaos, people took their livestock, especially horses, cattle and poultry. Some animals such as ducks and dogs remained at home in Lemkivina together with farm tools. “By Action Vistula, 20–25 thousand Lemkos were removed.”9 (Bogacz, 2019, p. 8) Lemkivina was depopulated by this action.
Journey into the Unknown
The army drove Ruthenians from their homes to where trains were waiting. People had not managed to pack enough food for the whole travel time. They needed much more for the long, unknown journey. In addition, it was May and June. During these months it was hot. People boarded trains that had no passenger cars. These were railcars used for freight transport. In these cars many people and families lived together with their animals and food they managed to pack at that speed. Two large families, with livestock and luggage, could fit into one car. Hygienically, this was an extremely unsuitable living condition. The smell of livestock, spoiled smelly meat as a snack for the long trip, insufficient hygiene... and besides, the route was too long.
It often happened that trains stopped for a long time. One journey lasted even two weeks. When they stopped, the Lemkos searched for water for themselves and their livestock. Poverty screamed from this difficult journey. When they got off the train, they searched the fields for anything to eat for themselves and the animals. Some Poles behaved very humanely. They felt that something was happening and that it was unjust. They provided some food to the deportees. Others feared that the locals would take something from the fields and therefore drove the Ruthenians away.
Lemko families during transport were subjected to huge ordeals. Parents and children rode the train only for a certain stretch. Then the children were separated from their parents. They were taken off to cargo trucks and from there transported to other locations. Only later were the parents brought to railway stations to places where their own children were waiting. This caused great trauma for them. The children themselves remained “waiting” for parents and livestock. It was a shock for them. They did not know the world. For a time they remained in unfamiliar cities without their parents.
To make matters worse, detention camps were established. One such camp was, for example, in Jaworzno. It was recorded who was deported. From among them, people from the intelligentsia were identified. These included teachers, priests, and higher-ranking people who could be politically “dangerous.” The state security arrested them and interned them in camps. They were arrested, investigated, and separated from their families. Often, if some returned after years, it was shortly before the end of their life. They were broken by the camps, which undermined their health. Not everyone among them was lucky enough to find their family, because many died in the camps.
The Lemkos at the “final” point had to move from place to place and look for housing. They could reach only places where more people lived. They were housed in farmhouses, or in houses where more families lived. The livestock that the Lemkos brought with them during deportation by Operation Vistula served them in the farms where they arrived. They were squeezed into small houses at the new places where more families lived. The deported were not welcomed in the new locations. Conflict often occurred. Some also settled on cooperatives. They could not build houses immediately because they had no means to build them.
The places that had been abandoned in Lemkivina by Operation Vistula were opened for Poles. They could choose better locations. These were Poles from the Lemkivina area or also from areas such as Zakopane and Nowy Targ. In those areas more people lived, so it was easier for them to find their farms in Lemkivina.
Only after 10 years from Operation Vistula, in 1957, it became possible for Lemkos to return. It was not easy. Often it was even impossible. Those who wanted to return initially had to buy back their own farms from the state and then again from settlers who had moved to the place. It was necessary to cultivate agricultural land again because these plots were often overgrown. Poles had not farmed them for a long time. Only few Lemkos returned to their original place. Other Ruthenians looked for new places where they could settle and live.
Consequences of Operation Vistula
The deportation of Ruthenians caused huge damage. Traumas of children, injustices against people, property losses, losses of health or life in concentration camps, uprooting from the homeland, hunger, poverty, unsuitable housing in new locations, interpersonal conflicts, forced assimilation and family separation, carrying guilt for anti-communist stances of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, later bad housing, loss of home and social contact with their own communities, and more. In addition, they were recorded as Ukrainians, that is, as a nationality to which they never belonged.
The Lemkos were dispersed throughout Poland. The principle was that one village could contain a maximum of three Ruthenian families. Later, Ukrainian schools were opened for the Lemkos to be ukrainized. Those deported during the first two deportations to the USSR never returned. And of those deported by Operation Vistula, very few returned to their Lemko land. Only after years could the Lemkos build something again. It was not easy. They had to ask the government for assistance to get anything. When they managed to receive something, they got little, or something in a dilapidated state, or stolen. And so they moved further within Poland according to where someone found a place to live, or when any work opportunity arose.
Current Situation of Lemkos in Poland
In 2001, the Ruthenian language—Lemko—was codified. Today Ruthenians in Poland have their own grammar and dictionary. On primary and secondary schools, instruction in the Ruthenian language is held. Lemko was once a natural part of the life of Polish Ruthenians. Today it is not used as often.
At present, books are translated into the Ruthenian language, including well-known titles. Some young people in Poland feel themselves to be Ruthenians, even though they are not many. They have folk groups in which dancing is performed. These are of a high level (Kičera). There are also folk groups that sing well-known Rusyn folk songs, which sound at social events. In Poland there are as many as two Ruthenian radios. One of them is only internet-based, the other also has its own frequency. The radio with its own frequency can be tuned in the area of Lemkivina, in Gorlice, and in the “foreign land”—that is, on the territory where Ruthenians were forcibly deported. Even there it is possible to listen to Ruthenian radio. Where the frequency is not enough, the internet helps, allowing it to be heard further as well.
Every year cultural and folklore events are organized. Very well-known are also the “Watry” festivals of Rusyn ensembles. They are organized, for example, in Zdynia, Michałow, Ług, etc. This allows Rusyns, their descendants, young people, and others to meet.
The Lemko language, compared with Rusyn in Slovakia, which is also in codified form, is somewhat different. At the time when contacts existed between Ruthenians on both sides of the states and crossings were made across borders, there were many common words. Over time, through many influences, these Rusyn languages began to diverge from each other somewhat. However, these are not major deviations that would create a language barrier.
Some municipalities in Poland are also listed as Ruthenian municipalities. There is also the possibility of bilingual naming of municipal names if decided by local self-government. The law allows this. Currently these include municipalities such as Kunkova, Gladyšiv, Biľanka, Novyca, Ždynia, Konečna.
Every year a Lemko pilgrimage is held during the summer holidays. It allows believers who are Rusyns, Poles, and Slovaks to meet. In summer, Lemkos come to see the places from which their ancestors came, that is, where their roots are. Also attending these pilgrimages are others who do not live by this ethnic principle, because this pilgrimage commemorates another pilgrimage where Ruthenians from Poland went to Gaboltov, to the Slovak part. On the return to their Lemkivina, a few meters from the Polish-Slovak border on Mount Jawor, the Virgin Mary appeared. The pilgrimage itself culminates on Mount Jawor, whose church is in the immediate vicinity of the Slovak border. At these pilgrimages, people from Slovakia who do not have Rusyn roots also participate.
Conclusion
According to the last population census from 2011, 10,500 residents in Poland declared affiliation with the Ruthenian national minority.10 The Polish Constitution guarantees Polish citizens belonging to national and ethnic minorities the freedom to maintain and develop their own language, maintain customs and traditions, and develop their own culture. (compare Art. 35 of the Polish Constitution). The same applies to the Ruthenians there, to whom such rights were denied in the past. Despite deportations of Ruthenians, which accelerated their assimilation, efforts are now not lacking to stop it or at least partially regulate it. Time will show how all this will turn out and what the future of the Ruthenians—Lemkos will be. Therefore, it is the task of the states to enable national minorities living on their territory to have the freedom to develop their own language, maintain their own customs and traditions without disrupting democratic order and state sovereignty.
Author: PhDr. JUDr. PhDr. Stanislav Bujda, PhD
LIST OF USED LITERATURE
BOGACZ, J.: Co można zabrać w ciągu godziny. Wspomnienia mieszkańców Krynicy i okolic. Krynica-Zdrój : Uniwersytet Rolniczy, im Krakow, 2019. 120 s. ISBN 978-83-954184-1-9. KUZMOVÁ, D.: Gréckokatolícka cirkev v povojnovom Poľsku 1945 – 1947. In: https://www.pulib.sk/web/kniznica/elpub/dokument/chovanec2/subor/29.pdf (25. 5. 2021, 19:00) Šmigeľ, M. – Syrný, M.: Dve strany ukrajinského nacionalizmu. In: http://www.historiarevue.sk/index.php?id=2004smigelsyrny1112 (20. 5. 2021, 15:30) Konštitúcja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, Dz.U. 1997, NR 78 poz. 483 https://stat.gov.pl/files/2f606ff1289eb7bbe4f5a66bdfa70ecd (15. 6. 2021, 17:00)
1 It refers to Greek Catholic and Orthodox believers who celebrate the holy liturgy in the Byzantine rite. 2 The area inhabited by Ruthenians in Poland. 3 A voivodship is the term for a higher territorial unit in Poland. 4 Censuses in Poland were only conducted after 1945, and they did not distinguish Ukrainians from Ruthenians. 5 These military units acted as a third military force, playing both sides. Their goal was later to obtain an independent Ukrainian state, independent of the USSR. They waited for a wartime conflict that was to occur between the Soviet Union and the victorious Western states after the Second World War. The West was supposed in the end to help them win their own state. 6 It was easier to deport a national minority that, although numerically small compared to most Poles, constituted a majority in the Lemko area. 7 Most deported Ruthenians were in Eastern Europe. 8 Translated by Stanislav Bujda. 9 Translated by Stanislav Bujda. 10 https://stat.gov.pl/files/2f606ff1289eb7bbe4f5a66bdfa70ecd