Populated by 127 different nationalities, including Poles (in 2012, approximately 5,000 people of Polish nationality lived in the area). It is a region of great economic and geopolitical importance in Eastern Europe. As a result of the turmoil caused by the intervention of foreign states and changes taking place in Ukraine, the large Polish diaspora had to leave its homes and apartments to protect their own lives and those of their loved ones, and to escape hunger and persecution for belonging to the Polish nation.
Most of our compatriots and their ancestors remained in the Donbas against their will. Very often, their grandparents were unable to exercise their right to repatriation to Polish lands after the Second World War, or under Stalin they were deported from Siberia, and some were even forcibly transported from Polish territories (including families from Silesia).
Among the Poles covered by the government programme who arrived in January this year at the centres in Rybaki and Łańsk in Warmia and Mazury are descendants of the January Uprising insurgents of 1863, people exiled to Siberia for patriotic activities, and people deported eastward after the Second World War.
Poles living in the Donbas, despite strong indoctrination by the Soviet authorities, preserved their identity and history by cultivating Polish traditions and participating in numerous cultural organisations. The Polish state evacuated more than 180 people from the war-torn area. During the first six months of their stay in the country, they were provided with accommodation and assistance with official matters, as well as an adaptation course in the Polish language, history and culture, organised by the government of the Republic of Poland and the Wspólnota Polska Association, attended by two teachers from Bolesławiec.
Today, after arriving in Poland carrying the burden of tragic experiences, the Poles from the Donbas are beginning a new life in the homeland of their ancestors. Cheerfully, they look to the future, while still preserving painful memories of the recent past…
“In 2014, after the Revolution of Dignity, war broke out. In my city and for my family, it was a very difficult time. During the war, we concealed our Polish origins and feared repression by the DPR, but Divine Providence watched over us and helped us escape. I thank all Poles.”
“In the city of Luhansk, where humanitarian aid did not arrive, there was hunger, medicines were scarce, and people ate flour because there was nothing else.”
“After staying in a concentration camp in Germany, a young Polish woman was captured by the Soviets, beaten and sent to work building the new socialist homeland. She never saw her loved ones in Poland again, and today we are her descendants…”
“One cannot be indifferent and irresponsible. Everyone should think and act so that their country has good soldiers, teachers, doctors and police officers. One cannot be indifferent. The modern world is very small. Tomorrow, war may be on your street”*.
Sebastian Zielonka
* material collected during the SWP course, January–April 2015.