On May 28, 2017 the Ukrainian Canadian community in Hamilton commemorated the 70th anniversary of Akcja Wisla. In 1947, the Polish government deliberately forced thousands of Ukrainians off their ancestral lands. They were forced to leave their homes, valuables, and land for an uncertain future in northern and western Poland. Many of those who survived this ordeal where at the May 28 commemoration.
Akcja Wisla, or Operation Vistula, was the final operation executed by the post-war Polish government in order to achieve its goal of having a mono-ethnic state. When the Second World War ended and the Yalta Conference decided the borders of the new Europe, many Ukrainians on the west side of the Curzon Line (the new border line between Poland and Ukraine) were startled to hear that they were in Poland rather than in Ukraine. Between 1944-1946 a total of 482,880 Ukrainians were relocated to the Ukrainian SSR, primarily to Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Mykoaliv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.
However, that still left about 141,000 Ukrainians in the Carpathian Mountains in 1947. The deportations of these Ukrainians was similarly done. Historian Ivan Patryliakh describes this in his 2012 work on the Ukrainian underground: “the village was surrounded by the military, in every yard came in soldiers and announced the necessity to quickly (in 2 to 3 hours) gather all personal belongings and livestock and prepare for their departure. Those who were able to resist, were killed or arrested and their homes and possessions burned. The deportees formed a column and walked or in vehicles under armed guard went to the nearest military gathering point – a piece of land surrounded by barbed wire…From here, the peasants were thrown toward train stations and transported to the far western and northern Poland.” (“Встань і Борись! Слухай і вір…: Українське націоналістичне підпілля та повстанський рух (1939-1960 рр.)”, p. 435).
These Ukrainians were relocated to the empty houses of the Germans who were also relocated across the border to Germany. At times, these houses were half-ruined, with no heat sources and destroyed roofs. These deported Ukrainians could not cluster together; only a small number of families could move to the same village, so as to assimilate them into Polish society faster. This experience caused great trauma to the families that lived through them.
Survivors of this ethnic cleansing, their children, and grandchildren gathered at Holy Spirit Church in Hamilton for a funeral service commemorating those who died during this operation. The survivors and their children held candles in remembrance of those they lost and those who suffered during this time. This program was coordinated by both the Ukrainian Youth Association and the League of Ukrainian Canadians in Hamilton and was also aided by the Union of Lemky in Canada and the Union of Zakerzonnia Ukrainians in Canada. After the funeral service the program continued with a short video on the history of Akcja Wisla, during which many of the survivors reminisced of their struggles during this time.
Mr. Myroslav Iwanek gave the honorary speech in which he discussed the correct definition of Akcja Wisla, stating that it was a deliberate political-military deportation of Ukrainians by the Polish government. It was a political-military operation because it was led by the military with the false pretense of fighting the Ukrainian Insurgent Army which became active in the region in 1944. Akcja Wisla was supported by the Polish state – not only the Polish communist leadership, but also Polish officials who came back from London after the war and even the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Finally, it was deliberate because the newly formed Polish People’s Republic wanted a solely Polish state without any troublesome national minorities.
After Mr. Iwanek spoke the Svitanok Choir sang four traditional Ukrainian and Lemko songs starting with a prayer and including a beautiful rendition of Oj Vershe Mij, Vershe (Ой верше мій, верше) – a national Lemko song. This song is about the fate of a girl who longs to marry the boy she loves but worries that her wedding will not be as happy as her mother’s. After Akcja Wisla, this song became the symbol of the fate of the Lemko people.
The program also included books of memoirs from survivors of Akcja Wisla and banners with maps of the affected areas. These were popular among the audience who could look up their villages and see where their families originally came from.
The money raised during this commemoration was donated to the “Diasporiana” Fund – an online resource that has over 100 GB of information and almost 14 thousand released works of Ukrainian literature.
