Forum | PolishOrigins :: View topic - Soviet invasion of Poland

View previous topic :: View next topic

Author

Message

Agnieszka Pawlus
PolishOrigins Team

Joined: 10 Mar 2013
Replies: 748
Location: Poland
Back to top

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:21 am Post subject: Soviet invasion of Poland - 17.09.1939

Today is the anniversary of Soviet invasion of Poland, which took place in 17th September 1939.

“We were completely disoriented, we had no idea about the Ribbentrop-Molotow pact. We did not know if they [the Soviet army] were coming to join us in our fight against the Germans or if this was a new attack. When we started to fight and the Soviet planes started to drop bombs on us, it became clear what was going on [...]” says 70 years later Stanislaw Matkowski [, Polish Army] whose unit was stationed on the Polish-Soviet border.

Source: http://www.17september1939.com/

Sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union did so from the east. The invasion ended on 6 October 1939 with the division and annexing of the whole of the Second Polish Republic by Germany and the Soviet Union.

See the map of The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact dividing Poland between Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

671px-Mapa_Paktu_R_M_Izwiestia-18.09.1939.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

150.1 KB

Viewed:

4019 Time(s)

671px-Mapa_Paktu_R_M_Izwiestia-18.09.1939.jpg

Elzbieta Porteneuve
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 09 Nov 2012
Replies: 3098
Location: Paris, France
Back to top

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:37 pm Post subject: Soviet invasion of Poland - 17.09.1939

Thank you Aga!

You may wish to read more here, and look on maps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territories_of_Poland_annexed_by_the_Soviet_Union

And even more about Przemysl (the border between Germans and Soviets was on the river San) and Ustrzyki Dolne.

A couple of days ago I read about Przemysl occupation here
http://wojnawp.republika.pl/start/start.html
and Ustrzyki Dolne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustrzyki_Dolne

Best,
Elzbieta

Louie

Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Replies: 69

Back to top

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 8:27 pm Post subject: Russian Invasion

I happened to be in Krakow in '08 during the 17/9 remembrance. I had forgotten, but I know that we must be mindful and try to keep dates like these in working memory.

PolishOrigins Forum