@article{Kovalchuk_Yaremchuk_2019, title={The «Polish» destruction battalions during sovietization of Galicia (spring of 1944 - the head of 1945)}, volume={2}, url={https://istznu.org/index.php/journal/article/view/191}, abstractNote={<p>The article deals with one of the most relevant and insufficiently studied themes of the Soviet-German war history, namely the peculiarities of the ethnic composition of extermination battalions in Galicia in the spring of 1944 – early 1945. These formations were created by local NKVD departments in various areas of the USSR, which had been formerly under the German occupation. The purpose of their activity in such territories was to create an additional resource for ensuring rapid sovietization. However, in Western Ukraine, this process had its own peculiarity: a certain number of first extermination battalions, when speaking of their ethnic origin, appeared to be formed either entirely by Polish or more than half of representatives of this nationality. It was particularly obvious in the Ternopil region. Moreover, the first «Polish» destruction battalions in this region arose in February – March 1944. In Stanislavivsky region (now Ivano-Frankivsk region) the paramilitary units with prevaleting number of representatives of Polish nationality, appeared in August. Since then, they are gradually formed in the districts of the Drohobych (21.05.1959 included in the Lviv region) and Lviv regions.</p> <p>From the very beginning of their activity, the Soviet authorities have drawn their fighters into the fight against Ukrainian «banditry». In particular, they were involved into active searching, detecting, detention, and also destruction of the participants of the Ukrainian liberation movement (first of all, members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists Bandera (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). In such operations the personnel of the extermination battalions most often fulfilled their tasks being a part of the operational groups of the NKVD district departments.</p> <p>In September-October 1944 following some changes in Soviet policy regarding the Army of Craiova and making the conclusion of the Treaty of Lublin (September-October 1944), attempts have been made in the USSR to reduce the percentage of representatives of Polish nationality in the destruction battalions in the territory of Galicia. By mobilizing to the Red Army, the Polish pro-Soviet Army, Burling, the disarmament of the Polish «fists», and their transfer to service in other militaristic formations, the Soviet authorities were trying to minimize the quantitative advantage of Polish «tricks» over Ukrainian and Russian ones. And in spring of next year, the NKVD of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic published several administrative documents, which were directly dealing with the removal of Poles from the battalions. Despite such radical measures of Soviet power, a significant percentage of Poles in the destruction battalions of many districts (especially clearly seen in the Ternopil region) remained «in inertia» until May-June 1945. By comparing the statistical information on the evolution of the quantitative composition of the extermination battalions in the Ternopil region, it was found that since May 1945 their rapid reduction had begun. In Stanislaviv, Lviv and Drohobych it happened later, as well. However, when it happened there, Poles were no longer a dominating nation in battalions. Judging by the discovered and analyzed archival documents, in Lviv region, Drohobych and Stanislaviv regions, the creation and development of «fighter» units in which the Poles dominated was a matter of late if compared with the Ternopil region. However, clear conclusions on this issue can only be made after a substantial expansion of the source base. The NKVD documents, held in the archives of the National Police of a number of regional centers of Western Ukraine, have not sufficiently been studied up to the present.</p&gt;}, number={52}, journal={Zaporizhzhia Historical Review}, author={Kovalchuk, V. M. and Yaremchuk, A. V.}, year={2019}, month={Dec.}, pages={46-54} }