2. As a Result of II WW Polish Citizens Became Victims of Both the III Reich and the Soviet

Kazimierz Wóycicki

1. The run of events of the II World War in Poland was in many respects different than in Western Europe. Poland became 1939 an object of the aggression of both the German III Reich and the Soviet Union. The war closed with the deprivation of Polish state of the sovereignty and with assuming the power by the communist dictatorship.

2. As a result of II WW Polish citizens became victims of both the III Reich and the Soviet Union.

3. The persecution from the side of the III Reich in the most tragic way concerned polish citizens of the Jewish nationality. However the racist ideology was directed also against the “slavs” population hence the genocide and persecution (slave labour) of Polish citizens of the Polish as well as Ukrainian and Byelorussian nationality.

4. The persecution from the side of Soviet Union among others included expulsion to the East in part to GUł-ag and slave labour. One should emphasize that this persecution persisted after the End of the II WW and it concerned Polish citizens of the Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish nationality.

5. The singular character of the Holocaust (genocide of the absolute majority of Polish citizens of the Jewish nationality, as well as anti-Semitic character communist regime what caused the emigration of Polish citizens of the Jewish nationality in postwar period) causes the victims of is relatively small group. Nevertheless for obvious reasons this group is of special importance.

6. The results of II WW, among others state borders dislocation, effected that in today's Poland particularly abundant group of victims are polish citizens of polish nationality. It is particularly important to know that they were victims of the German III Reich as well as the Soviet Union, and the part of persecution was also continued in the post-war period.

7. In the postwar period 1945-89 the issues of victims of the II WW was subjected to the ideological criteria of communist authorities and only political changes connected with 1989 enabled new regulations taking into consideration all groups of victims and singular character of the Holocaust.

8. Remembrance of the Holocaust and antitotalitarian consensus create the essential pivot of historcical narrative of EU and European integration and at the same time essential clue in regard of victims of the II WW.