On April 28, commemorations began in Ukraine and Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of Operation Vistula, the forced resettlement of the Ukrainian population after World War II. In 1947, over 140,000 Ukrainians, including Boykos and Lemkos, were driven from their homes in southeastern Poland to the so-called Recovered Territories in the west, which belonged to Germany before the war. Operation Vistula was an ethnic cleansing that had disastrous short-term and long-term effects on Ukrainians living in Poland and left deep scars and lasting resentments. The commemorations come at a time of increased diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw. Although Poland continues to be Ukraine’s advocate in the European Union, a series of incidents (or provocations) have strained relations between the neighbors, who seem more in tune about their common future than their shared past.
OP-ED
Maciej Olchawa: Ghosts of Operation Vistula
Eviction of the Ukrainian population during the Vistula Operation in Poland.
