“Polish Operation” of the NKVD – book presentation in Warsaw
Can one be declared an enemy of the state simply because relatives live across the border? Thousands of Poles living in the Soviet Union in the 1930s learned that, in the logic of Stalinist terror, such a family bond was enough to be placed on the list of “anti-Soviet elements.”
The new publication “Polish Operation” of the NKVD 1937–1938. Restoring Memory of the Crime, jointly issued by the Mieroszewski Centre and the Institute of National Remembrance, brings back the memory of this forgotten atrocity – one of the greatest crimes in the history of Stalinism.
The presentation of the book took place on 29 October at the IPN’s Przystanek Historia in Warsaw. The discussion featured the book’s editors – Dr Maciej Wyrwa (the Mieroszewski Centre) and Dr Paweł Libera (Institute of National Remembrance) – moderated by Rafał Dudkiewicz.
Restoring the memory of a forgotten crime
The publication explores one of the most extensive yet least known repressive operations of the Stalinist era. “The Polish Operation” of the NKVD 1937–1938 is a unique study that restores the memory of hundreds of thousands of Poles murdered solely because they were Polish.
The volume brings together essays by historians from Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, and the United States. The authors analyse the origins and course of the operation, its local, collective, and individual dimensions. They reveal the mechanisms of Soviet terror, the fate of women and children, and the burial sites of thousands of Poles – from Sandarmokh to Bykivnia.
The significance of the publication
“This is an exceptional publication, the only one of its kind, offering a comprehensive attempt to restore memory of one of the largest and, at the same time, least known Stalinist crimes. Between 1937 and 1938, at least 112,000 Poles living in the Soviet Union were murdered – solely because they were Polish,” emphasized Dr Maciej Wyrwa, co-editor of the volume (together with Dr Paweł Libera).
Dr Libera reminded that the “Polish Operation” was the bloodiest of all NKVD nationality operations, with about 83% of cases ending in execution. Yet, not only Poles were killed – also Belarusians and Russians accused of “links with Poland.”
“People were not murdered for their nationality, but for alleged contacts with Poland. It was enough to have family members across the border to be marked as ‘anti-Soviet,’” said Dr Libera.
Research, sources, and memory
The speakers emphasized how difficult access to Russian archives has become today. Dr Wyrwa noted that some NKVD documents were copied from archives in Ukraine and Georgia, while research in Russia and Belarus is now virtually impossible. Thanks to the joint work of historians from the Mieroszewski Centre and the Russian Memorial society, more than 55,000 names of victims have been identified and made available in the online database operacja-polska.pl.
“It’s still just a drop in the ocean, but each of these entries restores a name, a face, and a story,” said Dr Wyrwa.
The discussion also touched on key sites of remembrance – Sandarmokh, Bykivnia, and Kurapaty – where the victims of the Polish Operation and other Great Terror crimes are buried.
“The Russian state has never carried out full exhumations there. These places survive thanks to local communities and former Memorial activists,” added Dr Libera.
Memory that obliges
The book is addressed to researchers, students, and anyone interested in the history of the 20th century, totalitarianism, and the remembrance of victims of communism.
“This is a publication in which the victims regain their names and identities – as do their perpetrators,” concluded Dr Libera.
Each story in the volume reminds us of the people whose lives were destroyed by a system of violence. The publication restores their presence in history and helps us comprehend the scale of a tragedy that for decades remained outside collective memory.
The premiere of the recorded discussion about the book will take place on 26 November 2025 at 6:00 p.m. on the IPNtv YouTube channel.
