In the shadow of the “Polish Operation”: Repressions in Soviet Ukraine, 1937–1938, in Documents. Volume 1: Victims
The first volume of a two-part source publication devoted to the NKVD’s “Polish Operation”—one of the largest and most tragic nationality-targeted repressive campaigns of the Great Terror.
Prepared by Dr. Yana Prymachenko in cooperation with Dr. Łukasz Adamski, the book presents a carefully curated selection of authentic documents from the archives of the Security Service of Ukraine and other sources, complemented by scholarly commentary.
The collected materials—arrest warrants, interrogation protocols, indictments, and rehabilitation case documents—reveal the mechanisms of totalitarian terror and show how decisions issued under NKVD Operational Order No. 00485 destroyed the lives of thousands.
The victims were not only Poles, but also Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, and members of other nationalities connected to Poland through family, social, or historical ties. Many were convicted on fabricated charges of espionage, sabotage, or “anti-Soviet activity.” Among them were peasants and workers, members of the intelligentsia, and individuals forced into cooperation with Soviet security services.
The volume is organised into four thematic sections:
- “Wreckers” in transport and industry,
- Espionage for Poland,
- In the service of the NKVD and the Red Army Intelligence Directorate (RKKA),
- The stigma of ŻIR and CzSIR—repressions against the families of “enemies of the people.”
Behind the bureaucratic language of the protocols lie testimonies of loyalty, family bonds, and personal tragedies—the fates of individuals and entire families caught in the grip of collective responsibility. The publication shows how fear, propaganda, and systemic violence eroded social bonds, while also documenting cases of courage and determination among those who managed to survive.
This book is intended for scholars of 20th-century history, specialists and students of East-Central European studies, as well as all those interested in Polish-Ukrainian relations and research on totalitarianism.
Volume 2 will be published in 2026, focusing on the perspective of NKVD officers—the direct perpetrators of the repressions.
