Stalin's sweep. North-eastern Poland and its border region at the time of the Augustów roundup in 1945
We present a never published before collection of documents concerning the Augustów roundup, the largest mass crime committed against civilians in Europe between the end of the Second World War and the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in the 1990s.
The documents in the volume show both the direct course of the Augustów roundup and the situation in the surrounding areas. As it appears from their content, Soviet special services ruthlessly fought off "enemies of the revolution" everywhere, constantly conducting roundups aimed at apprehending them.
[...] looking at the Augustów roundup in the context of other repressions of that time shows its uniqueness. [...] It was the largest mass crime committed against civilians in Europe between the end of World War II and the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in the 1990s. Although during and shortly after the war the Soviets conducted thousands of anti-partisan operations, sometimes involving Red Army units, they were most often accompanied by strong NKVD troops. Meanwhile, in Augustów region partisans were being pursued and arrested by the Red Army, acting under the supervision of the SMERSH officers and in cooperation with the Security Service.
The documents in this volume show both the direct course of the Augustów roundup and the situation in the surrounding areas. As it appears from their content, Soviet special services ruthlessly fought off "enemies of the revolution" everywhere, constantly conducting roundups aimed at apprehending them.
[...] looking at the Augustów roundup in the context of other repressions of that time shows its uniqueness. [...] It was the largest mass crime committed against civilians in Europe between the end of World War II and the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in the 1990s. Although during and shortly after the war the Soviets conducted thousands of anti-partisan operations, sometimes involving Red Army units, they were most often accompanied by strong NKVD troops. Meanwhile, in Augustów region partisans were being pursued and arrested by the Red Army, acting under the supervision of the SMERSH officers and in cooperation with the Security Service.
The publication is a result of work carried out as part of a research project - Relations between the Soviet authorities and the Polish Underground State: 1943–1946.