Unpublished Documents from the Archives of the Secret Services

750 Pages·2012·4.7 MB·English

Poland and Ukraine in the 1930s and 1940s
Unpublished Documents from the Archives
of the Secret Services
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Poland and Ukraine in the 1930s and 1940s
Unpublished Documents
from the Archives
of the Secret Services
Łódź–Warsaw–Kiev 2012
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STRONA REDAKCYJNA
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ContentS
PReFACe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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FRoM tHe eDItoRIAL CoMMIttee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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CHAPteR I
Holodomor. the Great Famine in Ukraine 1932–1933............................
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................
DOCUMENTS.............................................................................................. 23
No. 1 20 April 1930, Myrhorod. A letter from a member of VKP(b),
Ivan Slinko, regarding mistaken party policies, addressed to the
Chairman of VTsIK, Mikhail Kalinin.............................................. 47
No. 2 10 May 1930, Kiev. Extract of an operational report by the Kiev
OkrugDivision of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding issues
of interest for the German Consul.................................................... 49
No. 3 26 July 1930, odessa. Extract of a report by the Chief of the Odessa
Oblast Division of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR for the Chief of
the counter-intelligence Unit of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR,
regarding statements by foreigners on the situation in Odessa........ 50
No. 4 30 April 1932, Sobolivka. Letter from an inhabitant of Sobolivka
to family in Poland, describing the hard living conditions in the
Ukrainian countryside...................................................................... 53
No. 5 9 June 1932, odessa. Extract of a report by a secret informer of the
Odessa OblastDivision of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding
a statement on the famine in the village of Kleinliebenthal............. 55
No. 6 June 1932, odessa. Extract of a report by a secret informer of the
Odessa OblastDivision of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding
the impressions of the Japanese Consul following a trip from Kiev
to Odessa ......................................................................................... 56
No. 7 11 July 1932, odessa. Extract of a report by a secret informer of the
Odessa OblastDivision of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding
the situation and attitudes in the village of Kleinliebenthal.............. 57
No. 8 18 october 1932, Pidvolochysk. Protocol of the interrogation of
Maria Błażejewska by an officer of the Polish State Police concerning
illegal crossing of the border of the USSR into Poland..................... 58
No. 9 20 october 1932, Svatovo. Letter by party activist Nechayev to the
Svatovsky Raion party committee, containing a critique of the
Communist party.............................................................................. 60
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No. 10 21 october 1932, odessa. Report by a secret informer of the Odessa
Oblast Division of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding the
reactions of the people towards arrests and the signs of famine.......... 69
No. 11 16 november 1932, Moscow. Circular distributed by the OGPU
regarding the intensified fight against illegal trading of grain, flour
and bread.......................................................................................... 70
No. 12 10 December 1932, odessa. Extracts of a report by a secret
informer of the Odessa OblastDivision of the GPU of the Ukrainian
SSR, regarding conversations with the Japanese Consul on the food
supply situation in Odessa................................................................ 72
No. 13 12 December 1932, Warsaw. Letter from the head of the Office of
Ethnic Issues in the Ministry of the Interior to the Ternopil voivode,
regarding aid to refugees from the USSR........................................ 74
No. 14 13 December 1932, odessa. Report by a secret informer of the
Odessa OblastDivision of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding
the critical assessment of the situation in the countryside............... 75
No. 15 14 December 1932, Prague. Letter by representatives of the Foreign
Bureau of the URDP to Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, with a request
for intervention due to the tragic situation in Soviet Ukraine................ 76
No. 16 4 January 1933, odessa. Letter from the German Consul in Odessa
to the MFA and the German Embassy in Moscow, regarding the
worsening situation in the Odessa oblast......................................... 78
No. 17 10 January 1933, [no place given]. Report by a representative of
Gen. Pyotr Wrangel, acquired by Section II of the Main Staff,
regarding the situation in Ukraine.................................................... 80
No. 18 6 February 1933, odessa. Letter from the German Consul in
Odessa to the MFA in Berlin and the German Embassy in Moscow,
regarding the confiscation of grain from the peasants by “shock”
brigades............................................................................................ 82
No. 19 14 March 1933, odessa. Letter from the German Consul in Odessa
to the German Embassy in Moscow, regarding the bad forecasts for
food supplies in the Odessa oblast................................................... 84
No. 20 6 June 1933, Warsaw. Report prepared by the “East” Bureau of
Section II of the Main Staff, regarding the tragic situation of the food
supply in the Ukrainian SSR............................................................ 85
No. 21 6 June 1933, Kiev. Excerpt of a report by a secret informer of the
GPU of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding a statement made by the writer
Borys Antonenko-Davydovich......................................................... 88
No. 22 16 June 1933, Kharkiv. Report by the German Consul General in
Kharkiv for the German MFA, regarding the situation of the German
population in the Ukrainian SSR..................................................... 91
No. 23 28 August 1933, odessa. Excerpt of a special communication from
the Odessa Oblast Division of the GPU to the Special Unit of the
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Ukrainian MD of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding the visit
by former French Prime Minister Édouard Herriot to Odessa......... 95
No. 24 4 September 1933, Berlin. Call by the Ukrainian Ministry in
Germany to participate in the mourning ceremony devoted to the
victims of the famine in Ukraine...................................................... 100
No. 25 Before 29 october 1933, [no place given]. Announcement by the
Committee for Aid to Ukraine, declaring 29 October as a day of
Ukrainian national mourning........................................................... 102
No. 26 11 December 1933, Kharkiv. Extract from an annual report by the
German Consul General in Kharkiv for the German Embassy in
Moscow, regarding the general situation in the Ukrainian SSR ........ 103
No. 27 11 April 1934, Moscow. Extract of a report from an official trip to
Soviet Ukraine by the Counsellor for Commerce with the Polish
Embassy in Moscow........................................................................ 118
No. 28 Before 25 April 1934, [no place given]. Extract from a work by
Yevhen Lakhovich entitled “The Ukrainian question”.................... 122
No. 29 20 August 1934, Moscow. Communiqué from the Agriculture
Attaché of the German Embassy in Moscow, regarding the situation
of food provisions in the Soviet Union............................................ 123
No. 30 15 november 1936, odessa. Excerpt of a report from the German
Consulate in Odessa, regarding Soviet propaganda in cinemas....... 127
CHAPteR II
the Great terror: the “Polish operation” 1937–1938............................
129
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................
131
DOCUMENTS.............................................................................................. 149
No. 1 11 August 1937, Moscow. Operational Order No. 00485 from the
People’s Commissar for Internal Affairs Nikolai Yezhov, concerning
the “Polish operation”...................................................................... 151
No. 2 15 August 1937, Kiev. Telephonogram from the Deputy People’s
Commissar for Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic, Mikhail Stepanov, to the Deputy People’s Commissar for
Internal Affairs of the USSR, Leon Belsky, concerning the effects
of the “Polish operation”.................................................................. 156
No. 3 16 August 1937, Kiev. Guidelines from the Deputy People’s
Commissar for Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic, Mikhail Stepanov, for the head officers of oblast
directorates of the NKVD, with respect to the operation commenced
pursuant to Order No. 00485............................................................ 158
No. 4 27 August 1937, Kiev. Report from the head officer of the UNKVD
for the Kiev oblast, Nikolai Sharov, to the People’s Commissar for
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Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Israel
Leplevsky, concerning the progress of the operation against Polish
nationals........................................................................................... 162
No. 5 21 September 1937, Kiev. Message from the People’s Commissar
for Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel Leplevsky, to the
People’s Commissar for Internal Affairs of the USSR, Nikolai
Yezhov, concerning the progress of the “Polish operation”............. 173
No. 6 29 September 1937, Kiev. Report from the People’s Commissar for
Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel Leplevsky, to the
People’s Commissar for Internal Affairs of the USSR, Nikolai
Yezhov, concerning the Ukrainian repression plan and the request
for an increase in the limits placed on the number of arrests........... 188
No. 7 1 october 1937, [Kiev]. Telegram from the People’s Commissar for
Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel Leplevsky, to the
People’s Commissar for Internal Affairs of the USSR, Nikolai
Yezhov, concerning the progress of the „Polish operation”............. 191
No. 8 1 october 1937, Kiev. Extract from the guidelines by the People’s
Commissar for Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel
Leplevsky, concerning the intensification of operations against
Polish, German and Romanian nationals......................................... 193
No. 9 5 october 1937, Kiev. Telephonogram from the People’s
Commissar for Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel
Leplevsky, to the head officer of the Third Department of the USSR
NKVD GUGB, Alexandr Minayev, concerning the progress of
operations against the so-called anti-Soviet resistance.................... 195
No.10 8 october 1937, Kiev. Telegram from the People’s Commissar for
Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel Leplevsky, to the head
officers of the NKVD oblastdirectorates, concerning the execution
of Order No. 00486 of the USSR NKVD........................................ 197
No. 11 11 october 1937, Kiev. Letter from the People’s Commissar of
Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel Leplevsky, to the
managing authority of the USSR NKVD, regarding the co-financing
of repressive actions carried out against Poles and Germans.......... 198
No. 12 1 november 1937, Kiev. Letter from the People’s Commissar of
Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel Leplevsky, to the
People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Nikolai
Yezhov, regarding postponing the date for termination of the „Polish
operation” to 15 December 1937..................................................... 199
No. 13 30 november 1937, [emilchyn]. Letter from prisoner Gustaw
Dalmer to the Chief of CIK of the Ukrainian SSR, Grigory
Piotrovsky........................................................................................ 201
No. 14 11 December 1937, Kiev. Report by the Chief of UNKVD of Kiev
oblast, Nikolai Sharov to the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs
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of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel Leplevsky, along with a statistical
account of the cases brought against Poles in Kiev oblast.............. 202
No. 15 15 December 1937, [Kiev]. Letter from the People’s Commissar of
Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Israel Leplevsky, to the
People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Nikolai
Yezhov, regarding the awards to the most active members of the
Ukrainian SSR’s NKVD.................................................................. 206
No. 16 10 January 1938, [Kiev]. Information from the 8th Division of the
UGB of the NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding the NKVD of
the Ukrainian SSR’s operational-investigative work for the period
from 1 June 1937 to 10 January 1938.............................................. 208
No. 17 2 February 1938, Kiev. Telegram from the People’s Commissar of
Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Alexander Uspensky, to the
Chiefs of the OblastDirectorates of the NKVD, forwarding directive
no. 233 from the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the
USSR, Nikolai Yezhov, regarding the continuation of repressive
actions against specific ethnic minority groups............................... 214
No. 18 25 February 1938, Kiev. Statistical list from the 8th Division of the
UGB of the NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR to the Deputy People’s
Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Alexander
Radzivilovsky, regarding the number of persons sentenced by the USSR
NKVD since the commencement of the “Polish operation”................. 216
No. 19 27 February 1938, Kiev. Telephonogram from the People’s
Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Alexander
Uspensky, to the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the
USSR, Nikolai Yezhov, regarding the results of the „Polish
operation”......................................................................................... 218
No. 20 30 April 1938, Kiev. Report from the People’s Commissar of
Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Alexander Uspensky, to the
People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Nikolai
Yezhov, regarding the liquidation of Polish Military Organisations
on the territory of the USSR, along with an accompanying letter from
Alexander Uspensky, addressed to Chiefs of OblastDirectorates of
the NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR and the People’s Commissar of
Internal Affairs of the Moldavian ASSR.......................................... 221
No. 21 17 September 1938, Moscow. Order No. 00606 from the People’s
Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Nikolai Yezhov,
regarding the establishment of special troikas to investigate the cases
for persons arrested under USSR NKVD Order No. 00485............ 234
No. 22 21 September 1938, Moscow. Circular from the Deputy People’s
Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Lavrentiy Beria, with
additional instructions to Order No. 00606...................................... 236
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No. 23 26 november 1938, Moscow. Order from the People’s Commissar
of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Lavrentiy Beria, regarding the mode
of implementing the decision issued by the Council of People’s
Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-
Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of 17 November 1938......... 239
CHAPteR III
the Polish Underground 1939–1941……………………………………
245
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................
247
DOCUMENTS ............................................................................................. 255
No. 1 [20] December 1939, Kiev. Report by Ivan Serov to Lavrentiy
Beria, on the detection and eradication of the Polish underground
organisation in Kolomyia ................................................................ 257
No. 2 25 January 1940, Kiev. Special report by Ivan Serov and Vsevolod
Merkulov to Lavrentiy Beria, on the results of the investigation
regarding the armed incident in Chortkiv........................................ 260
No. 3 February 1940, [no place given]. Special report by Ivan Serov to
Lavrentiy Beria, on the results of the investigation regarding the
armed incident in Chortkiv.............................................................. 264
No. 4 16 March 1940, [Kiev]. Special report by the People’s Commissar
for Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Ivan Serov, on the seizure
of two ZWZ couriers, Józef and Stanisław Żymierski, by the
Militarised Border Guard................................................................. 267
No. 5 19 March 1940, Lviv. Interrogation protocol of Jan Kolbuszewski..... 270
No. 6 17–20 March 1940, [Lviv]. Interrogation protocol of the accused
Edward Gola.................................................................................... 276
No. 7 27–28 March 1940, [Dubno]. Interrogation protocol of Janina
Sułkowska........................................................................................ 286
No. 8 18 April 1940, [Kiev]. Special report by the People’s Commissar
for Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Ivan Serov, on the seizure
of two ZWZ head officers for the Lviv region................................. 295
No. 9 19 April 1940, [Kiev]. Special report by the People’s Commissar
for Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Ivan Serov, on the biolo -
gical warfare planned by the Polish underground movement.......... 304
No. 10 2 June 1940, Kiev. Ivan Serov’s telegram to Pyotr Fedotov on the
arrest of Tadeusz Majewski.............................................................. 307
No. 11 22 June 1940, [Kiev]. Special report by the People’s Commissar of
Internal Affairs of the USSR, Ivan Serov, concerning the NKVD’s
search for Gen. Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski.......................... 309
No. 12 11 July 1940, ternopil. Record from the interrogation of Rudolf
Weidel in the case of Stanisław Węgrzynowski............................... 311
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