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The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - ELTE BTK Történelem Szakos Portál

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - ELTE BTK Történelem Szakos Portál

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said that Germans are a common enemy for Ukrainians and Poles. 11 On the 5 th<br />

of September because of the fact that some Ukrainians committed sabotage, the<br />

Polish general Władysław Langer made a request to the Greek Catholic<br />

archbishop Andrej Szeptycki to maintain the peace. Archbishop Szeptycki<br />

wrote an official letter to Ukrainians with information that Germans are a<br />

common enemy for Poles and Ukrainians. 12<br />

On the 7 th of September general Władysław Langer started to organize a<br />

regular defense of Lviv. At that time many Polish scouts and students took part<br />

in the defense. Most of them held weapon for the first time 13 . Despite the<br />

official letter of the Greek catholic archbishop some Ukrainians continued to<br />

commit sabotage cooperating with Nazis. On the 12 th of September the Nazi<br />

division, which was conducted by Ukrainians, omitted the Polish defense line<br />

and came to Lviv. <strong>The</strong> division was stopped by Polish counterattack. Polish<br />

inhabitants started to be afraid of Ukrainian citizens, and a few Ukrainians<br />

were shot without any judgment 14 .<br />

<strong>The</strong> command of the Nazi army was determined to seize Lviv as fast as<br />

possible. On the one hand it was an important military-strategic place. On the<br />

other hand, it was connected with the army’s prestige. 15 During the next days<br />

there were strong German bombardments. <strong>The</strong> Lviv power station, the gasworks<br />

and the municipal water supply system did not work. <strong>The</strong> city<br />

population grew by 100.000 people, who were refugees from the central<br />

Poland. A large part of them came from Warsaw, which was strongly attacked<br />

from the west side by the Nazi army. Food supplies started to run out.<br />

Lviv defending itself against two enemies<br />

<strong>The</strong> general head-quarters of the Red Army decided to attack Poland, on the<br />

17 th of September, 2 hours after midnight the Soviet-Ukrainian Front under the<br />

command of general Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (Семён<br />

Константинович Тимошенко) forced the Polish border. In the Soviet Radio<br />

general <strong>Molotov</strong> said: „<strong>The</strong> Soviet government commanded the Red Army to<br />

cross the Polish border in order to protect inhabitants of the West Ukraine” 16 .<br />

Organizacja Ukraińskich Nacjonalistów (Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists) which was<br />

under the strong influence of the Nazi Germany.<br />

11 WŁODARKIEWICZ,Wojciech: Lwów 1939. Warszawa, 2007. 41.<br />

12 Kronika 2350 dni wojny i okupacji Lwowa 1IX 1939 – 5 II 1946, [edited by] MAZUR,<br />

Grzegorz, SKWARA, Jerzy, WĘGIERSKI, Jerzy. Kraków, 2007. 38.<br />

13 Wspomnienia uczestników obrony Lwowa we wrześniu 1939 roku, [prepared by]<br />

WOJTYCZ, Janusz. Kraków, 2002. 102.<br />

14 Kronika 2350 dni wojny i okupacji Lwowa 1IX 1939 – 5 II 1946, [edited by] MAZUR,<br />

Grzegorz, SKWARA, Jerzy, WĘGIERSKI, Jerzy. Kraków, 2007. 43.<br />

15 LEINWALD, Artur: Obrona Lwowa we wrześniu 1939 roku. In: Rocznik Lwowski [red.]<br />

WASYLKOWSKI, Janusz. Warszawa, 1992. 37.<br />

16 Ibidem. 50.<br />

157

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