Poland: Treatment of Polish Ukrainians since the formation of a new Government in Poland
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | POL2407 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Poland: Treatment of Polish Ukrainians since the formation of a new Government in Poland, 1 October 1989, POL2407, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab136c.html [accessed 18 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Please find attached an article from The Globe and Mail, dated 15 September 1989, which provides some information on the treatment of the Ukrainian ethnic group in Poland. [Lubomyr Luciuk, "Ukrainian refugees find cold comfort in Austrian camps", The Globe and Mail, 15 September 1989.] According to this article, the Ukrainians in Poland are remnants of a large population that inhabited Eastern Galicia (Western Ukraine) between the Wars. [Ibid.] These people were forcibly relocated to former German territory in Poland in 1947, in response to a resistance campaign waged against the Soviets because of Galicia's incorporation into the Soviet Union. [Ibid.] This source mentions that despite the election of Solidarity, the Ukrainians in Poland fear a continuation of the policies which have given them a "second-class existence." [Ibid.]
Two sources contacted by the IRBDC corroborate the fact that the Ukrainian community in Poland has suffered ill treatment. According to the Ukrainian Social Services organization, the present situation has not changed much, although an Ukrainian bishop in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was recently installed. This amounts to semi-recognition of the Church by the state authorities. That aside however, both the Ukrainian Social Services and the Ottawa Branch of the Canadian Polish Congress claim that Ukrainians in Poland have their ethnic origin "ignored" by the government, which does not recognize Ukrainian as an official minority in Poland. Ukrainian is not taught in the education system, the language is ridiculed, and Ukrainians are encouraged to "Polonize" their names, according to the Ukrainian group in Canada. In the area of religion, the representative of the Ukrainian Social Services claimed that many Ukrainian Orthodox churches were closed and turned over to the Roman Catholic Church. The representative of the Polish Congress highlighted the fact that the Roman Catholic Church considers the Ukrainians as Roman Catholic and only in some cases provides a location for Ukrainian ceremonies. This source added that even between the wars, in the heyday of a "free Poland", it was difficult for ethnic minorities and this issue was never resolved in the post-war era. Apparently, it is not a priority today. It was further noted by the Polish Congress that the Ukrainians in Poland tend to live in small communities among themselves and people from these settlements can be more readily singled out as Ukrainians by the Poles. On the other hand, many Ukrainians have moved into the urban areas and have undergone an assimilation process, including a change of name, thus making them difficult to single out.
The U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988 points out that the members of the Orthodox faith have complained of Polish ethnic prejudice but also mentions that the Church has obtained the return of several religious buildings taken over by the government. [U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989), p. 1154.]
No further corroborating sources are available to the IRBDC at the present time.
