Polska Wschodnia (Eastern Poland) 1939-1941
NP: Rzym, 1945. First edition. Softcover. Oblong quarto. [4], 15, [1] leaves. Original illustrated wrappers. Illustrated with 15 socioeconomic charts, this scarce Polish pamphlet denounces the Soviet occupation and annexation of Eastern Poland. Immediately after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Union invaded the eastern regions of the Second Polish Republic, which Poles referred to as the "Kresy", and annexed territories totaling 201,015 square kilometers (77,612 sq. mi.) (as sown on chart #1) with a population of 13,299,000 inhabitants including Belorussians, Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, Czechs and others (see charts #2 and 4). Most of these territories remained within the Soviet Union in 1945 as a consequence of European-wide territorial rearrangements configured during the Tehran Conference of 1943. Poland was compensated for this territorial loss with the prewar German eastern territories much of which had been devastated during the war, and had been looted and pillaged by the Red Army. Communist Poland described the territories as the "Recovered Territories". The number of Poles in the Kresy in the year 1939 was around 5.274 million, but after ethnic cleansing in 1939-1945 by the Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and Ukrainian nationalist forces consisted of approximately 1.8 million inhabitants. The post-World War II territory of Poland was significantly smaller than the pre-1939 land areas, shrinking by some 77,000 square kilometers (30,000 sq. mi.)(roughly equaling that of the territories of Belgium and the Netherlands combined). The 15 socioeconomic charts are illustrated by Felix. Wrappers sunned along edges. Upper corners bumped, thus slightly affecting pages throughout. Folding mark at center. Text and captions in Polish. Wrappers in overall fair to good, interior in good+ condition. g to g+. Item #38509
Price: $650.00