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Under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, adjusted by agreement on 28 September 1939, the Soviet Union annexed all Polish territory east of the line of the rivers Pisa, Narew, Bug, and San, except for Wilno country with its capital Wilno ( Vilnius), which was given to Lithuania, and the Suwalki region, which was annexed by Germany. These territories were largely inhabited by Ukrainians and Byelorussians, with large minorities of Poles and Jews. (see also Curzon line for population statistics). The total area, including the area given to Lithuania, was 201,000 square kilometres, with a population of 13.5 million, of which about 5.2-6.5 million were ethnic Poles.During 1939- 1941 at least 1.8 million of the people inhabiting the region were killed or deported by the Soviet regime, from which at least 60% were Poles, and the second largest group were Jews. Recently few Polish historians, basing moslty on queries in Soviet archives, reduced that number somewhat to about half of million people repressed in 1939- 1945.
These areas were conquered by the Nazis in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. The Nazis divided them up as follows:
- Bezirk Bialystok (district of Bialystok), which included the Bialystok, Bielsk Podlaski, Grajewo, Lomza, Sokolka, Volkovysk, and Grodno counties and was "attached to" (not incorporated into) East Prussia;
- Bezirk Litauen und Weissrussland — the Polish parts of White Russia (today western BelarusThe Republic of Belarus ( Belarusian: #x301 Russian: #x301 (former: #x301 ) is a landlocked nation of Eastern Europe with the capital Minsk. Name Main article: White Russia The spellings Belorussia and Byelorussia are transliterations of the name of the c), including the Vilnius (Vilna) province of Lithuania, which was incorporated into the Reichskommissariat OstlandOstland was the name given by Nazi Germany to their civilian occupation regime in conquered territories of the Baltic states during World War II. Some parts, such as Memel, were annexed to the Reich directly, but most was placed under two Reichskommissari;
- Bezirk Wolhynien-Podolien — the Polish province of VolhyniaVolhynia Wolyn in Polish; Volyn in Ukrainian; also called Volynia Volyn in Czech) is the historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Pripyat and Western Bug. The area has one of the oldest Slavic settlements in Europe. Part of historical, which was incorporated into the Reichskommissariat Ukraine; and
- East GaliciaGalicia ( Polish: Galicja, German: Galizien, Ukrainian: (Halychyna), Slovak: Halic, Romanian: Galitia, Hungarian: Gacsorszag) is the name of a region of Central Europe. The region takes its name from the earliest regional capital, the city of Halicz in Uk, which was incorporated into the General Government and became its fifth district.
After the end of World War II, all the territories annexed in 1939 were returned to the Soviet Union, with the exception of Bialystok, which was restored to Poland.
See also Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, General Government.
Polish history
Soviet political repressions
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