ABSTRACT
Forced migrations in relation to the Second World War had already commenced on Polish territory just before its outbreak, namely along with the wave of oppression against the Jewish population which had been forced to leave the Third Reich. From 1939 a characteristic movement of populations which Eugene M. Kulischer described in his book Europe on the Move, significantly gained momentum, reaching its crescendo at the end of the war. In 1931 Polish territories in the East were home to 10.7 million people and displayed high degree of ethnic diversity. In the case of the Polish Republic, an alternative solution was chosen which distanced Ukrainians from the Polish state even further, namely centralisation of the state and the distinct oppression of minorities. Although Poland was obliged to grant eastern Galicia autonomy, it did not keep its promise while, at the same time, fighting the Ukrainian national liberation movement which had intensified its activities following the end of First World War.
