"BEFORE 17 SEPTEMBER. STATE OF THE POSSESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND IN THE AREA ANNEXED BY THE USSR" – INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OF THE JAN KARSKI INSTITUTE OF WAR LOSSES

The conference with the participation of a large number of specialists in the history of the XX century took place in Pruszków on 19-20 September this year. It was organised by the Jan Karski Institute of War Losses.

The main aim of the conference was to present the broadest possible spectrum of the possessions of the Second Polish Republic in the areas of its eastern provinces occupied after 17 September 1939 by the Soviet Union. The approximate data indicated by the speakers on, among other things, population and raw material resources, as well as various types of infrastructure, will serve as the basis for the development of "The Report on the Losses Sustained by Poland as a Result of Soviet aggression and Occupation in the Years 1939-1945".

The duties of moderators were performed by representatives of the Research Division of the Institute of War Losses – Dr. Piotr Olechowski and Dr. Damian Markowski.

The two days of the conference were an opportunity to listen to eighteen speeches, exchange views and hold backstage conversations. Prof. Maciej Franz from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań ("The Ripped Heart of Polish Science. Liquidation of Polish universities in Lviv and Vilnius in 1939. An attempt at an initial balance sheet"), Dr. Barbara Jundo-Kaliszewska from the University of Łódź ("Outline of the Polish ownership status in the Vilnius Voivodeship before World War II") and Dr. Danylo Kravets from the University of Lviv ("Galician libraries before the outbreak of World War II") are just some of the people presenting the result of their research. Thanks to a remote connection, researchers from Ukraine who were unable to attend the conference in person were also able to share their findings.

Regardless of the approximate thematic sphere, the conclusions of these speeches were unequivocal: the losses suffered by the inhabitants of the eastern voivodeships of the Second Polish Republic were devastating. Also due to the fact that at least some of these areas (including the Borysław-Drohobych Basin and the Vilnius area) showed considerable development prospects.

A number of research demands were made (e.g. the appointment of teams to carry out searches in individual archives), and the Director of the Institute for War Losses, Prof. Konrad Wnęk, pointed to the "The Report on the Losses Sustained by Poland as a Result of Soviet aggression and Occupation in the Years 1939-1945" as a model for further work, with a suggestion that the methodology developed during its creation should be developed further. The Director invited the audience to further research work, and described the conference held as factual and meaningful.

Participants of the conference had the opportunity to obtain an abridged version of "The Report on the Losses Sustained by Poland as a Result of German Aggression and Occupation during the Second World War, 1939-1945." and one issue of the journal "Kwartalnik Kresowy", which contained, among other things, articles by academics from the Institute of War Losses. There was also an exhibition bringing closer the issue of losses suffered by Poland as a result of German aggression and occupation in 1939-1945.

This was the second initiative of the Institute regarding the subject of Poland's losses suffered by the Soviet side. The first was a scientific seminar entitled "War Losses in the Eastern Territories of the Second Republic of Poland in the Years 1939-1946. State of Research and Research Perspectives", which took place in February this year.

The papers delivered during the conference will be published in the semi-annual "Studies and Materials of the Institute of War Losses".