page_title: History of the Ukrainian minority in Poland
section_title: Second Polish Republic
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Ukrainian minority in Poland / Second Polish Republic
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Ruthenen in der Zweiten Polnischen Republik English: Ruthenians in Second Polish Republic Kreyòl ayisyen&#160;: Ukraińcy i Rusini w II RP
context_page_description: The history of the Ukrainian minority in Poland dates back to the Late Middle Ages, preceding the 14th century Galicia–Volhynia Wars between Casimir III the Great of Poland, and Liubartas of Lithuania. Following the extinction of the Rurikid dynasty in 1323, the Polish Kingdom extended further east in 1340 to include the lands of Przemyśl and in 1366, Kamianets-Podilskyi. After the Union of Lublin, principalities of Galicia and Western Volhynia became, what is known as, the Ruthenian Voivodeship of the Polish Crown, while the rest of Red Ruthenia together with Kiev came under Lithuanian control. The Polish borders reached as far east as Zaporizhia, and Poltava.
context_section_description: Poland re-established its sovereignty in 1918 after a century of rule by Austria-Hungary, the German, and the Russian Empires; however, Poland's western and eastern borders were not determined at inception. The Soviet, Polish and Ukrainian claims over the disputed territories led to the Polish–Ukrainian and Polish–Soviet wars. The end of open warfare was achieved with the logistical aid by France. A formal treaty, the Peace of Riga, was signed on 18 March 1921, establishing Polish borders for the period between the World Wars. A process of economic recovery followed.
  After the Polish-Ukrainian War, the eastern part of Galicia and Volhynia were captured by Poland. Ukrainian leaders at that time were retained a strong sense of honor.  During the entire time of its existence, there were no cases of mass repressions against national minorities in territories held by the West Ukrainian government; the Ukrainian forces controlling the city even neglected to arrest Polish nationalist leaders and intelligentsia, enabling the latter to rebel against the Ukrainian government. 
  Polish forces captured Lviv after a week-long battle with the Ukrainian forces. They claimed they were fired at in the streets by civilians when they entered the city, and retaliated. They burned the Ukrainian and Jewish sections and killed approximately 270 Ukrainians; however, the British mission also noted that there were no clear conclusions as to the specific motive behind the massacre. The percentage of Jews killed corresponds to the demographics in Lviv at that time.
  In the eastern half of Galicia, Ukrainians made up approximately 65% of the population while Poles made up 22% of the population and Jews made up 12%. Of the 44 administrative divisions of Austrian eastern Galicia, Lviv (Polish: Lwów, German: Lemberg), the biggest and capital city of the province, was the only one in which Poles made up a majority of the population. Ukrainians represented about 16% of the total population of the pre-war Poland. Over 90% of them lived in the countryside, 3–6 percent were industrial workers, and close to 1% belonged to Intelligentsia. As to religion, 60 percent were Uniate Catholics and 39 percent professed Orthodox faith. While national consciousness among the Galician Ukrainians was very strong, the Ukrainians of Volhynia were largely influenced by strong Russophile trends and had pro-Soviet sympathies, while having little national inclination
  According to the Polish census of 1931 the following areas hosted a large number of Ukrainian population in Poland:
  Lwów Voivodeship; 57% Polish, 33% Ukrainian, 7% Yiddish, 3% Other
  Stanisławów Voivodeship; 69% Ukrainian, 23% Polish, 7% Yiddish, 1% German
  Tarnopol Voivodeship; 49% Polish, 46% Ukrainian, 5% Yiddish
  Wołyń Voivodeship; 68% Ukrainian, 17% Polish, 10% Yiddish, 2% German, 1% Russian, 2% Other
  Two contradicting policies towards national minorities were competing in Poland at the time. The assimilationist approach advocated by Roman Dmowski (minister of foreign affairs) and Stanisław Grabski (minister of religion and education) clashed with the more tolerant approach advocated by the Polish chief of State Józef Piłsudski, whose project of creating the Międzymorze federation with other states failed in the aftermath of the Polish-Soviet War. The ultranationalist Roman Dmowski and his National Democrats, with its consistent militantly anti-Ukrainian policies, was supported by the Polish minority in Eastern Galicia.
caption: Ukrainian and Ruthenian minority in the Second Polish Republic
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