UKRAINIAN MINORITY - THE ISSUE OF THE RETURN TO THE FATHERLAND (1947-1959)

In 1947 the Ukrainian resettled from south-eastern Poland underwent assimilation processes. Cut off from their roots, not accepting the new situation, they started to return to their land, shortly after the 'Vistula' campaign. The year 1956 brought hopes, petitions to the authorities and the rise of the Ukrainian Social-Cultural Association. Individual families tried to legalize their come back. The returns caused anxiety among settlers, who protested strongly together with local authorities. As a result, central authorities dealt with the problem and finally managed to decrease the phenomenon in 1958. While 80% of the resettled population declared their will of return in the middle of the 50s, the strong attitude of the authorities allowed only 20% to come back to their land.