Invasion of Poland Ternopil

tarnopol voivodeship

at onset of world war ii, soviet invasion of poland began on september 17, 1939. red army entered eastern poland in furtherance of secret molotov–ribbentrop pact , contrary soviet–polish non-aggression pact. tarnopol captured, renamed ternopol, , incorporated ukrainian soviet socialist republic under ternopol oblast. soviets made first priority decimate polish intelligentsia , destroy polish culture. ukrainian nationalist leaders imprisoned. mass arrests, torture , executions of ukrainians , poles followed. soviets carried out mass deportations of enemies of working class kazakhstan. in practice, translated members of former state administration, police, border service , land , business owners.

on 2 july 1941, city occupied nazis led jewish pogrom, , continued exterminating population creating tarnopol ghetto. thousands of jews murdered @ belzec extermination camp. many ukrainians sent forced labour germany. in years 1942–1943, polish armia krajowa active opposing nazi rule , defending ethnic poles violence ukrainian nationalists. during soviet offensive in march , april 1944, city encircled. in march 1944, city declared fortified place (gates reich) adolf hitler, defended until last round fired. stiff german resistance caused extensive use of heavy artillery red army on march 7–8, resulting in complete destruction of city , killing of german occupants (55 survivors out of 4,500). unlike many other occasions, germans had practised scorched earth policy during withdrawal territories of soviet union, devastation caused directly hostilities. ternopol occupied red army on 15 april 1944. after second soviet occupation, 85% of city s living quarters destroyed. due heavy destruction, regional seat moved chortkiv.

following defeat of nazi germany, ethnic polish population of tarnopol , region forcibly deported postwar poland , settled in, , near wrocław (among other locations), part of stalinist ethnic cleansing in soviet ukraine. in following decades, ternopol rebuilt in typical soviet style , few buildings reconstructed.

euromaidan in ternopil

ternopil has been part of sovereign ukraine since august, 24 1991.