They wanted to turn them into Poles. V. Danilovich - why Belarusians deserve the holiday on September 17

Belarusians deserved the Day of National Unity – they suffered sweat and blood. This was told to the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti” by Deputy of the Standing Commission on Education, Culture and Science of the House of Representatives Vyacheslav Danilovich.

Nothing happens by accident

V. Danilovich stressed that only thanks to unity in the desire to live on their land, our ancestors survived at the geopolitical crossroads, which since ancient times is Belarus.

- In history, there is nothing accidental, — said the interlocutor. It is unity that underlies all of our current successes and achievements. No matter what field we work in, it makes sense to understand and feel the fundamental importance of unity. Belarusians should not lose it if they want to preserve the sovereignty of Belarus, peace and tranquility in our land.

We haven't forgotten anything

Looking back, Vyacheslav Viktorovich touched in detail on the processes that took place in interwar Poland.

- As a historian, I was deeply hooked by the fact that in that multinational Poland, the essence of the internal policy of the authorities was defined cynically, with a fair amount of nationalism, to say the least: “Poland is for the Poles.” Poles made up only 64% of the population. With regard to national minorities, not only the articles of the Treaty of Riga and the Treaty of Versailles, but also the Polish Constitution were cynically violated, the source said. I have already quoted this idea a hundred years ago, but how can you forget the words of the Polish Minister of Justice Meisztowicz, who enthusiastically declared: “The Belarusian ethnographic mass must be converted into the Polish people.” They did not even consider Belarusians a people!

Indirectly polemicizing primarily with Western politicians and scientists who fan the myth of the happy share of Western Belarus as part of Poland, V. Danilovich noted:

The policy of legal discrimination against national minorities was logically developed in the official statement of the Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck at the meeting of the League of Nations in Geneva. In September 1934, he publicly announced the thesis about the refusal of Poland from the previously given guarantees for the observance of the rights of national minorities.

In addition, the expert recalled that in the same year in Birch-Kartuzskaya (now - Birch). A concentration camp was created.

- The regime of prisoners in it was not inferior to the barbaric order in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. In 1934, Poland signed a non-aggression treaty and a secret protocol on the partition of Czechoslovakia. And all this happened against the background of blatant social injustice and religious oppression of people. We are talking about our ancestors, Belarusians.

Spirit of the people

V. Danilovich with great enthusiasm told about how strong was the core of the national consciousness.

- A broad Belarusian national liberation movement has unfolded in Western Belarus, in which representatives of various political forces took part: from communists to national democrats. Thus, in 1921-1925 Belarusian partisan detachments (up to 10,000 people) operated on the territory of Western Belarus, which were organized by communists and SRs. Particularly outrageous was the action carried out by the partisan detachment of Kirill Orlovsky. His partisans seized the train in which the Polesie voivode Stanislav Dovnarovich was traveling. They made a show flogging, after which he resigned. Polish newspapers then were full of headlines that now the voivode dismisses not the government, and Belarusian partisans.

Our expert also reminded that the policy of destroying the spiritual foundations of the Belarusian people, which was implemented by the Polish authorities, did not give the desired effect.

- Shortly before September 1939, sociological studies showed that even among Belarusian Catholics, not everyone considered himself a Pole, let alone Orthodox Belarusians. And then, in order to accelerate the processes of assimilation, the idea of resettling Belarusians of Western Belarus to various regions of indigenous Poland ripened in the minds of the ruling Polish elites. That would be the apogee of ethnocide politics! After all, the Polish authorities have no less conceived to deprive the Belarusians of their homeland! This monstrous plan was prevented by the Red Army’s liberation campaign in Western Belarus.

About the rally in Loshitsky Park

V. Danilovich highly appreciated the initiative of the CPB and the Minsk-Novosti agency, which held a rally on the eve of the Day of National Unity in Loshitskaya Estate; in memory of the secret special school of the CPB organized there in 1924 under the code name “Garden”. He said in particular:

- Let's be honest. The activities of the Communists and Komsomol members of Western Belarus largely ensured the success of the Red Army’s liberation campaign. Of course, it is important for us to preserve and popularize the historical memory of the activities of the CPB, including the party special school in Loshitska Estate in Minsk. This is a very interesting and promising initiative.

Governmental approach

Recalling the words of the President, who called heroes all those who stood in the vanguard of the struggle in 1939, when the Red Army went to the aid of the Belarusians, leading a selfless struggle for their national dignity, V. Danilovich noted:

Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly stressed the importance of unity in the history and modernity of the Belarusian people. It is impossible to disagree with him. Indeed, all those who were at the forefront of the struggle for the reunification of the Belarusian people were our true heroes. After all, they were in the vanguard of restoring historical justice and truth, deliberately sacrificing their young lives and health – all the things that people are used to cherish most by definition.

Concluding the conversation, the well-known Belarusian scientist and politician said that he sees September 17 as one of the key public holidays in Belarus:

I think it will be a solemn and joyful day for many years to come when all citizens of the Republic of Belarus will be proud of their unity. But in fact, it is a holiday that our ancestors suffered sweat and blood and actually passed on to us as an inheritance.

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