So there was this thing called Polonization whereby Poland seized land from the newly formed Western Ukrainian People’s Republic, Belarus, and Lithuania, among slivers of others. This was just flatly a land grab and imperialistic. More than that, they attempted to assimilate the minority populations, limiting the number of schools in their languages. Even when this was somewhat lessened, any Belarusian with a streak of pride was viewed with suspicion and seen as a communist spy.
Ukrainians faced a load of shit, destruction of Greek Orthodox churches explicitly in revenge for the dissolution of Catholic power by the Romanovs after Partition. Essentially taking it out on Ukrainians and Belarusians.
They then worked with the Nazis solely for the purpose of taking Czechoslovak territory. Poland is not colonial inasmuch as it was not a thing for most of the colonial era, but the 2nd Polish Republic was imperialist and locally colonialist with their goals of creating clear ethnic borders within their territory and with their neighbors, with the goal of Polonizing those caught in the middle
Actually, nevermind, after reading other comments in the thread you guys are making some valid points. However surprising the sentence “Poland collaborated with Nazis” sound like. But then was everyone else at that time :)
So there was this thing called Polonization whereby Poland seized land from the newly formed Western Ukrainian People’s Republic, Belarus, and Lithuania, among slivers of others. This was just flatly a land grab and imperialistic. More than that, they attempted to assimilate the minority populations, limiting the number of schools in their languages. Even when this was somewhat lessened, any Belarusian with a streak of pride was viewed with suspicion and seen as a communist spy.
Ukrainians faced a load of shit, destruction of Greek Orthodox churches explicitly in revenge for the dissolution of Catholic power by the Romanovs after Partition. Essentially taking it out on Ukrainians and Belarusians.
They then worked with the Nazis solely for the purpose of taking Czechoslovak territory. Poland is not colonial inasmuch as it was not a thing for most of the colonial era, but the 2nd Polish Republic was imperialist and locally colonialist with their goals of creating clear ethnic borders within their territory and with their neighbors, with the goal of Polonizing those caught in the middle
I am learning way more than I expected to going into this thread.
Is this a lesson in an alternate history class? I think I got lost.
Alternate history?
Actually, nevermind, after reading other comments in the thread you guys are making some valid points. However surprising the sentence “Poland collaborated with Nazis” sound like. But then was everyone else at that time :)