The Soviet occupation of Polish Lwów (September 1939–July 1941) in light of some unpublished British diplomatic reports by John Russell, R.D. Macrae and Thomas Preston

Abstract

The Soviet occupation of Polish Lwów between September 1939 and July 1941 is investigated in light of some unpublished British diplomatic reports contained in dossier F.O. (Foreign Office). 371, file 116 in the National Archives, London and produced from first-hand experience of conditions in the occupied lands. The missions, primarily to secure the safe exit of British and Jewish subjects, contain information contributing to an understanding of the radical changes brought about in that territory, its impromptu incorporation into the Ukrainian SSR, the beginnings of mass deportations both to Siberian GULags and kolkhoz farms in Kazakhstan, and the steady eradication of private ownership.