Ewakuacja Polaków z Archangielska i Murmańska w 1919 roku
Evacuation of Poles from Archangielsk and Murmańsk in 1919

Summary/Abstract: In the three shipwrecked transports by sea in 1919, Polish soldiers and civilian refugees from Archangelsk and Murmansk – ships “Stephen”, „Caritza” and „Helena” were evacuated at least 1093 people, including 369 officers and privates. Considering that Poles left the area of northern Russia also in small groups or individually, it can be estimated that the total number of Poles evacuated in 1919 from that region exceeded 1.5 thousand people. For comparison, evacuation by sea to Gdansk Poles from the Far East in 1920 – ships „Gweneth”, „Yaroslavl”, „Voronezh” and „Brandenburg” – covered a total of nearly 3.2 thousand. people, including 1744 officers and privates. Despite the difficulties arising from the limitation of Polish laws, the port of Gdansk in 1919–1920 was the most convenient place for receiving ships with Poles returning to the country. The dimensions of the described phenomenon are evidenced by data concerning the period from August 1919 to April 12, 1920 – in Gdańsk, 9,981 persons returning by ship to Poland were admitted at that time. Although another ship „Helena” with Polish soldiers evacuated from Arkhangelsk finished their flight not in Gdansk but in Szczecin, however, in 1920, the above-mentioned, four organized sea transports with reemigrants from the Far East came to Gdańsk. After the end of the First World War, Gdańsk fulfilled – to a limited extent – the role of the Polish „window to the world”, although it is worth noting that the implementation of the return of Polish soldiers from distant parts by the city being subject to a sharp Polish-German dispute was not used by the Polish authorities to strengthen de facto Polish position in the Baltic Sea port.

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