|
Dear Group:
Let me back up a little to the history of Kresy after World War I. First of all in most of the Kresy area, ethnic Poles were always in the minority, sometimes not by much, but still usually a minority. Secondly, war is a catalyst of change. When Poland was a nation again, young people especially wanted to begin anew. Fertile, inexpensive land was to be had in Kresy. Third, after the war was over the Kresy area was still not technically in Poland. There was still fighting with Ukrainians, possibly others, over the land. Last, came the Polish-Soviet War which was over in 1920. Many veterans of this war received Kresy land grants from the Polish Government.
I should not have written that some osadas performed military functions in my earlier post. I have read the book Stalin's Ethnic Cleansing in Eastern Poland: Tales of the Deported, 1940-1946 at least three times, and only once did I read about military parade. I think a few of the settlers could have been with the border patrol, which is normal. All countries have a military presence at border crossings, etc. This has always been done, and had to be done in this case since on the other side was the USSR. My aunt reported that there were no military functions in Hallerczyn.
The settlers were pioneers, starting from scratch. They had to build schools, houses, churches, post offices. They had to establish their livelihood and life. It was very hard, especially at the beginning, but they got much accomplished during the inter-war years.
As I wrote before, the word osada was not always used to describe the settlements. My family did not use the word. It could be that osada was used in the more northern areas of Kresy whereas in the South it was not used. However, in my grandfather's ankiety he stated he was an "osadnik."
Yesterday I wrote,"If your family lived in a place
1. that (USUALLY) had a patriotic-sounding name
2. that was on the Polish-Russian border or very close to the border
chances are your family lived in an osada too."
Today I'd like to add to the above:
3. that was built some time after the end of World War I, and most probably after 1920 or even later.
4. that does not appear on any modern map as far as you know. (You've tried many times and come up empty-handed.)
5. whose residents were primarily ethnically Polish.
Sometimes these things require a lot of sleuthing. If your grandfather served in Pilsudski's Legiony, chances are he was an osadnik/settler. If you know that your grandparents moved to Kresy after World War I from elsewhere in Poland, there's a good chance that they were osadniks.
If you have the name of the place and can't locate it on any map, chances are it was an osada and was destroyed. If someone could tell me when the osadi was, I would appreciate it. This was done after the war I'm assuming, by the Soviets or by their command.
Two of my grandfather's brothers did not settle in an osada but moved to an established village or small town, Czabarowka. They both had farms on the outskirts I assume, and Czabarowka can be found on maps today. However, my grand uncle Feliks also wrote "osadnik" on his ankiety, I think. I suppose that all people who were born in other parts of Poland and moved to Kresy after World War I were considered osadnik(s). These people didn't necessarily have to live in an osada, but I feel most of them did.
On documents, an osada would probably be listed as so:
Hallerczyn (osada - sometimes with Os., the abbreviation, before the name)
Wysocko (village next to Hallerczyn, which still exists)
Brody (powiat/county/raion)
Tarnopol (woj./state/province/oblast)
Congratulations, Jan, on finding your father's place of birth! Very exciting news! Thanks for Leonowka, Rich. Good luck, everyone, in your search.
Best regards,
Eve Jesionka Jankowicz
USA
| 
Send Email
