Western Belorussia

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Western Belorussia is the western part of modern Belarus that used to belong to Poland between World War I and World War II. It covered areas now in Grodno and Brest, parts of Minsk and Vitebsk, and also touched on today’s Podlaskie in Poland and southeastern Lithuania, including Vilnius.

In the interwar years (1919–1939) this region was the northern part of Poland’s Kresy borderlands. Belarusians lived alongside Poles and Lithuanians. Poland promoted Polish language and culture, while Belarusian language and churches faced pressure. The Belarusian national movement grew but faced repression under Polish rule. After Poland’s wars and political changes, the area’s status remained unsettled until World War II.

In 1939, after the invasion of Poland, the Soviet Union annexed Western Belorussia and added it to the Byelorussian SSR. Vilnius and some nearby areas were later separated and given to Lithuania. The new Soviet administration began nationalizing land, launching collectivization, and deporting many people to the east. The Baltic and Polish communities faced harsh repression, with tens of thousands of Poles deported and many others killed or imprisoned.

During the German occupation (1941–1944) the region was part of Reichskommissariat Ostland. Some Belarusians supported Nazi Germany, and Belarusian collaborators formed local police units that participated in the Holocaust and other crimes.

After World War II, borders were redrawn again. Most of Western Belorussia stayed in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR), while a small area around Białystok returned to Poland. Minsk remained the capital of the enlarged BSSR. The new borders largely resemble today’s divisions, with Vilnius remaining in Lithuania.

Today, Western Belorussia is the western half of modern Belarus, including Grodno and Brest regions and parts of Minsk and Vitebsk. It also touches areas in Poland’s Podlaskie and southeastern Lithuania (including Vilnius). The region is home to a Belarusian minority, a significant Polish community, and organizations like the Union of Poles in Belarus.