Polish Camps for Red Army Prisoners of War in the 1919–1924s:
Modern Russian-Polish Approaches
The article discusses modern Russian and Polish historiography, devoted to the organization, functioning and liquidation of Polish camps for the Red Army prisoners of war who were captured during the Soviet-Polish War of 1919–1920. The history of the camps for the Red Army prisoners of war Polish authors begin with the creation of German camps in Poland during World War I. After the repatriation the camps continued to contain interned members of anti-Soviet armed groups and members of their families. Without considering the methodology of establishing the total number of prisoners and deceased, the author raises the question of interpreting the causes of the Red Army prisoners of war massive loss in Polish captivity. The researchers’ opinions range from the objective impossibility of the Polish authorities to provide prisoners with proper conditions to a targeted policy of destroying the Red Army soldiers by famine, cold, and refusal of medical care.