DOI:10.17951/sb.2024.18.41-60 Studia Białorutenistyczne 18/2024 HISTORY, CULTURE AND SOCIOLOGY ISSN: 1898-0457 e-ISSN: 2449-8270 Licence: CC BY 4.0 Belarusian Studies 18/2024 Piotr Cichoracki University of Wrocław (Poland) e-mail: piotr.cichoracki@uwr.edu.pl https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2523-2679 Białorusini w II Rzeczypospolitej wobec europejskiego kryzysu politycznego 1938 roku* Byelorussians in the Second Republic in the Face of the European Political Crisis of 1938 Беларусы ў ІІ Рэчы Паспалітай перад абліччам еўрапейскага палітычнага крызісу 1938 гаду Abstract The European political crisis, which reached its climax in the autumn of 1938, heavily involved the Polish state. The most important form of the crisis was the ultimatum territorial demands on Czechoslovakia, which led to a sharp deterioration in Polish-Soviet relations. The citizens of the Second Republic reacted to the situation in different ways. A group of Belarusians stood out among others. The text contains a catalogue of attitudes registered within this national group. It identifies their determinants, as well as proposes interpretations of the consequences associated with the position voiced by the Belarusians of Poland. The observation covers national circles (originating from the Belarusian Christian Democracy), communist organisations (KPZB), as well as communities that operated outside the influence of political structures. The analysis of the sources leads to the conclusion that among a large part of the Belarusian population, sentiments reluctant or hostile to the Polish state prevailed. They treated the political crisis of 1938 as a possible danger and radical changes in their own situation. For many of them, this meant waiting for a Polish-Soviet armed conflict that would lead to the separation of the north-eastern provinces of the Second Republic. Keywords: Belarusians in the Second Polish Republic, crisis of 1938, Polish-Soviet relations * Publikowany dokument pozyskano i przygotowano do druku w ramach projektu naukowego „Kampania Polska 1939 roku – synteza”, prowadzonym w Akademii Sztuki Wojennej jako zadanie zlecone przez Ministerstwo Edukacji i Nauki na podstawie umowy nr MEiN/2021/ DPI/319. Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Bia?orutenistyczne http://bialorutenistyka.umcs.pl Data: 10/01/2025 13:08:29 UMCS