Battle of Lemberg (1918): Difference between revisions

|combatant2={{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]]

The '''Battle of Lemberg (Lviv, Lwów)''' (in Polish historiography called ''{{lang|pl|obrona Lwowa}}'', the '''Defense of Lwów'''<ref>[[Stanisław Nicieja]], Legenda Lwowskich Orląt, [w:] Lwów wśród nas. {{ISBN|83-60117-06-3}}</ref>) took place from November 1918 to May 1919 and was a six-month long conflict in the [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|region of Galicia]] following the [[Dissolution of Austria-Hungary|dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. The battle was fought between forces of the local [[West Ukrainian People's Republic]] and urban [[PolesPolish people|Polish]] resistance, assisted later by the invading [[Polish Land Forces|Polish military]] for the control over the city of [[Lviv]]. The battle sparked the [[Polish-Ukrainian War]], ultimately won by [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]] as both nations fought the [[Ukrainian–Soviet War|Ukrainian-Soviet War]] and [[Polish–Soviet War|Polish-Soviet Wars]] concurrently.

The modern city of [[Lviv]] was called ''Lviv'' by the Ukrainians, ''Lwów'' by the Poles, and ''Lemberg'' by the Austrians and is the largest city in the historical region of [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|eastern Galicia]]. According to the Austrian census of 1910, which listed religion and language, 5152% of the city's population were [[Roman Catholics]], 2831% Jews, and 1915% belonged to thewere [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholics]]. Linguistically, 86% of the city's population used the Polish language and 11% preferred the Ukrainian language, so most of the inhabitants of Lemberg (Lwów, Lviv) were Poles.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qxooAAAAYAAJ&dq=105%2C469+Roman+Catholics+population+1910&q=lemberg#v=snippet&q=lemberg&f=false New International Encyclopedia, Volume 13]. 1915. ''Lemberg'.'. pg. 760</ref><ref>Timothy Snyder. (2003). ''The Reconstruction of Nations.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. pg. 134</ref> In eastern Galicia, Ukrainians made up approximately 6158% of the population, while Poles made up 2730%, and Jews about 11% of the population<ref>Timothy Snyder. (2003). ''The Reconstruction of Nations.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. pg. 123</ref> and were numerically superior in the cities.<ref>Norman Davies, ''God's playground: a history of Poland in two volumes'', Oxford University Press, 2005, [https://books.google.com/books?id=9Tbed6iMNLEC&pg=PA379&dq=cities+numerical+superiority+Poles&hlpg=pl&ei=h2oYTJ2ACdXI_gbFspCLDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=cities%20numerical%20superiority%20Poles&f=falsePA379 p. 379]</ref>

As a part of the Austrian partition of Poland,<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/466910/Partitions-of-Poland Encyclopædia Britannica, Partitions of Poland]</ref> Lemberg became center of Polish culture and scholarship,<ref>Paul R. Magocsi, ''Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples'', University of Toronto Press, 1999 [https://books.google.com/books?id=dbUuX0mnvQMC&pg=PA1057&dq=Lviv+center+of+Polish+culture+scholarship&hlpg=pl&ei=eB8aTJOqJ8GB_QbNk8SDCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAgPA1057 p. 1057],</ref> as well as Polish and Ukrainian political activity.

Chaos during the Polish take-over of the city culminated in a two-day-long riot, in which mostly Polish criminals and soldiers started pillaging the city; over the course of the riots, approximately 340 civilians, 2/3 of them Ukrainians and the rest Jews, were murdered.<ref name="ND">Norman Davies. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SOFkWX8EC4cC&pg=PA1012&dq=lwow+pogrom+1918+killed++jews&eipg=30HASPveLIyYyATwlKiRDg&sig=ACfU3U30AZS2LbGlIGHT5aGD2ic7lFJ6eQPA1012 "Ethnic Diversity in Twentieth Century Poland."] In: Herbert Arthur Strauss. Hostages of Modernization: Studies on Modern Antisemitism, 1870-1933/39. Walter de Gruyter, 1993.</ref> The Jews were accused of cooperating with Ukrainians, and it was claimed that approximately 150 Jews were murdered and 500 Jewish shops and businesses were ransacked in reprisal,<ref>Hagen, [https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0801489695&id=gXisr7fgDjwC&pg=RA1-PA9&lpg=RA1-PA9&ots=HPSNgrvsRx&dq=pogrom+Lwow+November+1918+150&sigpg=VRA1-JY9HReUnS7ga1y1yZ7meByLZgPA9 p.9]</ref> although the [[Morgenthau report|Morgenthau commission]] reported only 64 Jewish deaths.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} Historian Andrzej Kapiszewski noted: "the anti-Semitism of the local populations led to many anti-Jewish outbreaks, especially in the Eastern territories, where the Jewish population was particularly large".<ref>[http://www.studiajudaica.pl/sj14kapi.pdf Andrzej Kapiszewski (2004). Controversial Reports on the situation of Jews in Poland in the aftermath of World War I, ''Studia Judaica'', pp.257-304] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006100322/http://www.studiajudaica.pl/sj14kapi.pdf |date=2007-10-06 }}</ref> After establishing order within the city, Polish authorities punished a number of people accused of participation in riots.

*[https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0801489695&id=gXisr7fgDjwC&pg=RA1-PA124&lpg=RA1-PA124&ots=HPSNgrvAPB&dq=Pogrom+Lwow&sigpg=SWR4TaY2H9bB2aSR5kstqFdCCW4RA1-PA124 ''William H. Hagen'' The Moral Economy of Popular Violence:The Pogrom in Lwow, November 1918] in Antisemitism And Its Opponents In Modern Poland (edited by Robert Blobaum) {{ISBN|0-8014-4347-4}}

[[Category:Battles involvingof Polandthe Polish–Ukrainian War|Lwow 1918]]

[[Category:HistoryLviv ofin Lvivthe Russian Civil War]]