Failing to Create Revolutionaries: Polish POWs in Soviet Captivity, 1920–21

Abstract

This article examines the Bolshevik Party’s efforts to radicalize tens of thousands of Polish prisoners of war (POWs) held in makeshift prison camps across Soviet Russia in the aftermath of the Soviet-Polish War of 1919−20. The end goal was to create a new cadre of Polish revolutionaries to agitate for revolutionary change on repatriation. These propaganda efforts were almost entirely undermined by a series of everyday problems from rudimentary camp living conditions and violence against prisoners to disease and ineffective leadership by Soviet institutions. This article will show, however, that as part of these efforts, the Bolsheviks committed to safeguarding POW welfare, mirroring international standards set by the Hague conventions, even if this was primarily designed to better cultivate revolutionaries and was rarely met in practice. In a comparative sense, therefore, the everyday lives of Polish POWs and their management by Soviet authorities did not markedly differ from the POW experience across Europe, where other governments likewise made claims about safeguarding welfare and often failed to deliver. Contrary to existing interpretations of early Soviet POW camps, which present these as unique stepping-stones to the future Stalinist GULAG, this article shows stronger continuities with past practices.