PROPOSED EASTERN BOUNDARIES OF POLAND 1918-1921

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 5, 2012
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: May 12, 1943
• Content Type: REPORT

//1/1.1 If 1 /
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1 .
i.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
7)1 _L--
(11C(4inr?
Proposed Eastern Boundaries of Poland
1918-192?
(See map of these lines, 1:2,000,000 on
photostatic base in my file. A. R. H.)
February 9, 1918 - Treaty between the Central Powers and the
Ukraine, Brest-Litovsk. Article 2 delimited the western
and part of the northern boundary of the Ukrainian People's
Republic, giving the Chelm area west of the Bug River to
the Ukraine. Provided for mixed commission to demarcate
the line,"according to the ethnographical conditions and
after taking the wishes of the inhabitants into considera-
tion". (1),(2),(5).
March 4, 1918 - A protocol to Article- 2 of the Ukrainian treaty
provided that the boundary commission was not bound to
trace the line delimited in the article, but could place
it to the east of the points specified. The commission
was to be composed of representatives of the Central
Powers and the Ukraine and Poland. This and alleged secret
clauses to the original treaty were apparently intended as ?
concessions to Polish opinion, for Austro-Hungarian of-
ficials hoped to incorporate Russian Poland. (1),(2),(5).
March 3, 1918 - Treaty between the Central Powers and Russia,
Brest-Litovsk. Article 3 and Appendix 1 delimit the western
boundary of Russia from islands of Dago and Worms off Es-
thonian coast to Prushany (pruzana) on the new Ukranian
boundary. (3), (4), (5).
October 8, 1918 - Dmowski, President of Polish National Committee
presented President Wilson with memorandum outlining Polish
territorial claims. These were based on frontiers of 1772.lb).
January 29, 1919 - Dmowski presented Polish claims to Council of
Five in Paris. On the east these were considerably short
of the 1772 boundaries. Suggested that Lithuania be united
to Poland. (7).
January 21, 1919 - Tentative Report of Intelligence Section, U.S.
Delegation to the Peace_Conference. Amplifying Wilson's
Point 13, it recommended a Polish state with indisputably
Polish populations, a union of Poland and Litnuania if pos-
sible, and East Galicia to be given to Poland if it was
not united with the Ukraine. With Lithuania and East Galicia
united to Poland, the projected eastern boundary would have
been close to the Treaty of Riga (1921) boundary. (8),(9).
April 22, 1919 - Report No. 2 of the Commission on Polish Affairs
of the Peace Conference dealt with the eastern boundary.
The Line
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDPO8C01297R000500160029-1
,
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
- 2 -
The line delimited, from the frontier of East Prussia
to a point on the Bug River opposite Chelm, was intended
to mark the area within which the majority of the in-
habitants were Poles, and which was indisputably Polish.
The Commission recommended that districts in which there
was doubt as to the ethnographic character or wishes of
the population should not be assigned to Poland at that
time, but that an enquiry should be conducted on the
spot, if possible, and a definite settlement reached as
soon as this was done and when a Russian government had
been established with which the Great Powers could deal. ('9
The position of the line locally had been determined by a
desire to give Poland a frontier as well marked by natural
features and as defensible as possible in the east European
plain. The Svisloch (Swislocz) and Bug Rivers and the edge
of the forest east of Bielsk were followed. Several rail-
road junctions east of Bielsk were considered in allocating
territory to Poland. (11).
June 16, '1919 -Report No. 3 of Commission on Polish Affairs
dealt with East Galicia. The Commission considered several
solutions to the East Galicia question:
(a) Independence.
(b) Provisional autonomy for a term of years:
(1) under a League of Nations high commissioner.
(2) under Anandate to a great power or to some
, neighboring power.
(c) Attachment_to Poland either directly or under an
agreement for local autonomy.
(d) Immediate plebiscite under control of League of
Nations.
Since the western boundary of East Galicia would depend
somewhat upon what disposition was made of the area; two
alternate lines were suggested, one including Lemberg (Lwow)
and the Drohobyea oil fields in East Galicia and the other
excluding them. The eastern, southern, and northern boun-
daries of East Galicia were to remain the same as in 1914.(12).
June 25,1919 - Council of Ministers of the Peace Conference
resolved to allow Polish military occupation of East Galicia,
subject to later agreement as to its ultimate sovereignty. (13').
August 29,1919 - The Sub-commission,of the Polish commission
considering the eastern boundary 'of Poland declared that
its proposed line was subject to negotiation between Poland
and Russia under League auspices. (14).
September
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
- 3 -
September 1, 1919 - Report No. 6 of the Commission on Polish
Affairs completed the recommendation for a provisional
eastern frontier. It delimited the line from the point
on the Bug River opposite Chelm, up the Bug to the former
boundary between Austtia-Hungary and Russia, thus filling
in the gap left by Reports 2 and 3. The Chelm area had a
high percentage of Ukrainian population, but had been part
of Congress Poland until 1912, and the legal system and
cultural characteristics tied it more closely to Poland
than to the Ukraine. The Commission recommended that its
completed line be declared the eastern limit of indisputable
Polish sovereignty, without prejudging the final disposi-
tion of Ukranian and White Russian areas east of the line. (15).
November 20, 1919 - Draft statute for East Galicia prepared giv-
ing Poland a mandate under the League of Nations for 25
years. This was accepted by the SupremeCouncil the next
day. The western of the two alternate boundary proposals
was accepted. (16).
December 8, 1919 - Note from Supreme Council to Poland delimiting
the provisional eastern boundary. The text described the
lines proposed on April 22 and September 1, but the accom-
panying map showed in addition the line for East Galicia
. adopted November 21. (17).
December 22, 1919 - Heads of Delegations of the keace Conference
suspended 25 year limit on Polish mandate for East Galicia.
The effect was to leave East Galician affairs entirely up
to the Poles. (18).
July 10-11, 1920 - Allied representatives, meeting at Spa, at-
tempted to mediate. Polish-Russian war. Polish Prime Minister
Grabski agreed to sign armistice and have Polish army re-
tire to line fixed by Supreme Council December 8, 1919.
Vilna was to be handed to Lithuania. In East Galicia the
Polish and Russian armies would stand on the line they had
reached at the time of the armistice. Lord Curzon, British
Foreign Secretary, then wired the Soviet government asking
it to agree to these terms. In the despatch he described
the line of-December 8, 1919, including theillhe:aqopted
by the Supreme Council for East Galicia in November, 1919,
but the armistice terms for East Galicia were to be as des-
cribed above. In this way, the line of December 8 came
to be called the Curzon line, but it is uncertain whether
or not the term should apply to the proposed boundary in
East Galicia. (19), (20).
August
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
- 4 -
August, 1920 - Russia did not accept these terms, but offered
the Poles counter proposals instead. According to United
States diplomatic sources, these included modification
of the Curzon line giving Poland more favorable terms in
the Chelm area but including Bielostock in Russia and
provisions for a Russian corridor or rights of transit to
German territory. (21).
October 12, 1920 - Preliminary treaty of peace signed by Poland
and the Soviet governments, Riga, after. Russians had been
driven far to east of Curzon line. Article 1 defined thefl
boundkry. (22).
March18, 1921 - Final treaty between Poland and the Soviets,
Riga. Article 2 defined the boundary from frontier between
Russia and Latvia to the confluence of the River Zbrucz
with the Dniester, giving more territory to Poland than
had been provided for in the preliminary treaty of October
12, 1920. (23).
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
I Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
- 5 -
(1) Texts of the Ukraine "Peace". With Maps.
(Washington, 1918) U. S. Department of State,
House Inquiry Series, No. 29. ,
(2) John W. Wheeler-Bennett, The Forgotten Peace, Brest-
Litovsk, March, 1918. (New York, 1939) pp. 235,
255, 392-402. The map in this volume is poor.
(3) Texts of the Russian ?Peace". With Maps. (Washington
1918) U. S. Department of State, House Inquiry
Handbooks. No. 28. ,
(4) Wheeler-Bennett, m. cit., ',pp. 403=408.
(5) Proceedings of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Conference,
21 November 1917-3 March, 1918. (Washington, 1918)
U. S. Department of State, House Inquiry Handbooks, No.4.
(6) A Map in Ge, 310 fat) 1918, copy 1. The Proposed
Frontiers of Poland, dated Washington, October 8,
1918, appears to be from a Polish source, perhaps
Dmowski.
(7)
American Commission to Negotiate the Peace, Paris,
1918-1919388-186.311/3, pp. 2-3 for text.
Map in front of 186.311/2. (These documents here-
after cited as Peace Conference.)
(8) Peace Conference, 185.112/1
lc
(9) Hunter Miller, My Diary at the Peace Conference, 144,
pp. 224-226, map No. 6, opposite P. 226.
(10) Peace Conference, 142/140-181.213202/3.
(11) Peace Conference, X1141-181.2132101/3-7.
(12) Peace Conference,Ak140-181.213202/4. 'Includes map
showing the two lines.
(13) Peace Conference,it140-:181.213202/6.
(.14) Peace Conference 141-181.2132101/49,
(15) Peace Conference,N;q40-181.213202/10.
(16) Peace Conference,HRY140-181.213202/8 for map of
line finally adopted.
A"- itko ///9- /F/, 2,/3202./34J /V,3505,'
(17)
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1
4 46-7.-171--4.
- 6 -
(17) Peace Conference,-ft391-16.3111/509. Includes map.
(1g) Peace Conference, -97--'10.03501/115,. p. 1.
(19) Peace Conference,4e278-184.612/83S.
(20) London Times, July 15, 1920, P. 9.
(21) DCA -.760 C.61/164-Riga (Young) August 10, 1920.
(22) Preliminary treaty of Peace and Armistice Conditions,
Riga, October 12, 1920. LTS. 4 (1921) pp. 9-40.
(23) Treaty of Peace, Riga, March 1, 1921. LTS 6 (1921)
PP. 52-157.
' Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/05: CIA-RDP08C01297R000500160029-1