FROM THE HISTORY OF THE POLISH CIVIL SPECIAL SERVICES IN THE TERRITORY OF INTERWAR VOLHYNIA AND GALICIA: DEPARTMENT IV–D AND ITS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE (1920 – 1923)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to elucidate the organizational structure of one of the Polish civilian special services – Division IV–D on the territories of Volhynia and Galicia in 1920 – 1923. From the first days of regaining independence in 1918, Poland began work on the creation of special services – an integral attribute of every country. During the interwar period, the functions of the security service on the territory of the Second Polish Republic were performed by military and civilian units. One of the civilian security structures was the political police, namely its Department IV–D, which conducted its activities in 1920 – 1923 within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The article focuses on the organization of this structure on the territory of Volhynia and Galicia.

The research methodology is based on the use of general scientific and specially historical research methods, including problem-chronological, synchronous, diachronic, comparative and historical and the others. The scientific novelty is that the authors tried, on the basis of unpublished archival materials, to highlight comprehensively the organizational structure of Department IV–D on the territory of Volhynia, Lviv, Ternopil and Stanislaviv voivodships of the Second Polish Republic.

The Conclusion. It has been determined that Department IV–D had its branches in every voivodeship center of the studied region – Lutsk, Lviv, Ternopil and Stanislaviv. At the poviat level, agencies of Department IV–D were located in Lutsk, Rivne, Ostroh, Kremenets, Volodymyr, Lviv, Peremyshl, Husiatyn, Skalat, Pidvolochysk (later in Ternopil), Stanislaviv, Stryi, Kolomyia, Turka and Sniatyn. The proper work of this special service was hindered by personnel and material problems, as well as competence misunderstandings both with other units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and with the administrative authorities. In the course of its short-term activity, the structural units of Department IV–D failed at skillful fulfilling of their duties and ensuring of safety in the social and political sphere. As a result, this led to the termination of Department IV–D and the creation of a new security structure – Information Service, which had similar tasks but a different system of organization and subordination.

Key words: Volhynia, Galicia, Poland, political police, special services.