A thematic exhibition “September 17, 1939 in the Fate of Belarusians” dedicated to the day of national unity is on show in the Legal Information Reading Room (room 207b) from August 20 to September 20.
On September 17, 1939, one of the most significant milestones in the history of Belarus took place. The Red Army entered the territory of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine. The Polish troops retreated, offering practically no resistance (because they were invaded by Nazis from the West) to the superior forces of the Red Army. By the beginning of October, the former "Kresy Wschodnie" became Soviet territory. The campaign of the Red Army in Western Belarus, with all the ambiguity of its assessment in the past and present (as the USSR were allies of the Nazi Germany at that time), was of great importance for the Belarusian people since the unification of the eastern and western territories in a single state created the preconditions for the construction of a new life. On November 14, 1939, the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR adopted the Law "On the Admission of Western Belarus to the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic." After reunification with the BSSR, a new administrative-territorial division was introduced on the territory of Western Belarus: regions, districts, village councils were formed. As a result, the territory of the BSSR increased to 225,7 thousand km2, and the population doubled and amounted to 10 million 200 thousand people. In the context of the outbreak of World War II, the population of these territories for a short time was under the protection of the Soviet state. After the liberation of the western regions of the BSSR from the German Nazi invaders, the formation of the Soviet and party organs was continued, and under their leadership, the work on the restoration of the national economy began.
The current state of Belarusian society requires constant reference to the past, comprehension of the most important stages in the development of statehood, especially in critical, defining periods of national history. The study of documents allows not only to recreate a true picture of the past but also to understand the meaning of the events taking place, their interrelation and interdependence.
The exhibition includes more than 30 documents: books, abstracts of dissertations, periodicals in Russian and Belarusian.
The exhibition is designed for a wide range of scientific workers – lawyers, historians, political scientists, as well as teachers, students, ethnographers and everyone who is interested in the history of our motherland.
The exhibition includes the following thematic sections:
- The unification of Western Belarus with the BSSR as a stage on the way to the Belarusian national idea
- Significance of the act of reunification of Western Belarus with the BSSR for the development of Belarusian statehood
- International relations through the lens of the events of September 17, 1939
- September 17 in the history of the country: documents, materials
The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the library’s opening hours.
Admission is by the library card or by the Social and Cultural Centre ticket.
For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 28.
