Szczegóły aresztowania lidera polskich Tatarów Olgierda Kryczyńskiego w Wilnie w lutym 1941 roku

Abstract

The article details the arrest of Olgierd Najman-Mirza Kryczynski, one of the most prominent representatives of the Polish-Lithuanian Tatar intelligentsia, in Vilnius in February of 1941. After being transferred from Warsaw to Vilnius, Kryczynski, as a prosecutor and social activist, became a target of NKVD repressions. He was accused of collaborating with the Cri¬mean Tatar independence movements and counter-revolutionary activities. His trial, based on false accusations, ended with a death sentence, carried out in 1942. The investigation documents reveal the brutality of the Soviet apparatus of repression and the mechanisms used to eliminate national elites. Kryczynski was rehabilitated only in 1989. The article is an important contribution to research on the fate of Polish Tatars and their struggle to preserve their identity in the 20th century.