When the Soviets returned to the borderlands in 1944, they encountered guerrilla war in every western region except Moldova. However, they quickly acquired thousands of supporters among those who, during the first Soviet occupation, had begun to wonder whether their position at the rural bottom was natural or fair, and also those driven to the Soviet side by German repressions and the ethnic cleansing conducted by nationalists and German collaborators. This chapter examines the social basis, strategy, and methods of the anti-Soviet resistance groups, their policies toward other nationalists and Germany, and relations between guerrillas and civilians. Though strong at the beginning of the Soviet reoccupation, the resistance was undermined gradually by Soviet pacification, disbelief in victory, strategic mistakes, and terror unleashed against peasants who complied with government regulations.

The Social Basis of the Resistance

Who fought the Communists in the western borderlands? In 1939–1941, dissent centered on the cities, and opposition consisted mainly of intellectuals, professionals, former officers, and university students. The police quickly destroyed most urban underground cells and eliminated the potential urban troublemakers by preemptive deportations. During the Soviet reoccupation of 1944, the epicenter of opposition shifted to the countryside, although its leaders still came predominantly from the urban middle and lower middle classes. In the Baltic and Polish resistance movements, former officers took the top positions.