The First Civilian Uprising was Carried Out by High School Boys
When the Soviets invaded Poland there was very little resistance to stop them. All of the attention was focused on the German invasion. Therefore, when the Soviets advanced the number of people who stood in their way was very few. The Soviets annexed large areas of eastern Poland, including the town of Czortkow. Czortkow was made part of the Ukrainian SSR and the new rulers of the area quickly started repressing the large Polish population.
46.4% of the population of Czortkow was Polish and they were not willing to accept the new restrictions, and being annexed. By October 1939 a Resistance group, called the National Alliance, was formed by mostly students at the local high school. The students and their teacher were founders of the organization, and it grew as the repression of the people increased. Several of the students, Tadeusz Bankowski, Henryk Kaminski, Heweliusz Malawski and their teacher Jozef Opacki, decided to rise up against their oppressors.
In December of 1939, the Soviets diverted troops from the garrison at Czortkow to send them to fight the Winter War in Finland. With a large number of the troops gone from the garrison, the National Alliance believed it was their chance to attack. They wanted to attack the barracks and then free a number of Polish Army prisoners that were being held in the local prison. If they were successful, they then planned to take over the post office, hospital and railway station, they even wanted to seize a train and blow up the rail bridge.
About 100 to 250 people gathered and were divided into four groups to accomplish all of the objectives of the uprising. However, the group underestimated the Soviet strength and were quickly overpowered by the number of soldiers in the barracks. Fourteen Poles and three Soviets died in the uprising attempt. The next day the Soviets arrested 150 people they believed were involved. They brutally tortured 24 students, exiled 55 men in Siberia, and killed several of the students and conspirators.