Horse Theft in Interwar Poland

Abstract

Horse theft on Polish lands was a serious problem already in the 19th century, which did not decrease until independent Poland in 1918. In the years 1914–1921 the decline of the horse population was influenced not only by thieves called horse rustlers (Polish: koniokrady). It was influenced by the military units, which in the years 1914–1921 took part in war struggles, which were particularly painfully experienced by Malopolska, Lubelszczyzna, as well as other areas in the East called Kresy. All armies invoking the laws of war legally requisitioned or illegally robbed horses. The independent Second Polish Republic never freed itself from the phenomenon of horse theft. In the years 1918–1939 between 80 and 100 thousand horses were stolen in Poland, out of which more than 50% occurred in the Eastern Borderlands (Polish: Kresy Wschodnie). In interwar Poland horses were stolen by individual thieves or entire gangs specialized in this crime. These were well-organized criminal groups, whose thefts were preceded by long preparations and observations. The gangs cooperated with fences and dishonest village leaders, who arranged documentation to legalize the theft of horses, which the thieves had previously changed their coat colour. Such horses were bought at fairs at competitive prices by trusted individuals, often interested in foreign smuggling. In 1938 the police ascertained that 705 horse thieves and 200 horse fences lived in Poland. All nationalities living in the Second Polish Republic were involved in this type of crime. However, the Roma, a relatively small number living in Poland, led the way in mass horse abductions. In the poor Polish countryside horse thieves were the most hated group of criminals, caught by the inhabitants several times became victims of lynching, which a few horse thieves did not survive.