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Following the end of World War I, the refugees returned home. The occupying Germans left Divin almost overnight. Diviners looked forward to the arrival of Soviet troops and government.
The Poles and Soviets fought a brief war in the region in 1919 – 1921. The Poles arrived in Divin, set up local government structures and began improvements to the infrastructure, but the basic power structure was unaffected: The Diviners viewed the Poles as oppressors and looters. The new health care was expensive, out of reach of most peasants.
There was no relief from the existing ownership fragmentation, which severaly undercut productivity.
The oppressions of the Poles drove the peasants into collective cooperation. Prices for items needed for farming continued to rise, as did prices for clothing – out of reach for most peasants. Though some material improvement was seen, the Polish wealthy –though sometimes well-intentioned– could not sympathize with these and other problems of the peasants. And so, the peasants looked increasingly toward the Soviets.
Economically Poland itself was failing.
Polish regulation of Divin and its region become more and more detailed, with fines for minor violations often mounting beyond the means of peasants.
Some commercial developments in the area were open only to ethnic Poles, prohibited to peasants.
Eventually a rebellion occurred in a nearby town.
It failed, but the participants were admired by the Soviets, laying further groundwork for the future.
Under the Polish strongman leader Pilsudski, the Polish repression continued. At this point the Poles began changing course, trying to introduce some reforms, but these efforts were too little, too late. And, in any case, they were halted at the onset of WWII.
