8. The End of the Imperial Epoch

The beginning of World War I did not significantly affect the daily life of Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF) until the approaching battle-front forced the evacuation of forest and of the game management employees, along with the palace and appanage properties. The Germans entered Białowieża on August 17th, 1915, and left it on December 28th, 1918. However, the three years of the German occupation was a crucial episode in the history of BPF, with the effects felt even to this day. The rapid exploitation of the Forest’s resources started with around 2.6 million cubic metres of timber harvested in the period 1915–1918. The German administration used mainly prisoners of war and local residens as forced labourers. The population of European bison and other ungulates fell dramatically in the first months of the occupation. A glimmer of hope, but with the backdrop of the overexploitation of forest resources during WWI, was Hugo Conwentz’s effort to protect the Forest and European bison. The German occupation drastically changed the status of the Forest—from the Tsars’ hunting reserve with large areas excluded from any exploitation to heavily logged source of timber for German economy. The latter demanded the forest resources that BPF could supply.