 In 1912 the Imperial authorities created a new Kholm Governorate, split from Congress Poland, to facilitate Russification and conversion of the non-Eastern Orthodox Christians.Following World War I, Chełm was incorporated into the Second Polish Republic and this time the Orthodox population was persecuted, bearing the brunt of Polonization efforts.After World War II, Chełm was retained by the Polish People's Republic and, by irony, today it is a strong centre for the non-Galician Ukrainian culture and the Polish Orthodox Church.