Because of the Nazi invasion of Poland in accordance with the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, it became occupied by both the Wehrmacht and the Red Army in September 1939.
In 1931, the illiteracy rate of the Voivodeship's population was 23.1%, about the same as national average and, at the same time, the lowest in the Polish Eastern Borderlands.
[3] According to the census of 1921 the Lwów Voivodeship was inhabited by 2,718,014 people, of whom by nationality 56.6% were Polish, 35.9% were Ruthenian (Ukrainian), 7.0% were Jewish and 0.5% were German and all others.
The results of the 1931 census (questions about mother tongue and about religion) are presented in the table below: Ukrainian/Ruthenian and Greek Catholic/Orthodox majority minority counties are highlighted with yellow.
Landscape was hilly (in the north) and mountainous (in the south, along the Czechoslovakian border, with numerous spas located there, such as Slawsko).
The railroad network was well-developed only in the area of Lwów, as the city itself was an important hub with as many as eight lines coming from it.
Apart from this, some counties (like Kolbuszowa, Brzozów or Jaworów) lacked rail connections, while others (Lesko, Lubaczów, Rudki, Stary Sambor) were greatly underdeveloped.
Other rail hubs were Rawa Ruska, Rzeszów, Rozwadów, Sambor, Drohobycz, Przeworsk, Chodorów, and Przemyśl.
Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the subsequent Russo-German conquest of Poland, the voivodeship was divided by the victors in late September 1939.
After July 1941, Lwów and the eastern part were occupied by Germany and also added to the General Government; the Polish underground administration existed there until August 1944.