Restoration of Polish independence 1918. Restoration of state independence of Poland

After three partitions (1772, 1793 and 1795) Austria, Prussia and Russia were “erased” from political map European Polish

state, leading Polish politicians linked the restoration of national independence with a pan-European war, in which all three or at least one of the foreign states were defeated. As for whether to join Germany or the Entente, there was no unity. In particular, one of the then leaders of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), Józef Pilsudski, considered the defeat of the Entente powers, including Russia, likely, and therefore called for taking the side of the German-Austrian bloc. The creation of a triune Austria-Hungary-Poland was not excluded as a first step towards independence. In contrast to him, the founder of the National Democratic Party (ND, or “endezia”) Roman Dmovsky preferred the Entente and focused on Russia.

However, none of the political movements had a clear plan - everything had to depend on the course future war. With its beginning, the National Government declared war on Russia. But the Polish soldiers, having entered on the sixth day of the war from Austrian territory to the Kingdom of Poland, did not achieve success, since the local population did not rise up in rebellion.

In 1914, the Polish Military Organization (POW) was created in Warsaw. R. Dmovsky and the “Russophiles” of ND were in a hurry

Piłsudski Jozef Klement

(1867-1935) - an outstanding Polish statesman. Born near Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania). He studied at Kharkov University (expelled for participating in student protests), and subsequently at Vilna University. From 1887 to 1892 he was in exile in Siberia. Since 1893 he was the leading agitator of the PPS. In 1914 he created Polish legions, which fought on the Eastern Front as part of the Austro-Hungarian army.

In 1918-1922 pp. took the post of head of the Polish state, after which he voluntarily resigned. In 1926 he carried out a military coup against the Sejm and led the country until his death. create their own structures: Polish national committees in St. Petersburg, Warsaw and Paris.

At the beginning of August 1915, the Germans occupied Warsaw, but they failed to create an effective Polish government. Attempts by the legionnaire brigadier J. Pilsudski to start recruiting Polish army(for this purpose he, an officer of the Austrian army, even left the front) were not successful. Legions were bleeding on the Eastern Front, and the brigadier's popularity grew in proportion to the blood shed. Only on November 5, 1916, Germany allowed the Act of Creation of the Polish State to be proclaimed and a temporary council of state, a Polish advisory body under Austrian rule, to be organized. After the February events of the revolution of 1917 in Russia and the recognition by the Provisional Government of the Poles' right to their own state, J. Pilsudski switched to the position of his opponent R. Dmowski and began the fight against Germany and Austria-Hungary. For disagreement to include legionnaires before German troops in July 1917 he was imprisoned in Magdeburg prison. This, in the end, turned out to be beneficial for J. Pilsudski, because in the leadership of the Central Powers, doomed to defeat, he turned into their victim.

The November 1918 revolution in Germany accelerated the solution of the “Polish question”, and on the night of November 6-7, in Lublin abandoned by the Austrians, the left parties (PPS, Polish Peasant Party - “Liberated”) and the POV proclaimed the creation of the Provisional People's Government of the Polish Republic. On November 10, Warsaw solemnly welcomed J. Pilsudski, released from prison by the revolution. Just four days later, the head of the government, Social Democrat Ignacy Daszynski, transferred power to him with emergency powers. The country celebrated its long-awaited freedom.

Considering the influence of socialist parties on part of society, J. Pilsudski, as a de facto dictator, decided at first to rule with their help, becoming, however, not only over them, but over all parties in general. He left the “red” government in power, again entrusting its formation to J. Daszyński, and when he failed due to the intransigence of the “endec”, he appointed another socialist, Jedrzej Moraczewski, as president of ministers (prime minister). J. Pilsudski himself, as the temporary Head of State until the convening of the Constituent Sejm, concentrated all power in his hands.

The tests were not long in coming - at the beginning of 1919, the “Endets” attempted a rebellion. In the eyes of the Poles, all political parties were compromised, and the Chief's popularity reached new heights. He transferred power to non-party “government specialists”, appointing the famous Polish pianist Ignacy Paderewski as prime minister. The main task of the government was to hold elections to the Sejm, after the convening of which J. Pilsudski promised to exercise dictatorial powers.

The elections took place at the end of January 1919 and became not only the day of the revival of Polish parliamentarism, but also the starting point of the confrontation between the Sejm and J. Pilsudski. The head of state believed that he knew and understood the needs of the people better than the deputies, and therefore he should not help the parliament in the development of Poland, but vice versa. The deputies were of the opposite opinion. The newly elected Sejm adopted a law that was later called the “small constitution.” Behind him, the Sejm took over all legislative power for itself, and the Head of State and the government were accountable to parliament. So, J. Pilsudski was left with only representative powers. The rights of the non-Polish population of the state were forgotten by the “small constitution” and this over time gave rise to serious problems.

In 1815, Poland as a state again disappeared from the political map of Europe.

Although the Polish state ceased to exist, the Poles did not give up hope of restoring their independence. Each new generation fought, either by joining the opponents of the powers that divided Poland, or by starting uprisings. As soon as Napoleon I began his military campaigns against monarchical Europe, Polish legions were formed in France. Having defeated Prussia, Napoleon created in 1807 the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815) from the territories captured by Prussia during the second and third partitions. Two years later, the territories that became part of Austria after the third partition were added to it. Miniature Poland, politically dependent on France, had a territory of 160 thousand square meters. km and 4350 thousand inhabitants. The creation of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was considered by the Poles as the beginning of their complete liberation.

After Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna (1815) approved the partitions of Poland with the following changes: Krakow was declared a free city-republic under the auspices of the three powers that divided Poland (1815–1848); the western part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was transferred to Prussia and became known as the Grand Duchy of Poznan (1815–1846); its other part was declared a monarchy (the so-called Kingdom of Poland) and annexed to Russian Empire. In November 1830, the Poles rebelled against Russia, but were defeated. Emperor Nicholas I abolished the constitution of the Kingdom of Poland and began repression. In 1846 and 1848 the Poles tried to organize uprisings, but failed. In 1863, a second uprising broke out against Russia, and after two years of guerrilla warfare, the Poles were again defeated.

In the territory under Prussian rule, intensive Germanization of the former Polish regions was carried out, the farms of Polish peasants were expropriated, and Polish schools were closed.

Russia helped Prussia suppress the Poznan Uprising of 1848. In 1863, both powers concluded the Alvensleben Convention on mutual assistance in the fight against the Polish national movement.

In the Austrian Polish lands the situation was somewhat better. After the Krakow Uprising of 1846, the regime was liberalized and Galicia received administrative local control; schools, institutions and courts used Polish; Jagiellonian (in Krakow) and Lviv universities became all-Polish cultural centers; by the beginning of the 20th century. Polish political parties emerged (National Democratic, Polish Socialist and Peasant). In all three parts of divided Poland, Polish society actively opposed assimilation. The preservation of the Polish language and Polish culture became the main task of the struggle waged by the intelligentsia, primarily poets and writers, as well as the clergy of the Catholic Church.

The First World War brought a solution to the Polish question. The most effective was the political concept of the commandant of the Polish Legions (connected with pro-Austrian political circles) Józef Pilsudski. He hoped that Germany and Austria-Venria would defeat Russia, and that they themselves, in turn, would be defeated by France and England. And then, on the ruins of the states that divided Poland, an independent Polish state will be born. Pilsudski's plans were realized.

The First World War divided the powers that liquidated Poland: Russia fought with Germany and Austria-Hungary. This situation opened up life-changing opportunities for the Poles, but also created new difficulties. First, the Poles had to fight in opposing armies; secondly, Poland became the arena of battles between the warring powers; thirdly, disagreements between Polish political groups intensified. Conservative national democrats, led by Roman Dmovsky, considered Germany the main enemy and wanted the Entente to win. Their goal was to unite all Polish lands under Russian control and obtain autonomy status. Radical elements led by the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), on the contrary, viewed the defeat of Russia as the most important condition achieving Polish independence. They believed that the Poles should create their own armed forces. A few years before the outbreak of World War I, Józef Pilsudski, the radical leader of this group, began military training of Polish youth in Galicia. During the war he formed the Polish legions and fought on the side of Austria-Hungary.

On August 14, 1914, Nicholas I, in an official declaration, promised to unite the three parts of Poland into an autonomous state within the Russian Empire after the war. However, in the fall of 1915, most of Russian Poland was occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary, and on November 5, 1916, the monarchs of the two powers announced a manifesto on the creation of an independent Polish Kingdom in the Russian part of Poland. March 30, 1917, after February Revolution In Russia, the Provisional Government of Prince Lvov recognized Poland's right to self-determination. On July 22, 1917, Pilsudski, who fought on the side of the Central Powers, was interned, and his legions were disbanded for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the emperors of Austria-Hungary and Germany. In France, with the support of the Entente powers, the Polish National Committee (PNC) was created in August 1917, led by Roman Dmowski and Ignacy Paderewski; The Polish army was also formed with commander-in-chief Józef Haller. On January 8, 1918, US President Wilson demanded the creation of an independent Polish state with access to the Baltic Sea. In June 1918, Poland was officially recognized as a country fighting on the side of the Entente. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which completed I world war, legally sealed the revival of independent Poland. On October 6, during the period of disintegration and collapse of the Central Powers, the Council of Regency of Poland announced the creation of an independent Polish state, and on November 14 transferred full power to Pilsudski in the country. By this time, Germany had already capitulated, Austria-Hungary had collapsed, and there was a civil war in Russia.

The new country faced great difficulties. Cities and villages lay in ruins; there were no connections in the economy, which had been developing for a long time within three different states; Poland had neither its own currency nor government institutions; finally, its borders were not defined and agreed upon with its neighbors. However, state building and economic recovery proceeded at a rapid pace. After a transition period, when the socialist cabinet was in power, on January 17, 1919, Paderewski was appointed prime minister, and Dmowski was appointed head of the Polish delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference. On January 26, 1919, elections to the Sejm were held, the new composition of which approved Pilsudski as head of state.

The western and northern borders of the country were determined at the Versailles Conference, by which Poland was given part of Pomerania and access to the Baltic Sea; Danzig (Gdansk) received the status of a “free city”. At a conference of ambassadors on July 28, 1920, the southern border was agreed upon. The city of Cieszyn and its suburb Cesky Cieszyn were divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia. The annexation of Greater Poland took place as a result of the uprising (XII 27, 1918 - II 14, 1919).

Fierce disputes between Poland and Lithuania over Vilna (Vilnius), an ethnically Polish but historically Lithuanian city, ended with its occupation by the Poles on October 9, 1920; annexation to Poland was approved on February 10, 1922 by a democratically elected regional assembly.

On April 21, 1920, Piłsudski formed an alliance with the Ukrainian leader Petliura and launched an offensive to liberate Ukraine from the Bolsheviks. On May 7, the Poles took Kyiv, but on June 8, pressed by the Red Army, they began to retreat. At the end of July, the Bolsheviks were on the outskirts of Warsaw. However, the Poles managed to defend the capital and push back the enemy; this ended the war. The subsequent Treaty of Riga (March 18, 1921) represented a territorial compromise for both sides and was officially recognized by a conference of ambassadors on March 15, 1923.

In the disputed lands of Upper Silesia and Masuria, Poland lost the plebiscite vote (in 1920 and 1921), but three uprisings persuaded the League of Nations to recognize 30% of the territory of Silesia to Poland.

Three months after Poland gained independence, the Legislative Sejm began its activities, which adopted the so-called Small Constitution (February 1919). Agrarian reform, the formation of state administration bodies, the restoration of the education system and industry destroyed during the war - all this happened during the period of ongoing Silesian uprisings and the war with Soviet Russia.

One of the first post-war events in the country, important for the development of Polish statehood, was the adoption of a new constitution on March 17, 1921. She established a republican system in Poland, established a bicameral (Sejm and Senate) parliament, proclaimed freedom of speech and organization, and equality of citizens before the law.

However, the internal situation of the new state was difficult. Poland was in a state of political, social and economic instability. The Sejm was politically fragmented due to the many parties and political groups represented in it. Constantly changing government coalitions were unstable, and the executive branch as a whole was weak. The first president of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Gabriel Narutowicz, was killed by an extremist a week after the elections (XII 16, 1921).

There were tensions with national minorities, who made up a third of the population. The Locarno Treaties of 1925 did not guarantee the security of Poland's western borders, and the Dawes Plan contributed to the restoration of German military-industrial potential.

Numerous political conflicts and the worsening economic crisis caused a decline in the authority of government authorities. Even the radical and effective reform of public finances carried out in 1924 did not help.

Under these conditions, May 12, 1926. Pilsudski carried out a military coup and established a “sanation” regime in the country; Until his death on May 12, 1935, he directly or indirectly controlled all power in the country. On April 22, 1935, a new constitution was adopted, which significantly expanded the power of the president, limiting the rights of political parties and the powers of parliament. The new constitution did not receive the approval of the opposition political parties, and the struggle between them and the Piłsudski regime continued until the outbreak of World War II.

The rehabilitation program adopted by the government was supposed to provide Poland with economic stabilization, but at the same time it meant a transition from democracy to authoritarianism. Marshal Piłsudski ruled with a strong hand, did not recognize dissent, and did not hesitate to use harsh methods to pacify political opponents (such as bringing police into the Sejm meeting room in March 1928). The harshness of Pilsudski's rule became especially noticeable in the 30s, when Poland was affected by the consequences of the crash on the New York stock exchange, and the economic crisis strengthened radical public sentiment. In September 1930, Marshal Pilsudski announced the dissolution of parliament and ordered the arrest of many members of the parliamentary opposition, who were then sentenced to prison in a trial that many considered an outrage at justice. In 1934, a camp was created in the Bereza-Kartuska area, where “persons posing a threat to security and public order” were kept in isolation.

After the death of Pilsudski, the “rehabilitation circles” were divided into competing groups (supporters of Marshal Rydz-Śmigły and the group of President Mościcki). The only truly outstanding figure in the rehabilitation process during this period was the Deputy Prime Minister - Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, the author of the program economic development Poland, the creation of the Central Industrial District and the initiator of the construction of the port in Gdynia.

The leaders of the new Polish Republic tried to maintain the independence of their state through a policy of non-alignment. Poland did not join the Little Entente, which included Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania. On January 25, 1932, a non-aggression pact was concluded with the USSR.

Russian-Polish relations have developed very complexly over the centuries. There was no fundamental change even after October revolution, when Soviet Russia welcomed the declaration of independence of Poland. In the 20-30s. These relationships were not stable; old prejudices and stereotypes took their toll.

In 1932, a non-aggression pact was signed between the USSR and Poland, which recognized that the 1921 peace treaty still remained the basis of their mutual relations and obligations. The parties renounced war as an instrument of national policy and pledged to refrain from aggressive actions or attacks on each other separately or jointly with other powers. Such actions were recognized as “any act of violence that violates the integrity and inviolability of the territory or political independence” of the other side. At the end of 1938, both governments reaffirmed that the basis for peaceful relations between the countries was the non-aggression treaty of 1932, extended in 1934 until 1945.

At the beginning of 1939, Hitler made an attempt to involve Poland in his planned “crusade” against the USSR. On January 5, 1939, Polish Foreign Minister Beck was received with great pomp by Hitler in Berchtesgaden. Beck was told that there was "a unity of interests between Germany and Poland regarding the Soviet Union." Therefore, Germany is interested in a strong Poland, because “every Polish division used against the USSR means saving one German division.” The Polish minister, however, did not agree to participate in any anti-Soviet action.

The need for a significant improvement in Soviet-Polish relations became especially urgent in the spring of 1939, when Germany’s aggressive intentions towards Poland became clear: in April, as it later became known, Hitler decided on a military method to satisfy his claims to this country. The Polish government at that time was generally satisfied with Soviet-Polish relations.

However, the position of the ruling circles of Poland towards the USSR was, on the whole, clearly inconsistent. So, during a visit to Beck on May 25, 1939, the Soviet ambassador in Warsaw, Sharonov, announced the Soviet Union’s readiness to provide military assistance to Poland. But the proposal was not accepted.

After Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in January 1933, Poland failed to establish allied relations with France, while Great Britain and France concluded a “pact of concord and cooperation” with Germany and Italy. After this, on January 26, 1934, Poland and Germany concluded a non-aggression pact for a period of 10 years. In March 1936, following Germany's military occupation of the Rhineland, Poland again unsuccessfully tried to negotiate an agreement with France and Belgium to support Poland in the event of war with Germany. In October 1938, simultaneously with the annexation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, Poland occupied the Czechoslovak part of the Cieszyn region. In March 1939, Hitler occupied Czechoslovakia and made territorial claims to Poland. On March 31, Great Britain and on April 13, France guaranteed the territorial integrity of Poland.

In the summer of 1939, Franco-British-Soviet negotiations began in Moscow aimed at containing German expansion. In these negotiations, the Soviet Union demanded the right to occupy the eastern part of Poland and at the same time entered into secret negotiations with the Nazis. On August 23, 1939, a German-Soviet non-aggression pact was concluded, the secret protocols of which provided for the division of Poland between Germany and the USSR. Having ensured Soviet neutrality, Hitler freed his hands. On September 1, 1939, World War II began with an attack on Poland.

The Poles, who had not received military assistance from France and Great Britain despite promises (both of them declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939), could not hold back the unexpected invasion of powerful motorized German armies. The situation became hopeless after Soviet troops attacked Poland from the east on September 17.

For the operation, a fairly large group of troops was created - 28 rifle and 7 cavalry divisions, 10 tank brigades and 7 artillery regiments of the reserve of the High Command. On two fronts there were more than 600 thousand people, about 4 thousand tanks, over 5,500 guns and 2 thousand aircraft.

Introduction Soviet troops into Polish territory was unexpected for the Polish leadership. However, it did not consider it possible to disperse forces to fight on two fronts and preferred to fight only against German troops.

Although the state of war between the USSR and Poland was not declared, but, in essence, fighting against Polish military units took place. Molotov, in a report at the session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on October 31, 1939, spoke about the “combat advance of the Red Army” and the capture of military trophies, which made up a significant part of the weapons and military equipment of the Polish army. In the same speech, the head of the Soviet government stated that “Poland collapsed thanks to the blow first of the German army, and then of the Red Army.” On December 26, 1939, in his response to Hitler’s congratulations on the occasion of his 60th birthday, Stalin also noted that “Soviet-German friendship is sealed by jointly shed blood.” The order of the People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov dated November 7, 1939 stated that the Polish state, “like an old rotten cart,” had disintegrated in 15 days. “With a swift onslaught, units of the Red Army defeated the Polish troops, fulfilling their duty to the Soviet Motherland in a short time.”

After the defeat, the Polish government and the remnants of the armed forces crossed the border into Romania, where they were interned. Poland as an independent state ceased to exist.

Stalin and his entourage could not help but understand that the nature of Soviet-German relations and the actions of the Soviet Union in Poland could make an extremely negative impression on the world public opinion. Therefore, in the joint German-Soviet communiqué, adopted at the suggestion of Ribbentrop on September 18, 1939, but published only on September 20, it was said that the goal of German and Soviet troops was “to restore order and tranquility in Poland, disturbed by the collapse of the Polish state, and to help the population Poland to reorganize the conditions of its state existence."

With regard to the “Polish question,” the Soviet leadership went even further during the negotiations and conclusion of the friendship and border treaty of September 28, 1939. These negotiations, dedicated to clarifying the border of the “state interests” of the USSR and Germany on the territory of Poland, began on the initiative of the Soviet side. On September 20, Schulenburg informed Ribbentrop that, in Molotov’s opinion, the time had come to jointly decide the fate of Poland and that Stalin was inclined to divide it along the Tisza-Narev-Vistula-San line: “The Soviet government wishes to immediately resolve this issue at negotiations in Moscow with the participation of the highest statesmen of both countries." In a reply telegram to Molotov on September 23, Ribbentrop said that “the Russian point of view on the passage of the future border along four rivers is acceptable.” The atmosphere in which the negotiations took place in Moscow is evidenced by Ribbentrop himself, who stated that in the Kremlin he “felt like among the old Parteigenosse.”

The adopted document established the border of the “state interests” of both states on the territory of Poland, although in the German-Soviet communiqué of September 22, 1939, it was also called the “demarcation line between the German and Soviet armies.”

One confidential and two secret protocols attached to the September 28 agreement clarified some territorial changes in the strip from the Baltic to the Black Seas. In particular, the territory of Lithuania was included in the sphere of “state interests” of the USSR, and the territory of the Lublin and part of the Warsaw voivodeships became part of the sphere of “state interests” of Germany. The parties also agreed that they would suppress the actions of the Polish population directed against the other side.

The decision of the German and Soviet governments on September 28 to divide the territory of Poland caused serious concern among the Polish people and officials. Thus, the Polish ambassador in Paris, according to the Havas agency, expressed a protest to the French government, calling the Soviet-German agreement a violation of rights sovereign state and people, international obligations and human morality.

The situation of Polish patriots was aggravated by the fact that there was a Soviet-German agreement on cooperation in the fight against Polish agitation. This was not a formal declaration; Such cooperation between the military authorities of Germany and the USSR in the Polish campaign, as stated by the German military attache in Moscow, General Kestring, was a reality and proceeded flawlessly at all levels. To establish cooperation between the Gestapo and the NKVD in December 1939 in Zakopane, i.e. A joint training center was established on Polish territory occupied by Germany.

Throughout the Second World War, Poles remained hopeful that Poland would regain independence. The Polish government in exile was headed by General Wladyslaw Sikorski. In France, new Polish army, naval and air Force total number 80 thousand people. The Poles fought on the side of France until its defeat in June 1940; then the Polish government moved to Great Britain, where it reorganized the army, which later fought in Norway, North Africa and Western Europe. In the Battle of Britain in 1940, Polish pilots destroyed more than 15% of all German aircraft shot down. In total, more than 300 thousand Poles served abroad in the Allied armed forces.

The German occupation of Poland was particularly brutal. Hitler included part of Poland into the Third Reich, and transformed the remaining occupied territories into a General Government. All industrial and agricultural production in Poland was subordinated to the military needs of Germany. Polish institutions of higher education were closed and the intelligentsia were persecuted. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced into forced labor or imprisoned in concentration camps. Polish Jews were subjected to particular cruelty, who were initially concentrated in several large ghettos. When the leaders of the Reich made the “Final Solution” to the Jewish Question in 1942, Polish Jews were deported to death camps. The largest and most notorious Nazi death camp in Poland was the camp near the city of Auschwitz, where more than 4 million people died.

During the struggle for independence, the Polish people offered both civil disobedience and military resistance to the Nazi occupiers. The Polish Home Army became the strongest resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Europe. When the deportation of Warsaw Jews to death camps began in April 1943, the Warsaw ghetto (350 thousand Jews) rebelled. After a month of hopeless fighting without any outside help, the uprising was crushed. The Germans destroyed the ghetto, and the surviving Jewish population was deported to the Treblinka extermination camp.

After the German attack on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Polish emigration government, under British pressure, concluded an agreement with Soviet Union. Under this treaty, diplomatic relations between Poland and the USSR were restored; the Soviet-German pact regarding the division of Poland was annulled; all prisoners of war and deported Poles were subject to release; The Soviet Union provided its territory for the formation of the Polish army. However, the Soviet government did not fulfill the terms of the agreement. It refused to recognize the pre-war Polish-Soviet border and released only part of the Poles who were in Soviet camps.

On April 26, 1943, the Soviet Union broke off diplomatic relations with the Polish government in exile, protesting against the latter's appeal to the International Red Cross to investigate the brutal murder of 10 thousand Polish officers interned in 1939 in Katyn. Subsequently, the Soviet authorities formed the core of the future Polish communist government and army in the Soviet Union. In November-December 1943, at a conference of three powers in Tehran (Iran), between Soviet leader I.V. Stalin, American President F. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill, an agreement was reached that the eastern border of Poland should pass along the line Curzon (it approximately corresponded to the border drawn in accordance with the 1939 agreement between the German and Soviet governments).

In January 1944, the Red Army crossed the Polish border in pursuit of retreating German troops, and on July 22, the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKNO) was created in Lublin with the support of the USSR. On August 1, 1944, the underground armed forces of the Home Army in Warsaw, under the leadership of General Tadeusz Komorowski, began an uprising against the Germans. The Red Army, which was at that moment on the outskirts of Warsaw on the opposite bank of the Vistula, suspended its offensive. After 62 days of desperate fighting, the uprising was crushed and Warsaw was almost completely destroyed. On January 5, 1945, the PKNO in Lublin was reorganized into the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland. Poland regained its independence.



The First World War did not spare Polish lands. This is where it took place Eastern front. The participants in the partitions of Poland - Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary - found themselves, due to disagreements between them, in opposing military blocs, and therefore it was to be expected that the Polish question would become the subject of a political game, and “ Polish map"will become important during military operations.

None of the three powers that divided Poland, when entering the war, intended to grant freedom to the Polish people. However, they all wanted to use the Poles and Polish lands to their advantage. In the first weeks of the war, army commanders published proclamations, in which they appealed to a sense of community (Western European or Slavic) and recalled years of successful and supposedly joint development. From the first days of the war, Polish figures of different political orientations public speaking and in the silence of government offices they were reminded of the right of the Polish people to an independent state existence. Henryk Sienkiewicz, Nobel Prize winner in literature, author of the novel “Quo vadis”, and virtuoso pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski used their popularity to ensure that Western politicians turned their attention to the unresolved Polish question.

As a result of the February Revolution, the Provisional Government that came to power declared the restoration of the Polish state in all territories with a predominant Polish population and the convening of a constituent assembly in Warsaw, after the liberation of Polish lands. Russia was supported by France; its president published a decree on the formation of a “Polish autonomous army”, the ranks of which were joined by over 20 thousand volunteers from among Polish emigrants living in the USA and Brazil.

In September 1917, the German Emperor Wilhelm II and the Austrian Emperor Charles I established the Council of Regency, giving it legislative and executive powers until the Polish lands came under the authority of the king, or regent. At the same time, in Paris, with the support of the governments of France, Great Britain, Italy, and the United States, the Polish National Committee was created, headed by Roman Dmowski.

In January 1918, US President Woodrow Wilson, speaking to Congress, in paragraph 13 of his Declaration, emphasized the need to create an independent Polish state with access to the sea. In the summer of 1918, Germany lost several major battles in western front Thus, the defeat of the Central Powers in the war became obvious. In addition to the Regency Council and the Polish National Committee, politicians of different orientations aspired to power. Józef Pilsudski enjoyed great influence in society.

At the beginning of October, the Regency Council announced preparations for elections to the Seimas. A few days later, command of the army, previously subordinate to the Germans, passed into his hands. At the same time, the Poles began to spontaneously eliminate the German and Austrian occupiers and create new centers of power. The Polish Liquidation Commission was established in Krakow, and the National Council of the Duchy of Cieszyn began its work in Cieszyn, announcing the annexation of this part of Silesia to Poland; The Polish People's Council was formed in Poznan. However, there was still no government.

In such a situation, the leaders of the left, who fought for the independence of parties and air defense (Polish military organization). At the beginning of November, the Provisional People's Government of the Polish Republic was formed in Lublin, headed by Ignacy Daszynski, which promulgated the principles of the socio-political structure of the newly created state. When Pilsudski arrived in Warsaw on November 10, he was met at the station by a member of the Regency Council, Prince Zdzislaw Lubomirski, and the organizer of the POV, Adam Kotz. The next day, the Prime Minister of the Lublin government, Ignacy Daszynski, and the commander of the POV, Edward Rydz-Śmigły, placed themselves at Piłsudski's disposal, and the Regency Council transferred military power to him. On the same day, November 11, 1918, an armistice was signed on the Western Front, ending the hostilities of the First World War.

“Pilsudski won such fame that probably no one in Poland will experience for the next couple of centuries.” Over time, November 11 began to be celebrated as a public holiday - Poland's Independence Day.

Dmitry Mezentsev

Bemm German Vladimirovich

graduate student of the department of new, modern history and international relations of Kubansky state university

ACTIVITIES OF JÖZEF PILSUDSKI IN THE CONTEXT OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE USSR AND THE POLISH REPUBLIC

Bemm German Vladimirovich

PhD student, Modern, Contemporary History and International Relations Department, Kuban State University

ACTIVITIES OF JOZEF PILSUDSKI IN THE CONTEXT OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE USSR AND THE POLISH REPUBLIC

Annotation:

The article examines the personality of the Polish statesman Marshal Jozef Pilsudski. The author focuses on the policy of J. Pilsudski in relation to Soviet Russia (later the Soviet Union), during the period of his active political activity(1918-1935).

Keywords:

Poland, Soviet Union, Russian Empire, international treaty, non-aggression pact, politician.

The article is concerned with such a Polish statesman as Marshal Jozef PUsudski. The author focuses on Jozef PUsudski’s policy regarding the Soviet Russia (and later the Soviet Union) during his political activities (1918-1935).

Poland, Soviet Union, Russian Empire, international treaty, non-aggression pact, politician.

Of all the Polish statesmen of modern and modern times, it is undoubtedly worth highlighting Józef Pilsudski. This politician made an invaluable contribution to the formation and development of the Polish Republic. It was under J. Pilsudski that the territory of Poland reached its largest size in its entire history. It was J. Piłsudski who proposed holding domestic policy the idea of ​​“rehabilitation” (recovery). The Poles rightfully called J. Pilsudski “father of the nation”, and in many European countries It was not without reason that mourning was declared after his death in 1935. Under the marshal, important international treaties were concluded and the basic principles of Poland's foreign policy were developed.

So, the future Polish ruler and founder of the army, Józef Klemens Pilsudski, was born on December 5, 1867 in Zulow near Vilna. On his mother's side, Jozef came from an ancient Polish-Lithuanian noble family. He began to get involved very early in radical ideas and the struggle for Polish independence. The future marshal's youth was spent in revolutionary concerns and Siberian exile. In the pre-war period, he was actively involved in sabotage activities and the creation of military detachments in Poland and Lithuania. As a supporter of the creation of an independent Poland, who also had been in exile in Siberia, J. Pilsudski from his youth began to experience a deep dislike for everything Russian.

In 1914-1917 J. Pilsudski fights against the Russian Empire on the side of Austria-Hungary. Berlin and Vienna, which controlled the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, realizing that it would not be possible to retain so many occupied lands, tried to negotiate cooperation with Polish nationalists.

In the fall of 1918, having returned from Germany to Warsaw (where he also spent time in prison), J. Pilsudski received the title of temporary head of state from the Regency Council of Poland. True, in the absence of the Sejm as such and in general the institutions of legislative, executive power and constitution, he actually becomes the dictator of Poland.

J. Piłsudski immediately began expanding Polish territory to the east. So, for example, November 1, 1918 Ukrainian nationalists Lvov was captured. By and large, this action was met with approval by the population of the city, but the Polish minority and military detachments (including French), deployed by J. Pilsudski, launched the Polish-Ukrainian war and took Lviv.

Polish nationalists inevitably had to clash with the Bolsheviks. Dictator J. Pilsudski was too smart to openly announce the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth “from one day to the next.” He presented the same idea under the guise of creating a federation “from Helsingfors to Tiflis” under the patronage of Poland.

Moscow understood the inevitability of a military clash with Poland, and immediately after the revolution in Germany, the Western Army was formed.

At first, Soviet Russia and Poland had neither peace nor war. Due to the lack of diplomatic relations, the Soviet government tried to negotiate with J. Pilsudski through the Red Cross. However, by order of the Polish government, on January 2, 1918, the Red Cross delegation was shot in the Bielski Forest. Then the struggle for Lithuania began between Poland and Soviet Russia. Poland offered to restore the union with Lithuania, but after refusal, it drove the Soviet units out of Vilna. After this, there was a long lull associated with the war between the Poles and the Germans and Ukrainians, as well as Civil War in Russia.

J. Pilsudski stated that in 1919 he could easily reach Moscow, but he understood that the government of A. Kolchak and A. Denikin was much more dangerous for the independence of Poland than the government of V. Lenin and L. Trotsky.

In the spring of 1920, J. Pilsudski decided that it was time to recreate Greater Poland, for which, in alliance with Simon Petliura, he invaded Ukraine and took Kyiv. However, the Red Army soon launched a counteroffensive and entered Poland itself.

The Entente, Poland's main ally and guarantor of its borders, presented an ultimatum to Soviet Russia. Yu. Pilsudski, taking advantage of the separation of M. Tukhachevsky’s troops from supply bases, stopped and then threw back the Red Army.

As a result, both sides were unable to continue the war. On October 12, 1920, a truce was signed in Riga, and six months later a peace was signed, which became the basis for relations between the USSR and Poland in the interwar period. Russia agreed to pay Poland 30 million rubles. gold as compensation for the Polish part of the gold reserves of the Russian Empire.

In addition to western Belarus and western Ukraine, J. Pilsudski organized the sabotage of General Zhelyakhovsky in Vilna, and in 1922, seized this territory from Lithuania. Subsequently, there was also an attempt to capture the city of Memel, but the intervention of the Soviet government stopped this time Marshal Pilsudski.

It is curious that in the process of assembling the Polish state, J. Pilsudski gives credit only to himself, placing little value on the merits of the Polish government of that time, declaring: “... I won not thanks to the Poles, but in spite of it.”

As a result, many Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews, and Germans were driven into the new state created by J. Pilsudski with iron and blood, which did not add warm relations to Poland from its neighbors, the USSR in particular. There were 60% Poles in the state, and they were called Kashubians, Lemkos, Silesians and others. The oppression of national minorities began immediately. It was forbidden to learn languages ​​other than Polish; orthodox churches were closing.

Soon after the adoption of the unification of Poland, J. Piłsudski resigned from all government posts. However, in 1926 there was a coup, and the marshal was again in power as prime minister (in 1930 he also became minister of war). In fact, having nominated I. Moscytsky to the post of president, he himself remained the head of state.

J. Pilsudski in his foreign policy relied entirely on France and Great Britain. In relation to Germany and the USSR, he tried to pursue an “equidistant” policy. Relations with neighbors were cool. However, the marshal was more inclined to cooperate with Germany.

After A. Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, J. Pilsudski became somewhat closer to Germany on common anti-communist principles. In 1934, a non-aggression pact was signed between Poland and Germany. There were a number of visits of senior German statesmen to Poland (G. Goering, K. von Neurath). Poland also refused to join the creation of Eastern Locarno, which contributed to a free hand for Germany in solving its foreign policy problems. However, J. Pilsudski's Poland has not yet followed the footsteps of German policy in the same way as, for example, J. Beck's Poland. She tried to use German-Soviet differences to her advantage.

Relations with the USSR were perhaps the most difficult. Since 1921, the Soviet government has been strenuously seeking to conclude a trade agreement with Poland that would be beneficial to both countries. But Poland did not want to agree to such a rapprochement with the USSR due to the unresolved nature of its claims to the whole of Ukraine. However, after 1922 and until the death of J. Pilsudski, there were no military clashes or even diplomatic moves on the part of both countries towards each other.

After the death of Marshal J. Pilsudski, J. Beck, a pro-German and extremely anti-Russian figure, became the head of the Polish government, which immediately affected relations between Poland and the USSR.

As a result, we can conclude that after the Peace of Riga of 1921, despite his anti-Russian and anti-communist views, Marshal J. Pilsudski was a sufficiently far-sighted figure not to aggravate relations with the Soviet Union to the extreme. However, in the created

Mr. J. Pilsudski Polish state lay the center of future foreign policy complications. The unresolved “Ukrainian issue” could not make relations between the two states good. Just 4 years after the death of J. Pilsudski, this problem became fatal for Poland.

Relations between the two states during the era of J. Pilsudski's activity can be characterized (after 1921) as consistently satisfactory.

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