Second Polish Republic

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Rzeczpospolita Polska
Republic of Poland


1918 — 1939

Flag Coat of arms
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Mazurek Dąbrowskiego
Location of Poland
Capital Warsaw
Language(s) Polish
Government Republic
President List
Prime minister List
Legislature Sejm
Historical era Interwar period
 - World War I November 111918
 - Invasion September 21939
Area
 - 1939 388,600 km2
150,039 sq mi
Population
 - 1939 est. 35,100,000 
     Density 90.3 /km² 
233.9 /sq mi
Currency Marka (until 1924)
Złoty (after 1924)

The Second Polish Republic is the name applied to the Republic of Poland between World War I and World War II. The Republic had borders with Nazi Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Soviet Union, Latvia and Lithuania.

When the borders of the state were fixed in 1921, it had an area of 388.6 thousand km² (sixth largest in Europe), and 27.2 million inhabitants according to the census of that year. In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, it had an estimated 35.1 million inhabitants. A third of these were national minorities (17% Ukrainians and Belarusians, 10% Jews, 5% Germans, and 1% percent Lithuanians, Russians and Czechs).

The Second Republic is often associated with times of great adversity, of troubles and of triumph. Having to deal with the economic difficulties and destruction of World War I, then the Soviet invasion during the Polish Soviet War, and then increasingly hostile neighbors like Nazi Germany, the Republic managed to endure. Not blessed with foreign colonies and the ability to exploit other peoples', Poland nevertheless maintained a level of economic development and prosperity comparable to that of the West. The cultural hubs of Warsaw, Krakow and Lwow raised themselves to the level of major European cities. They were also the sites of internationally renowned universities and places of higher learning.

By 1939 the Republic was becomming a major world player in politics and economics. This was seen as a threat to Germany's domination of European economics, and the Nazis decided to end Poland's prosperity for good.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Timeline (1919-1939)

Polish armoured car Korfanty in 1920 in the Silesian Uprisings
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Polish armoured car Korfanty in 1920 in the Silesian Uprisings
Roman Dmowski
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Roman Dmowski
The White Eagle, symbol of Polish statehood
Polish Statehood

[edit] The beginnings

Occupied by German and Austro-Hungarian armies in the summer of 1915, the formerly Russian-ruled part of what was considered Poland was proclaimed an independent kingdom by the occupying powers on November 5, 1916, with a governing Council of State and (from October 15, 1917) a Regency Council (Rada Regencyjna Królestwa Polskiego) to administer the country under German auspices pending the election of a king.

Shortly before the end of World War I, on October 7, 1918, the Regency Council dissolved the Council of State and announced its intention to restore Polish independence. With the notable exception of the Marxist-oriented Social Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL), most political parties supported this move. On October 23 the Council appointed a new government under Józef Swierzynski and began conscription into the Polish Army.

Second Polish Republic 1921-1939
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Second Polish Republic 1921-1939

On November 5, in Lublin, the first Soviet of Delegates was created. On November 6 the Communists announced the creation of a Republic of Tarnobrzeg. The same day, a Provisional People's Government of the Republic of Poland was created under the Socialist, Ignacy Daszynski.

On November 10, Józef Piłsudski, newly freed from imprisonment by the German authorities at Magdeburg, returned to Warsaw. Next day, due to his popularity and support from most political parties, the Regency Council appointed Piłsudski Commander in Chief of the Polish Armed Forces. On November 14 the Council dissolved itself and transferred all its authority to Piłsudski as Chief of State (Naczelnik Państwa).

Centers of government that were created in Galicia (formerly Austrian-ruled southern Poland) included a National Council of the Principality of Cieszyn (created on November 19??) and a Polish Liquidation Committee (created on October 28). Soon afterward, conflict broke out in Lviv (Polish Lwów) between forces of the Military Committee of Ukrainians and the Polish "Eagles" of Lwów.

After consultation with Pilsudski, Daszynski's government dissolved itself and a new government was created under Jedrzej Moraczewski.

Soldiers of the Army of Greater Poland, 1919
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Soldiers of the Army of Greater Poland, 1919
Polish soldiers displaying captured Soviet battle flags after the Battle of Warsaw.
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Polish soldiers displaying captured Soviet battle flags after the Battle of Warsaw.

[edit] World War II

German soldiers destroying Polish border checkpoint on 1 September
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German soldiers destroying Polish border checkpoint on 1 September

The beginning of the Second World War put an end to the Second Polish Republic. The "Invasion of Poland" campaign began 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and ended 6 October 1939, with Germany and the Soviet Union occupying the entirety of Poland. Poland did not surrender continued as Polish Government in Exile and Polish Secret State.

[edit] Politics and government

[edit] Chief of State

[edit] Presidents

[edit] Premiers

[edit] Economy

After regaining her independence Poland was faced with major economic difficulties. Within the borders of the Republic were the remanents of three different economic systems, with three different currencies and with little or no direct infrastructural links. The situation was so bad that neighboring industrial centers lacked direct railroad links because they had been parts of different occupying nations. On top of this was the massive destruction left after both World War I and the Polish Soviet War. There was also a great economic disparity between the eastern and western parts of the country, with the western half being much more developed and prosperous. Frequent border closures and tariff wars (especially with Nazi Germany) also had negative economic impacts on Poland.

Despite these problems Poland managed in the interwar period to achieve a state of economic prosperity on par with Western Europe. In 1924 economic minister Wladyslaw Grabski introduced the zloty as a single common currency for Poland, which remained one of the most stable currencies of Central Europe. The currency helped Poland to bring under control the massive hyperinflation, the only country in Europe which was able to do this without foreign loans or aide.

The basiss of Poland's relative prosperity were the economic development plans which oversaw the building of two key infrastructural elements. The first was the establishment of the Gdynia seaport, which allowed Poland to completely bypass Gdansk (which was under heavy Nazi pressure to boycott Polish coal exports). The second was the creation of a central industrial district, so called COP (Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy. Unfortunatelly these developments were interrupted and largely destroyed by the German invasion and the start of World War II. [1]

[edit] Demographics

Poland has traditionally been a nation of many nations, with large Jewish and Ukrainian minorities. This was especially true after she regained her independence in the wake of World War I, in 1918. The census of that year allocates 30.8% of the population in the minority.[2] This was further exacerbated with the Polish victory in the Polish Soviet War, and the large territorial gains made by Poland as a consequence. In 1931 the census showed that 66% of the population was Polish, 15% were Ukrainians, 9% Jews, 5% Belarussians, and 2,5% Germans. [3]

Poland was also a nation of many religions. In 1921 16,057,229 Poles (approx. 62.5%) were Roman Catholic, 3,031,057 Poles(approx. 11.8%) were Eastern Catholics, 2,815,817 (approx. 10.95%) were Greek Orthodox, 2,771,949 (approx. 10.8%) were Jewish, and 940,232 (approx. 3.7%) were Protestants. [3] By 1931 Poland had the second largest Jewish population in the world, with one-fifth of all the world's Jews residing within Poland's borders (approx. 3,136,000).[2] Norman Davies gives the results of Polish 1931 national census as follows[4]

  • Poles, 68.9% of the population
  • Ukrainians, 13.9%
  • Jews, 8.7%
  • Belarusians, 3.1%
  • Germans, 2.3%


[edit] Population

Ludność
Census date Population Percentage of
rural population
Population density
(per km²)
30 September 1921 27,177,000 75,4% 69,9
9 December 1931 32,107,000 72,6% 82,6
31 December 1938 34,849,000 70% 89,7
Largest cities in early 1939:
  1. Warszawa – 1289 thousands
  2. Łódź – 672 thousands
  3. Lwów – 340 thousands
  4. Poznań – 272 thousands
  5. Kraków – 259 thousands
  6. Wilno – 215 thousands
  7. Bydgoszcz – 141 thousands
  8. Częstochowa – 138 thousands
  9. Katowice – 133 thousands
  10. Sosnowiec – 130 thousands
  11. Lublin – 122 thousands
  12. Gdynia – 120 thousands
  13. Białystok – 107 thousands

[edit] Administrative division and geography

The administrative division of the Second Republic was based on the three tier system. On the lowest rung were the 'gminy' which were little more than local town and village governments. These were then grouped together into 'powiaty' which were then arranged into 'wojewodstwa'.

Polish voivodeships 1922-1939
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Polish voivodeships 1922-1939
Polish voivodeships in the interbellum
(data as per April 1, 1937)
car plates
(since 1937)
Voivodeship
Separate city
Capital Area
in 1000 km² (1930)
Population
in 1000 (1931)
00-19 City of Warsaw Warsaw 0,14 1179,5
85-89 warszawskie Warsaw 31,7 2460,9
20-24 białostockie Białystok 26,0 1263,3
25-29 kieleckie Kielce 22,2 2671,0
30-34 krakowskie Kraków 17,6 2300,1
35-39 lubelskie Lublin 26,6 2116,2
40-44 lwowskie Lwów 28,4 3126,3
45-49 łódzkie Łódź 20,4 2650,1
50-54 nowogródzkie Nowogródek 23,0 1057,2
55-59 poleskie Brześć nad Bugiem 36,7 1132,2
60-64 pomorskie Toruń 25,7 1884,4
65-69 poznańskie Poznań 28,1 2339,6
70-74 stanisławowskie Stanisławów 16,9 1480,3
75-79 ? śląskie Katowice 5,1 1533,5
80-84 tarnopolskie Tarnopol 16,5 1600,4
90-94 wileńskie Wilno 29,0 1276,0
95-99 wołyńskie Łuck 35,7 2085,6


[edit] References

  1. ^ , Atlas Historii Polski, Demart Sp, 2004, ISBN 83-89239-89-2
  2. ^ a b Joseph Marcus, Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland, 1919-1939, Mouton Publishing, 1983, ISBN 90-279-3239-5, Google Books, p. 17
  3. ^ a b , Powszechny Spis Ludnosci r. 1921
  4. ^ Norman Davies, God's Playground, Columbia University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-231-12819-3, Google Print, p.299