Bloody Wednesday (Poland)

Bloody Wednesday (Polish: Krwawa środa) refers to the events of August 15, 1906 in the (Congress) Kingdom of Poland, where the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party (OB PPS) carried a series of attacks on Russians, primarily police officers and informants. This took place in the context of the Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907), and represented one of the biggest actions in the history of OB PPS.

Contents

Events

The aim of OB PPS was to stop repressions following in the wake of the Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907), and demonstrate its strength to the Russian government.[1] In order to achieve this, it organized a series of simultaneous attacks on Russian officials, primarily policemen, in the Russian partition of Poland that ocurred on August 15, 1906.[2][3][1]

There were about a 100 incidents,[4] with attacks reported in 18,[5] 19[6] or 20[7] cities and towns. Sources vary significantly with regards to the number of fatalities, reporting about 80,[8] 70,[2] 51,[9] 29[5] or 19[6] fatalities among Russian officials (primarily policeman) and informants (see Okhrana), and 43[6][5] or 69[9] injured. In Warsaw alone, sources note "over 100 civilian casualties",[10] another notes 50 Russian policemen killed and 100 wounded,[11] yet another talks of about 200 fatalities.[12] There, an OB PPS group led by Henryk Baron attacked police offices and clashed with Cossacks military unit, which led to a panic in the Russian garrison, suspecting an uprising, and the retreat of some military units from the town. There was also a demonstration at the Grzybowski Square.[13] Another large assault took place in Łódź, where a 25-strong OB PPS group under F. Lipiński attacked a police station, and ambushed several patrols.[3]

Aftermath

Only three days later, on August 18, OB PPS carried out another of its landmark operations, when in Warsaw, OB PPS female actiist, Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz, attempted a failed assassination of the Russian Governor-general of Warsaw, Georgi Skalon.[14]

OB PPS was not fully united behind this operation; it was notably opposed by Józef Piłsudski.[15] Other, more moderate organizations like SDKPiL and Bund where also critical of this operation.[16] Russian response has been a new wave of arrests and persecution of various anti-state activists.[16][17] Imperial Russian Army terrorized worker districts in Warsaw, Łódź and other towns;[18] the most infamous if the reprisal actions was the Russian-organized Siedlce pogrom on 8-10 September of that year.[19][20][21][17][22][18]

Those events became among the most known actions of the OB PPS.[14] They were also among the biggest terrorist-like events in the history of OB PPS.[15][23] It also marked the high point of OB PPS activity, which would wind down over the next year or so.[20][24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Janusz Wojtasik (1987). Idea walki zbrojnej o niepodległość Polski, 1864-1907: koncepcje i próby ich realizacji. Wydawn. Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej. p. 216. http://books.google.com/books?id=YlFJAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  2. ^ a b "„krwawa środa”". Encyklopedia.pwn.pl. http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/3927864/8222krwawa-sroda8221.html. Retrieved 2011-12-30. 
  3. ^ a b Grzegorczyk, Arkadiusz, ed. [uml.lodz.pl/get.php?id=835 "Łódź w ogniu rewolucji 1905 r."]. Ilustrowana encyklopedia historii Łodzi. Miesięcznik Łódzki "Piotrkowska 104" (Supplement Historyczny) (URZĄD MIASTA ŁODZI) VII/12 (7): 196-197. ISSN 1731-092X. uml.lodz.pl/get.php?id=835. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  4. ^ Norman Davies (2005). God's playground: a history of Poland in two volumes. Oxford University Press. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-19-925340-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=9Tbed6iMNLEC&pg=PA275. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  5. ^ a b c http://przeglad-socjalistyczny.pl/wielcy-socjalici/33-jozef-anastazy-montwi-mirecki.html
  6. ^ a b c "Krwawa Środa - WIEM, darmowa encyklopedia". Portalwiedzy.onet.pl. http://portalwiedzy.onet.pl/75782,,,,krwawa_sroda,haslo.html. Retrieved 2011-12-30. 
  7. ^ Wacław Jędrzejewicz (1982). Piłsudski, a life for Poland. Hippocrene Books. p. 42. http://books.google.com/books?id=K3-1AAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  8. ^ Roy Francis Leslie; R. F. Leslie (1983). The History of Poland since 1863. Cambridge University Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-521-27501-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=0tYVKUsnw9IC&pg=PA81. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  9. ^ a b "Początki walki zbrojnej". Świat Polonii - witryna Stowarzyszenia Wspólnota Polska - Kraj i Polonia - O Polsce. http://polonia.h2.pl/index.php?id=pw01. Retrieved 2011-12-30. 
  10. ^ Anna Geifman (1995). Thou shalt kill: revolutionary terrorism in Russia, 1894-1917. Princeton University Press. p. 341. ISBN 978-0-691-02549-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=U_SU7fxj9BMC&pg=PA341. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  11. ^ Anna Geifman (20 May 2010). Death orders: the vanguard of modern terrorism in revolutionary Russia. ABC-CLIO. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-275-99752-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=U2XFtbJOPNsC&pg=PA33. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  12. ^ Tadeusz Władysław Świątek, Rafał Chwiszczuk, Warszawski ruch społecznikowski, Fundacja Cultus, Warszawa, 2010, ISBN 978-83-62679-00-3, p.149
  13. ^ Jerzy Jan Lerski (1996). Historical dictionary of Poland, 966-1945. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-313-26007-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=QTUTqE2difgC&pg=PA183. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  14. ^ a b "Organizacja Bojowa Polskiej Partii Socjalistycznej - WIEM, darmowa encyklopedia". Portalwiedzy.onet.pl. http://portalwiedzy.onet.pl/43402,,,,organizacja_bojowa_polskiej_partii_socjalistycznej,haslo.html. Retrieved 2011-12-30. 
  15. ^ a b Jerzy Besala (2004-05-22). "Kiedy byliśmy terrorystami". Polityka. pp. 80-82. http://archiwum.polityka.pl/art/kiedy-bylismy-terrorystami,398785.html. Retrieved 2011-12-30. 
  16. ^ a b Alicja Wójcik (1984). Ruch robotniczy na Lubelszczyźnie do 1918. Wydawn. Lubelskie. p. 118. ISBN 978-83-222-0328-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=S9YzAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  17. ^ a b Marian Kukiel (1963). Dzieje Polski porozbiorowe, 1795-1921. B. Świderski. p. 537. http://books.google.com/books?id=3ELUAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  18. ^ a b Władysław Pobóg-Malinowski (1990). Najnowsza historia polityczna Polski, 1864-1945. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. p. 166. http://books.google.com/books?id=PEtJAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  19. ^ Ludwik Bazylow (1972). Ostatnie lata Rosji carskiej. Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. p. 162. http://books.google.com/books?id=-9weAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  20. ^ a b Józef Piłsudski; Leon Wasilewski. Pisma zbiorowe: wydanie prac dotychczas drukiem ogłoszonych. Instytut Józefa Piłsudskiego. p. 32. http://books.google.com/books?id=yTg7AQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  21. ^ Zakład Naukowo-Badawczy Archiwistyki (Poland) (1 January 1997). Archeion. Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych, Zakład Naukowo-Badawczy Archiwistyki. p. 334. http://books.google.com/books?id=YxvvAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  22. ^ Feliks Tych (1990). Rok 1905. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. p. 81. ISBN 978-83-03-02915-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=0g_UAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  23. ^ Feliks Gross (1973). Violence in politics: Terror and political assassination in Eastern Europe and Russia. Mouton. p. 142. http://books.google.com/books?id=xUWGAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011. 
  24. ^ Józef Piłsudski (1943). Pisma wybrane. Krakowskie Towarzystwo Wydawnicze. p. 60. http://books.google.com/books?id=HSFAAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 30 December 2011.