THE POLISH FATHERS RESULTED
In different paths to the Independent. Fathers of Reborn Poland
Fathers of independency are men who were leaders during the 1918 groundbreaking events. Many of them differed — views, creeds, origins, or the possessive country where they grew up. However, it proved to be a large force, due to the fact that erstwhile they began to prosecute the common goal of an independent Polish state, immense crowds of people drew together. They did not agree in everything, later in the free II Republic their conflicts took a dramatic course, but everyone remained faithful to their own views. After planet War I, six fathers of independence: Józef Piłsudski, Roman Dmowski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Wincenty Witos, Wojciech Korfanty and Ignacy Daszyński jointly utilized favorable conditions and led to the birth of the Second Republic.
Ignacy Daszyński (1866-1936)
Ignacy Daszyński (1866-1936), politician, political author and journalist, socialist activist and independency activist, co-founder of the Polish Social Democratic organization Galicia and Silesia Cieszynski, MP to the Austrian State Council, in November 1918 Prime Minister of the Provisional People's Government of the Republic of Poland, during the Second Republic, 1 of the leaders of the Polish Socialist Party, Marshal of the Sejm (1928-1930) and 1 of the leaders of the Centrolev.
Ignacy Daszyński (public domain)
Ignacy Daszyński was born on 26 October 1866 in the rife Sienkiewicz story of Zbaraz, in which he spent a patriotic spirit and atmosphere of the legend of the January Uprising childhood. Soon, however, under the influence of the elder brother Felix, he began to direct his interests toward socialism. Expelled from school for a paper about 1848, before he was sent to Krakow, Daszyński traveled to east Galicia, where he had the chance to look closely at the location of Galician villages and the destiny of a fewer workers there. Having arrived in Cracow in 1888 Daszyński, having previously passed his secondary education, began studying natural discipline at the Jagiellonian University. However, the first harassments and arrests for political activity, which played an increasingly serious function in the young man’s life, rapidly took place. After a short stay in the West, where he met Stanislaw Mendelson, Daszyński returned to Galicia and began to work intensively there on the improvement of the socialist idea, becoming 1 of the main organizers of the movement and creator of socialist parties – the Galician Social Democratic Party, and with the time of the Polish Socialist-Democratic organization of Galicia and Silesia Cieszynski.
Daszyński’s political career was a success. Since 1897 he has sat on the Vienna Council of State, in which – being a associate of the Union of Social-Democratic Members – he became celebrated as a prominent talker and polemicist. He besides celebrated the dignity of the councillor of the city of Krakow, and besides edited a readable and opinionative socialist magazine “Onward”. Before the First planet War, he collaborated with the Polish Socialist organization and personally with Józef Piłsudski, who became a hot supporter, engaging, among others, in the works of Kraków's “Shoot” or the Committee of Confederate independency Parties. After the outbreak of the war Daszyński supported the activity of the Pilsudczyk Polish National Organization. He was inactive active as a politician. In October 1918, he was 1 of the authors of the manifesto to the Austrian Parliament, in which Polish MPs declared that they now respect themselves as Polish citizens.
Shortly after that, Daszyński headed the Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Poland in Lublin, which announced a very progressive and democratic programme of socio-economic reforms. Piłsudski after his return to the country saw Daszyński as the first prime minister of independent Poland, but this candidacy was blocked by the National Democracy. Focusing on parliamentary work, Daszyński was the natural leader of the Polish Socialist Party, at the same time he continued to support Piłsudski's actions. This changed after May 1926 – Daszyński became 1 of the leaders of opposition to the authoritarian regulation of the Pilsudians. Since the early 1930s Daszyński has been sick and could no longer engage in political activity as he utilized to, although he was sympathetic to Centrolew. He died on October 31, 1936.
Roman Dmowski (1864-1939)
Roman Dmowski (1864-1939), politician, political writer, journalist, leader and ideologist of the National Democracy, activist of the Polish League, then 1 of the creators of the National League, co-founded the National Democratic Party, MP for the Russian Duma, during the large War president of the National Committee of Poland, delegate of Poland for the peace conference in Paris, in the Second Republic, among others, Minister of abroad Affairs, founder of the Camp of large Poland and National Party, author of many programme and publicist works.
Roman Dmowski (from the NAC harvest, No. 1-A-493)
Roman Dmowski was born on 9 August 1864 in Kamionek, now part of the Prague-South territory in Warsaw. Despite first problems at the school, Dmowski from early years combined conspiracy-political activity with technological activity. At the end of 1891 the Russian University of Warsaw as a candidate for natural sciences was already a associate of the Union of Polish Youth “ZET” and of the Polish League, which in 1893 turned into a secret National League – an organization with a nationalist direction focusing on national awakening of Poles and expanding their self-awareness in all occupations. Dmowski, forced to leave the Kingdom and settle in Galicia, took over in 1895 in Lviv the editorial office of the “Overview of the All Poland”, whose name began symbolizing the full movement, and he and Zygmunt Balicki and Jan Popławski became his main ideology. He wrote, among others, software works: “Our patriotism” and “The Thoughts of a Modern Pole”. Under the influence of the revolution of 1905, the discrepancy of views on the issue of Polish environments embodyed by Dmowski and Józef Piłsudski was unacceptable. Dmowski was the creator of the alleged anti-German orientation, which he expressed, among others, in the loud book “Germany, Russia and the Polish issue”. He intended to conduct a policy calculated on multi-stageness in pursuit of the main goal – independence. He felt that in order to accomplish it, the first aim should be to merge the separated Polish lands. Seeing the main enemy of the Polish case in the German Reich, he tactically tied his policy with Russia, which led to conflicts and divisions in the environment of National Democracy.
During planet War I, Dmowski conducted a revived political activity. After further Russian defeats, he left for the West, desiring to base his efforts on France and Britain. After the fall of Tsarist Russia in August 1917, he established the National Committee of Poland in Lausanne, which shortly began to be considered by the states of the Entents as the only typical of the reborn Republic. After the war ended, Dmowski and Ignacy Paderewski represented Poland at a peace conference in Paris. It culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, under which the parish of Dmowski is besides visible.
He returned to the country in May 1920 and immediately later joined the State Defence Council, which was established due to the progressive successes of the Bolsheviks in the war with Poland. He continued to patronise the camp of National Democracy, acting in parliament as the People's-National Union, and in October 1923 he took over the portfolio of abroad Minister in the coalition government of Vincent Witos. After the May assassination of Józef Piłsudski, Roman Dmowski tried to reorganize the national movement in Poland in the face of fresh situations and challenges. On his initiative in December 1926, a Camp of large Poland was established, which was delegated by the authorities after respective years. In 1928 the People's and National Union was converted into a National Party. Dmowski died on January 2, 1939.
Wojciech Korfanty (1873-1939)
Wojciech Korfanty (1873-1939), politician, national activist and independency activist, editor and publicist, publisher of the advanced Silesian “Polak”, MP for Reichstag, Polish plebiscite commissioner in advanced Silesia, actual dictator of the 3rd Silesian Uprising, MP for the Polish Parliament and for the Silesian Sejm, leader of Chadation, tried and sentenced in the Brest Process, since 1935 on emigration in Czechoslovakia, co-founder of opposition to the alleged Morges Front sanitation, in the spring of 1939 he returned to a country where he shortly died.
Wojciech Korfanty (public domain)
Wojciech Korfanty was born on 20 April 1873 in Sadzawka (today Siemianowice Śląskie) in advanced Silesia. Raised in a mining household from an early age, Korfanta displayed a keen interest in the case of the Polish national revival in German Silesia. This was to be the first step towards the unification of this territory with Poland, in which the revival and return to the maps of Europe Korfanta profoundly believed. His ideas were designed to infect as many people as possible in advanced Silesia as possible, including publishing many articles in newspapers edited by him – “Górnoślązak” and “Polaka”. In 1902, Korfanta was imprisoned in Wronki for a series of anti-Germans, according to the authorities. However, he no longer intended to turn back from his path. He became increasingly active in politics and became active with Roman Dmowski's national camp. He besides cared for Polish interests by being, among others, a long-time MP to Reichstag, as well as Prussian Landtag. In October 1918, at a time erstwhile the defeat of Germany in planet War I was already fundamentally doomed, Korfanty made an appeal in the German Parliament, in which he demanded that the Polish lands annexed to Prussia tens of years ago as a consequence of the partitions be included in the reborn Republic.
As a consequence of the provisions of the peace conference in Paris, advanced Silesia was to decide on the plebiscite in which residents of this territory were to support Poland or Germany. It was clear that the plebiscite commissioner liable for campaigning and agitation for Poland and for caring for the interests of the Polish population would be Korfanty. incapable to reconcile with the planned division of advanced Silesia after a plebiscite conducted in March 1921, in which little votes were cast for Poland, Poles grabbed arms, triggering the 3rd Silesian uprising. At their head, feeling responsible, Korfanty became. Thanks to Zrev and the effective politics of Korfanty the powers divided advanced Silesia in specified a way that the most industrialized areas of this territory went to Poland. Korfanty himself, being the actual dictator of the uprising, has forever enrolled in the legend of the Slaves' conflict for freedom and the right to Polishness.
In the Second Republic of Corfanta continued his political and journalistic activity. Initially associated with the environment of national democracy over time, he became the leader of the whole, not only of Silesian, chades. Being a associate of the Polish Parliament until 1930, he was – not only in parliament – a sharp opponent of the camp of Józef Piłsudski. In the summertime of 1922, it was planned, in opposition to the politician of the State, that Korfanty become Prime Minister, which was yet unsuccessful. After the May bombing and the takeover of power in the state by Piłsudski Korfanta, he continued to criticize his actions. In 1930 he was detained and imprisoned in the Brest fortress. In 1935 he emigrated to Czechoslovakia and became active in the work of the alleged Fort Morges, which was sponsored by Ignacy Paderewski and Gen. Władysław Sikorski. In the spring of 1939, Korfanty returned to Poland and was shortly arrested. Released from prison due to severe illness, he died on August 17, 1939.
Ignacy Paderewski (1860-1941)
Ignacy Paderewski (1860-1941), pianist, virtuoso, composer, politician, typical of the National Committee of Poland in the United States, president of the Council of Ministers and Minister of abroad Affairs, delegate of Poland to the peace conference in Paris, co-initiator of opposition to the regulation of the Wols of the alleged Morges Front, during planet War II president of the Polish National Council.
Ignacy Paderewski (from the NAC harvest, No. 1-K-6796)
Ignacy Paderewski was born on 18 November 1860 in Kurylówka, Podolu. From his earliest years, he displayed musical abilities that resulted in learning from 1872 to 1878 at the Warsaw Institute of Music, where he studied piano. After graduating from school, he was employed as a lecturer, and he was constantly developing his skills. Touched by household tragedy – the death of his wife, Paderewski left for the West in 1881 to proceed to educate and perfect his workshop. He was and toured, among others, Berlin, Strasbourg, Paris and London, and besides composed. His opera “Manru” was staged on February 14, 1902 at the celebrated Metropolitan Opera in fresh York City. The global fame made him ambassador to the Polish origin in the world, of which Paderewski was aware and increasingly utilized this fact.
In 1910, the Grunwald Memorial founded by Antoni Wiwulski was unveiled in Krakow. During the celebrations attended by crowds of Poles from all occupations, the pianist gave a speech containing the subject of the injustice of partitions and the request to make an independent Polish state. From that point on, politics continued to accompany Paderewski. During planet War I, he and Henry Sienkiewicz became active in the activities of the Swiss General Committee for the Relief of War Victims in Poland. However, he gave Poland the top merit for independency on American soil. While in the United States, Paderewski lobbied through Poland among the decision-makers there, having access even to the administration of president Thomas Woodrow Wilson. possibly it was due to him in Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” presented on 8 January 1918 that he called for “the creation of an independent Polish state”. Since August 1917 Paderewski has been associated with the Polish National Committee established in Lausanne by Roman Dmowski, becoming his typical in the US.
Returning to Poland Paderewski and his stay in Poznań was 1 of the reasons for the outbreak of the Wielkopolska Uprising on December 27, 1918, and his cooperation with Józef Piłsudski and taking over the function of president of the Council of Ministers gave the chance to agree between the State politician and the Polish National Committee in Paris. Paderewski besides served as abroad Minister in his government. He was besides a delegate of Poland to the Paris peace conference, ending with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Since the end of 1919, erstwhile his government collapsed, Paderewski has moved distant from politics, returning to music. In time, however, it came with the gene. Władysław Sikorski at the head of the opposition to the alleged Morges Front, whose name came from the Swiss property Paderewski. During planet War II, Paderewski was thought of as the president of Poland in exile, but yet he headed the Polish National Council. He died on June 29, 1941.
Józef Piłsudski (1867-1935)
Józef Piłsudski (1867-1935), independency activist, 1st Marshal of Poland, Chief Commander of the Polish Army, 1 of the creators and leaders of the Polish Socialist organization and its Combat Organization, head of the Union of Action Combat, during planet War I of the Commandant of the First Polish Legions Brigade, creator of the Polish Military Organization, in the Second Republic, among others, the Warden of the Polish State, after taking power in May 1926 twice Prime Minister, in 1926-1935 Minister of Military Affairs and General Inspector of the Armed Forces, the actual leader of the Polish State.
Józef Piłsudski (public domain)
Józef Piłsudski was born on 5 December 1867 in Zulów, Vilnius in a impoverished noble family. active in the plan to execution Tsar Alexander II, he was arrested and sentenced to Siberia for 5 years in 1887. There he besides came across Marxist ideas and began to research them. However, he looked at them with a large deal of skepticism, reasoning that they were sometimes far from Polish reality. He so became a supporter of the alleged independency socialism, and in this direction he tried to influence the Polish Socialist Party, in which he joined the ranks after returning from exile in 1893. While active in her work Piłsudski edited, among others, the letter “Robotnik” and was liable for the production of the alleged paper, or agitator materials. Since the Revolution of 1905, he has been a strong supporter of the change in the current PPS operations. He felt that the organization should form a subordinate military organization that could either give direction to the anti-Russian uprising or train staff for the future Polish army. He was active in the work of the PPS Combat Organization established in 1904. The differences of opinion in the organization against the background of the “fight” and the general political line led to a divided in 1906. Piłsudski himself has continued his work in Galicia since 1908. The camp of the irredents, led by Piłsudski, led a policy of very flexible, out of dogmas, and its main goal – independence, was to be achieved respective stages. The first step towards it was to teardrop the Polish lands out of Russia, in which Piłsudski saw the main enemy.
Since 1910 Piłsudski has been developing the activity of the firearm Unions in Galicia, which would be the beginning of the Polish armed forces in the future. During the First planet War Piłsudski was at their head fighting alongside Austro-Hungarian and Germany as commander of the First Brigade of the Polish Legions. After the fall of Tsarist Russia, in the summertime of 1917, Piłsudski, not seeing the benefits of the Polish case in further cooperation with Berlin and Vienna, led to the alleged oath crisis in Legions, resulting in him being arrested and imprisoned in a fortress in Magdeburg. Released in November 1918, he returned to the country where he was elected politician of the State – he held that dignity until December 1922.
At the same time Piłsudski besides headed the Polish army, proving it, among others, during the Polish-bolshevik War, in which he won a celebrated triumph in the Warsaw conflict in August 1920. Since mid-1923, giving up his political participation, he has devoted himself primarily to writing and reading, building at the same time and expanding the background of his followers. In May 1926 he carried out an armed coup taking power in Poland. Although he officially held only the position of Chief Inspector of the Armed Forces and Minister of Military Affairs, he was in fact the actual dictator of the Polish state until his death. He died on 12 May 1935.
Vincenty Witos (1874-1945)
Vincenty Witos (1874-1945), politician, folk activist and independency activist, 1 of the creators of the People's organization and the Polish People's organization "Piast", associate of the Austrian State Council, president of the Polish Elimination Commission, during the Second Republic 3 times Prime Minister, 1 of the leaders of the Centrolev, tried and sentenced in the Brest Process, from 1933 to 1939 on political emigration in Czechoslovakia, during planet War II interned by the Germans.
Vincenty Witos (public domain)
Vincenty Witos was born into a household in Wierzchosławice on 21 January 1874. From his earliest years, he showed large interest in the affairs of peasants in Galicia. The engagement in the affairs of his own village brought Witos a choice as a mayor, who held this position continuously from 1909 to 1931. However, it was not exclusively a local problem. He had already become a associate of the People's Party, with time renamed the Polish People's Party, drawing attention to its leaders – Jakub Boyka or Jan Stapiński. The chosen course of policy brought him, among others, a fast entry to the government of the parties, in 1908, a mandate of a associate of the National Parliament in Lviv, and a associate of the State Council in Vienna in 1911. Witos acted not only to democratize social relations in Galicia, to empower peasants, to change the electoral system, to carry out agricultural reform, but besides to combine these issues with the request to rise awareness of national owners and the thought of Poland's independence.
The divided in the folk movement brought the uprising in 1914 of the PSL “Piast”, which Witos became 1 of the leaders. The organization headed by him did not resign during planet War I from the call to rebuild the Polish state, which Witos himself gave a peculiar expression in a peculiar declaration made in May 1917 at the gathering of the National Sejm in Lviv. At that time, he was sympathising with Roman Dmowski's national camp and decided to join the secret National League, which was expected to direct the activities of this environment. Therefore, it cannot be amazing that erstwhile the government of Ignacy Daszyński was created in Lublin on the night of 6th to 7th November 1918, Witos, due to its composition, which he judged to be eminently left-wing, did not agree to take up any function in it. For this he was the head of the Polish Elimination Commission, which was then established in Kraków.
Witos' political career gained momentum during the Second Republic. It was widely regarded as the undisputed leader of the people's movement in Poland, and without its “Piaste” it was not imagined to form a majority in parliament that could establish a government. In fact, Witos served as Prime Minister 3 times – between 1920 and 1921, 1923 and 1926. His establishment of the cabinet in May 1926 in a coalition with the hated by Józef Piłsudski National Democracy became 1 of the reasons for the Piłsudski coup then. After May, Witos never played a function like before. Having engaged in opposition work against the Centrolev walsudczyks, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Brest fortress on September 9, 1930, and then sentenced to a year and a half in prison in the Brest trial. He then decided to leave Poland and to emigrate to Czechoslovakia, from which he returned to Poland in March 1939. During planet War II, he refused to cooperate with Germany and was held under home arrest in the household Wierzchosławice. After the war ended, he besides refused to cooperate with the russian Union. Witos had already died on October 31, 1945.
Written by Dr. Krzysztof Kloc
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