I immediately say that I am opposed to the universal enlistment. I'm not going to compose down if it makes sense in today's war. I will not discuss whether it will do anything due to the grandfatherhood of the Polish army.
Professor Adam Wielomski wrote a lot about this, so I will not break open the door and send it back to his appropriate speech. I want to focus on the another side of the problem. I will begin by quoting respective statements from Finnish marshal Gustav Mannerheim. He said that before spending money on the military, people must be given the standard of surviving they themselves want to defend. Think simple and obvious. However, we have specified confusion in Poland that what is simple and apparent is not so.
One of the conclusions stemming from Mannerheim's thought is that the desire to defend the state should consequence from identifying with that State. And this is the first time we are buried in the Polish problem. I know respective smaller and larger entrepreneurs who are wealthy people on Polish conditions. They made money for years. The problem is that what they have earned almost does not affect the functioning of the current form of Polish statehood. The another way around. The institution of the Polish state is considered almost hostile. It is the state that, through a monstrously expanded authoritative apparatus, will prey on them relentlessly, constantly expanding the burden. At first glance, it may seem that they fit Mannerheim's head and should have reason to defend this country. But they don't think so.
There is another group that not only seems to be the beneficiary of the existence of the present form of Polish statehood, but actually is. These are the people employed (I do not compose working at all, due to the fact that it happens differently) in the full government and self-government apparatus, i.e. various offices, state and municipal companies, etc. So as regards Mannerheim's thoughts, they should be primarily curious in defending this country. They're not. It has become so that they are curious in drawing full handfuls from this country and completely uninterested in relation to the another way around. You can train these people, teach them to shoot, mobilize and whatever. However, it is certain that the troops will not be there.
There is another group that is most frequently thought of erstwhile you want to introduce a general conscription. These are young people (I'm not certain it's only men) at the age of the erstwhile termed conscript, that is, first of all, from the 18th to the 20s. They do not mostly consider themselves beneficiaries of life in present Poland. What they have is not due to the fact that it is such, not another Poland. That, and even more they deserve. As I recall, in investigation a fewer years ago the desire to defend Poland armedly declared in this group about 30 percent. More than that, he declared that he would flee the country in the event of war. Even if they get into the army, it'll be more of deserter material than criminal soldiers. In the war in Ukraine, the problem of desertion is huge. I dare say that in the event of war, it won't be any smaller.
In fact, I do not see in Poland a social, professional or even spiritual group that would be willing to consciously and voluntarily elect people who would and could join the army. This III of the Polish Republic differs from the Polish People's Republic and especially from the Second Republic. In the Polish People's Republic, the military was forced and depending on their social backgrounds or lost years – it is for intelligence, or the belief that military service is essential to become a real man – it is for the village and alleged working class. I come from a working household myself, and I remember colleagues in the yard who treated military service like this. Patriotic motivations were active in this case, but did not matter.
In turn, in the second Polish Republic, service in the military was an apparent patriotic duty. This motivation was given to intelligence – bearing a surviving tradition of fighting for independency – the agrarian community and to a lesser degree the working environment. I remember from my grandfather's account, who was commissioned to service in the cavalry, that in his village it was treated as a distinction. specified a conscript had to be healthy first, and secondly he could not be illiterate. In the mediocre interwar village, being able to service in cavalry and not being illiterate was treated as an expression of better social status. Among the interwar intelligence, not to mention the landownership, there was almost full recognition with the Polish state, even erstwhile there was a sharp opposition to the current power.
As you can see in the III Polish Republic almost completely destroyed what was based on effective general military conscription in the II Polish Republic and the Polish People's Republic. It was a complete recognition with the state despite even deep political differences and a common belief that military service makes a young man. It takes years in the current form of Polish statehood to rebuild this ethos of military service.
There is another aspect of this case. My point is to make an atmosphere that better peace at all costs than even the most legitimate reasons for war. This is clearly seen against the background of the Russian-Ukrainian war. It's kind of like the slogan "it's not our war" refers not only to the war of Russia with Ukraine and to bringing Poland into the war with Russia, but to any war, including 1 in which without uncertainty political motivations would come to defend the homeland. If we do not keep the belief that Poland must yet be defended with a weapon in hand, serving in the military – and this present has an ambiguous effect – then the dreams of universal conscription will not make sense. Thus, if the general conscription to the military or even the introduction of universal military training is to make sense, much needs to be changed in the functioning of the state and public awareness. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and that is why I believe that, in the current situation, there is no sense in conscription to the military.
Andrzej Szlezak
