Józef Piłsudski, soldier and statesman.
Józef Piłsudski
Author: Prof. Wojciech Roszkowski
In the communist era, a certain anti-cult of Józef Piłsudski distanced our imagination from this figure. There are quite superficial assessments and emotions in it overall, and relatively little knowledge. Meanwhile, like few other prominent Polish politicians, Piłsudski deserves in-depth understanding. Great political talents are combined in this figure with all the complex Polish issues of the late 19th and 20th century. The place of his birth in 1867 - the manor house in Zułów in the Vilnius region, now called Zalavas - noble lineage and socialist youth, Polish independence socialism (thus anti-Russian), Siberian exile and conspiratorial activity in the PPS - these are just the beginnings of this extraordinary biography.
Exceptional energy and resourcefulness characterized Piłsudski throughout his life. Arrested in 1900 in the Warsaw Citadel, he escaped from the prison hospital to Galicia, where he continued his independence activities. He was in London and Tokyo. He led the Combat Organization of the PPS, carrying out a confiscatory attack on a Russian train near Bezdanami. He founded the Union of Active Struggle in Galicia and commanded the riflemen's teams, practicing military craftsmanship in anticipation of the upcoming war.
After the outbreak of the war, he unsuccessfully attempted to ignite an anti-Russian uprising in Congress Poland, leading the action of the First Cadre Company. When the Supreme National Committee formed the Polish Legions alongside the Austro-Hungarian army - he commanded their First Brigade. Almost every Polish person knows their song "We, the First Brigade ..."
When, despite the defeat of Russia, the victory of the Central Powers in the war on the Western Front became increasingly doubtful, he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the German and Austro-Hungarian emperors in July 1917, allowing himself to be interned in Magdeburg and waiting for the war to end, when Germany agreed to his return to Warsaw.
The strategic master game initiated by him on November 10, 1918, led to almost bloodless disarmament of German soldiers, preventing a Bolshevik revolution in Poland, containing nationalist sentiments, establishing a government recognized by the victorious Entente under Ignacy Paderewski, holding the first elections in January 1919, and opening the Legislative Sejm.
From 1918 to 1922, Piłsudski led the rebuilding of statehood, also in military terms, commanding the Polish Army in the victorious war with Soviet Russia. After the assassination of the first president, Gabriel Narutowicz, he withdrew from public life but returned, leading the coup in May 1926. Although he initially supported democracy, disillusioned with its Polish version, he struggled with parliamentary opposition and broke it in the 1930 elections, creating an authoritarian sanation system. At that time, he also struggled with a serious illness.
Shortly before his death, he accepted the April Constitution of 1935. He tried to strengthen Poland's international position by concluding two non-aggression pacts in 1934: with Germany and the USSR. However, he was a realist - he said that they gave Poland another five years of peace...
The texts available on the National Library website constitute an extensive selection of Marshal's most important statements, allowing not only to understand his thoughts but also to discover the characteristics of his character.
.Józef Piłsudski
Author: Prof. Wojciech Roszkowski
In the communist era, a certain anti-cult of Józef Piłsudski distanced our imagination from this figure. There are quite superficial assessments and emotions in it overall, and relatively little knowledge. Meanwhile, like few other prominent Polish politicians, Piłsudski deserves in-depth understanding. Great political talents are combined in this figure with all the complex Polish issues of the late 19th and 20th century. The place of his birth in 1867 - the manor house in Zułów in the Vilnius region, now called Zalavas - noble lineage and socialist youth, Polish independence socialism (thus anti-Russian), Siberian exile and conspiratorial activity in the PPS - these are just the beginnings of this extraordinary biography.
Exceptional energy and resourcefulness characterized Piłsudski throughout his life. Arrested in 1900 in the Warsaw Citadel, he escaped from the prison hospital to Galicia, where he continued his independence activities. He was in London and Tokyo. He led the Combat Organization of the PPS, carrying out a confiscatory attack on a Russian train near Bezdanami. He founded the Union of Active Struggle in Galicia and commanded the riflemen's teams, practicing military craftsmanship in anticipation of the upcoming war.
After the outbreak of the war, he unsuccessfully attempted to ignite an anti-Russian uprising in Congress Poland, leading the action of the First Cadre Company. When the Supreme National Committee formed the Polish Legions alongside the Austro-Hungarian army - he commanded their First Brigade. Almost every Polish person knows their song "We, the First Brigade ..."
When, despite the defeat of Russia, the victory of the Central Powers in the war on the Western Front became increasingly doubtful, he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the German and Austro-Hungarian emperors in July 1917, allowing himself to be interned in Magdeburg and waiting for the war to end, when Germany agreed to his return to Warsaw.
The strategic master game initiated by him on November 10, 1918, led to almost bloodless disarmament of German soldiers, preventing a Bolshevik revolution in Poland, containing nationalist sentiments, establishing a government recognized by the victorious Entente under Ignacy Paderewski, holding the first elections in January 1919, and opening the Legislative Sejm.
From 1918 to 1922, Piłsudski led the rebuilding of statehood, also in military terms, commanding the Polish Army in the victorious war with Soviet Russia. After the assassination of the first president, Gabriel Narutowicz, he withdrew from public life but returned, leading the coup in May 1926. Although he initially supported democracy, disillusioned with its Polish version, he struggled with parliamentary opposition and broke it in the 1930 elections, creating an authoritarian sanation system. At that time, he also struggled with a serious illness.
Shortly before his death, he accepted the April Constitution of 1935. He tried to strengthen Poland's international position by concluding two non-aggression pacts in 1934: with Germany and the USSR. However, he was a realist - he said that they gave Poland another five years of peace...
The texts available on the National Library website constitute an extensive selection of Marshal's most important statements, allowing not only to understand his thoughts but also to discover the characteristics of his character.
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