Polish resistance movement during the partitions
Encyclopedia
Polish resistance movement during the partitions refers to the resistance movement
in partitioned Poland (1795–1918). Although some of the szlachta
was reconciled to the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
in 1795, the possibility of Polish independence was kept alive by events within and without Poland throughout the nineteenth century. Poland's location on the Northern European Lowlands
became especially significant in a period when its neighbours, the Kingdom of Prussia
and Russia
were intensely involved in European rivalries and alliances and modern nation states took form over the entire continent.
had begun to feel the impact of momentous political and intellectual movements that, among their other effects, would keep the "Polish Question" on the agenda of international issues needing resolution. Most immediately, Napoleon Bonaparte's attempts to build and expand his empire kept Europe at war for the
next decade and brought him into conflict with the same east European powers that had beleaguered Poland
in the last decades of the previous century. An alliance of convenience was the natural result of this situation. Volunteer Polish legions
attached themselves to Bonaparte's armies, hoping that in return the emperor would allow an independent Poland to reappear out of his conquests.
Although Napoleon promised more than he ever intended to deliver to the Polish cause, in 1807 (after the Wielkopolska Uprising (1806)
) he created a Duchy of Warsaw
from Prussia
n territory that had been part of old Poland and was still inhabited by Poles. The Duchy disappeared after Napoleon's defeat and the Congress of Vienna
.
Although brief, the Napoleonic period occupies an important place in Polish history. Much of the legend and symbolism of modern Polish patriotism
derives from this period, including the conviction that Polish independence is a necessary element of a just and legitimate European order. This conviction was simply expressed in a fighting slogan of the time, "for your freedom and ours." Moreover, the appearance of the Duchy of Warsaw so soon after the partitions proved that the seemingly final historical death sentence delivered in 1795 was not necessarily the end of the Polish nation-state. Instead, many observers came to believe that favourable circumstances would free Poland from foreign domination.
took shape and rapidly developed a massive following throughout the continent, becoming the most dynamic and appealing political doctrine of its time. By stressing the value and dignity of native cultures and languages, nationalism offered a rationale for ethnic loyalty and Romanticism
was the artistic element of 19th century European culture that exerted the strongest influence on the Polish national consciousness. The Romantic movement was a natural partner of political nationalism, for it echoed the nationalist sympathy for folk cultures and manifested a general air of disdain for the conservative political order of post-Napoleonic Europe. Under this influence, Polish literature flourished anew in the works of a school of nineteenth-century Romantic poets, led by Adam Mickiewicz
. Mickiewicz concentrated on patriotic themes and the glorious national past. Repressed by the partitioning authorities, cultural movements (such as the Philomaths
) would lay groundwork for nationalistic and patriotic uprisings that would soon come.
Nurtured by these influences, nationalism awoke first among the intelligentsia and certain segments of the nobility, then more gradually in the peasantry. At the end of the process, a broader definition of nationhood had replaced the old class-based "noble patriotism" of Poland. In particular, peasants, who cared little for the oppressive, serfdom dominated Commonwealth, would increasingly become involved in the Polish cause.
, granting it a quite liberal constitution
, its own army, and limited autonomy within the tsarist empire. In the 1820s, however, Russian rule grew more arbitrary, and secret societies
were formed by intellectuals in several cities to plot an insurrection. In November 1830, Polish troops in Warsaw rose in revolt. When the government of Congress Poland proclaimed solidarity with the rebel forces shortly thereafter, a new Polish-Russian war began. The rebels' requests for aid from France were ignored, and their reluctance to abolish serfdom
cost them the support of the peasantry. By September 1831, the Russians had subdued Polish resistance and forced 6,000 resistance fighters into exile
in France, beginning a time of harsh repression of intellectual and religious activity throughout Poland. At the same time, Congress Poland lost its constitution and its army.
After the failure of the November Revolt
, clandestine conspiratorial activity continued on Polish territory. An exiled Polish political and intellectual elite established a base of operations in Paris
. A conservative group headed by Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
(one of the leaders of the November Revolt) relied on foreign diplomatic support to restore Poland's status as established by the Congress of Vienna, which Russia had routinely violated beginning in 1819. Otherwise, this group was satisfied with a return to monarchy and traditional social structures.
The radical factions never formed a united front on any issue besides the general goal of independence. Their programs insisted that the Poles liberate themselves by their own efforts and linked independence with republicanism
and the emancipation of the serfs. Handicapped by internal division, limited resources, heavy surveillance, and persecution of revolutionary cells in Poland, the Polish national movement suffered numerous losses. The movement sustained a major setback in the 1846 revolt organized in Austrian Poland by the Polish Democratic Society
, the leading radical nationalist group. The uprising ended in a bloody fiasco when the peasantry took up arms
against the rebel leadership dominated by nobility and gentry, which was regarded as potentially a worse oppressor than the Austrians. By incurring harsh military repression from Austria, the failed revolt
left the Polish nationalists in a poor position to participate in the wave of national revolution that crossed Europe in 1848 and 1849 (although an insurrection occurred in German occupied Greater Poland). The stubborn idealism of this uprising's leaders emphasized individual liberty and separate national identity rather than establishment of a unified republic—a significant change of political philosophy from earlier movements.
The last and most tenacious of the Polish uprisings of the mid-nineteenth century erupted in the Russian-occupied sector in January 1863 (see January Uprising
). Following Russia's disastrous defeat in the Crimean War
, the government of Tsar Alexander II
enacted a series of liberal reforms, including liberation of the serf
s throughout the empire. High-handed imposition of land reforms in Poland aroused hostility among the landed nobles and a group of young radical intellectuals influenced by Karl Marx
and the Russian liberal Alexander Herzen
. Repeating the pattern of 1830-31, the open revolt of the January Insurrection by Congress Poland failed to win foreign backing. Although its socially progressive program could not mobilize the peasants, the rebellion persisted stubbornly for fifteen months. After finally crushing the insurgency in August 1864, Russia abolished the Congress Poland of Poland altogether and revoked the separate status of the Polish lands, incorporating them directly as the Western Region of the Russian Empire. The region was placed under the dictatorial rule of Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov-Vilensky
, who became known as the Hangman of Vilna. All Polish citizens were assimilated into the empire. When Russia officially emancipated the Polish serfs in early 1864, it removed a major rallying point from the agenda of potential Polish revolutionaries.
for its philosophy of strengthening Polish society at the grass roots, influenced by positivism
. For some, the adoption of Organic Work meant permanent resignation to foreign rule, but many advocates recommended it as a strategy to combat repression while awaiting an eventual opportunity to achieve self-government.
Neither as colorful as the rebellions nor as loftily enshrined in national memory, the quotidian methods of Organic Work proved well successful in combating policies of occupiers polices of Germanization and Russification
.
in the years (1905–1907) was a major part of the Russian Revolution of 1905 in Russian-partitioned Poland . One of the major events of that period was the insurrection in Łódź in June 1905. Throughout that period, many smaller manifestations, demonstrations and armed struggles between the peasants and workers on one side, and the government on the other, would take place. The demands of the demonstrators would include both the improvement of the workers living conditions, and political freedoms, particularly related to increased autonomy for Poland. Particularly in 1905, Poland was at the verge of the new uprising, revolution or a civil war. While never reaching the national scale of the November or January Uprisings, some Polish historians indeed consider the events of that period a notable uprising against the Russian Empire
.
and the collapse of the Russia
n, German
and Austro-Hungarian Empires, Poland became an independent republic. However, Poland's geographical position between Germany and Russia had meant much fighting and terrific human and material losses for the Poles
between 1914 and 1918.
The war split the ranks of the three partitioning empires, pitting Russia as defender of Serbia
and ally of Britain
and France
against the leading members of the Central Powers
, Germany and Austria-Hungary. This circumstance afforded the Poles political leverage as both sides offered pledges of concessions and future autonomy in exchange for Polish loyalty and army recruits, as partitioners encouraged the raise of Polish resistance movements targeting the "other side". The Austrians wanted to incorporate Congress Poland
into their territory of Galicia, so even before the war they allowed nationalist organizations to form there (for example, Związek Strzelecki
), which would eventually be the basis of the Polish Legions in World War I
. The Russians recognized the Polish right to autonomy and allowed formation of the Polish National Committee, which supported the Russian side; it would eventually read to the rise of the Blue Army
in France
.
In the meantime, Piłsudski had correctly predicted that the war would ruin all three of the partitioners, a conclusion most people thought highly unlikely before 1918. Piłsudski, in addition to his Legions, would also form the Polish Military Organization, a secret counterpart to the officially pro-Austrian Legions. PMO, clearly tasked with regaining Polish independence, would increasingly work against all three partitioners.
Piłsudski became a popular hero when Berlin
jailed him for insubordination. The Allies broke the resistance of the Central Powers by autumn 1918, as the Habsburg
monarchy disintegrated and the German imperial government collapsed. The Greater Poland Uprising
, one of the few Polish uprisings to actually succeed, that begun around that time, marks - with its success - the end of the Polish resistance to the partitioners. In October 1918, Polish authorities took over Galicia and Cieszyn Silesia
. In November 1918, Piłsudski was released from internment in Germany by the revolutionaries and returned to Warsaw. Upon his arrival, on November 11, 1918 the Regency Council
of the Regency Kingdom of Poland (intended to be a German puppet state) ceded all responsibilities to him and Piłsudski took control over the newly created state as its provisional Chief of State
. Soon all the local governments that had been created in the last months of the war pledged allegiance to the central government in Warsaw. Independent Poland, which had been absent from the map of Europe for 123 years, was reborn.
The newly created state initially consisted of former Congress Poland
, western Galicia (with Lwów besieged
by the Ukrainians
) and part of Cieszyn Silesia
.
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
in partitioned Poland (1795–1918). Although some of the szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
was reconciled to the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
in 1795, the possibility of Polish independence was kept alive by events within and without Poland throughout the nineteenth century. Poland's location on the Northern European Lowlands
Northern European Lowlands
The North European Plain is a geomorphological region in Europe. It consists of the low plains between the Central European Highlands to the south and the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the north. These two seas are separated by the Jutland peninsula...
became especially significant in a period when its neighbours, the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
and Russia
Russian history, 1682-1796
-The era of Russian palace revolutions :Peter changed the rules of succession to the throne after the death of his son, Aleksey, who had opposed his father's reforms and served as a rallying figure for anti-reform groups. A new law provided that the tsar would choose his own successor, but Peter...
were intensely involved in European rivalries and alliances and modern nation states took form over the entire continent.
The Napoleonic period
At the turn of the 19th century, EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
had begun to feel the impact of momentous political and intellectual movements that, among their other effects, would keep the "Polish Question" on the agenda of international issues needing resolution. Most immediately, Napoleon Bonaparte's attempts to build and expand his empire kept Europe at war for the
next decade and brought him into conflict with the same east European powers that had beleaguered Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in the last decades of the previous century. An alliance of convenience was the natural result of this situation. Volunteer Polish legions
Polish Legions in Italy
The Polish Legions, in the Napoleonic period, were several Polish military units that served with the French Army from the 1790s to the 1810s....
attached themselves to Bonaparte's armies, hoping that in return the emperor would allow an independent Poland to reappear out of his conquests.
Although Napoleon promised more than he ever intended to deliver to the Polish cause, in 1807 (after the Wielkopolska Uprising (1806)
Wielkopolska Uprising (1806)
Greater Poland Uprising of 1806 was a military insurrection by Poles in Wielkopolska against the occupying Prussian forces after the Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ....
) he created a Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
from Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n territory that had been part of old Poland and was still inhabited by Poles. The Duchy disappeared after Napoleon's defeat and the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
.
Although brief, the Napoleonic period occupies an important place in Polish history. Much of the legend and symbolism of modern Polish patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
derives from this period, including the conviction that Polish independence is a necessary element of a just and legitimate European order. This conviction was simply expressed in a fighting slogan of the time, "for your freedom and ours." Moreover, the appearance of the Duchy of Warsaw so soon after the partitions proved that the seemingly final historical death sentence delivered in 1795 was not necessarily the end of the Polish nation-state. Instead, many observers came to believe that favourable circumstances would free Poland from foreign domination.
The impact of nationalism and romanticism
The intellectual and artistic climate of the early nineteenth century further stimulated the growth of Polish demands for self-government. During these decades, modern nationalismNationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
took shape and rapidly developed a massive following throughout the continent, becoming the most dynamic and appealing political doctrine of its time. By stressing the value and dignity of native cultures and languages, nationalism offered a rationale for ethnic loyalty and Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
was the artistic element of 19th century European culture that exerted the strongest influence on the Polish national consciousness. The Romantic movement was a natural partner of political nationalism, for it echoed the nationalist sympathy for folk cultures and manifested a general air of disdain for the conservative political order of post-Napoleonic Europe. Under this influence, Polish literature flourished anew in the works of a school of nineteenth-century Romantic poets, led by Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
. Mickiewicz concentrated on patriotic themes and the glorious national past. Repressed by the partitioning authorities, cultural movements (such as the Philomaths
Philomaths
The Philomaths, or Philomath Society , was a secret student organization that existed from 1817 to 1823 at the Imperial University of Vilnius.-History:...
) would lay groundwork for nationalistic and patriotic uprisings that would soon come.
Nurtured by these influences, nationalism awoke first among the intelligentsia and certain segments of the nobility, then more gradually in the peasantry. At the end of the process, a broader definition of nationhood had replaced the old class-based "noble patriotism" of Poland. In particular, peasants, who cared little for the oppressive, serfdom dominated Commonwealth, would increasingly become involved in the Polish cause.
The era of national insurrections
For several decades, the Polish national movement gave priority to the immediate restoration of independence, a drive that found expression in a series of armed rebellions. The insurgencies arose mainly in the Russian zone of partition to the east, about three-quarters of which was formerly Polish territory. After the Congress of Vienna, Russia had organized its Polish lands as the Congress Poland of PolandCongress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
, granting it a quite liberal constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, its own army, and limited autonomy within the tsarist empire. In the 1820s, however, Russian rule grew more arbitrary, and secret societies
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
were formed by intellectuals in several cities to plot an insurrection. In November 1830, Polish troops in Warsaw rose in revolt. When the government of Congress Poland proclaimed solidarity with the rebel forces shortly thereafter, a new Polish-Russian war began. The rebels' requests for aid from France were ignored, and their reluctance to abolish serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
cost them the support of the peasantry. By September 1831, the Russians had subdued Polish resistance and forced 6,000 resistance fighters into exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in France, beginning a time of harsh repression of intellectual and religious activity throughout Poland. At the same time, Congress Poland lost its constitution and its army.
After the failure of the November Revolt
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
, clandestine conspiratorial activity continued on Polish territory. An exiled Polish political and intellectual elite established a base of operations in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. A conservative group headed by Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski was a Polish-Lithuanian noble, statesman and author. He was the son of Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and Izabela Fleming....
(one of the leaders of the November Revolt) relied on foreign diplomatic support to restore Poland's status as established by the Congress of Vienna, which Russia had routinely violated beginning in 1819. Otherwise, this group was satisfied with a return to monarchy and traditional social structures.
The radical factions never formed a united front on any issue besides the general goal of independence. Their programs insisted that the Poles liberate themselves by their own efforts and linked independence with republicanism
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
and the emancipation of the serfs. Handicapped by internal division, limited resources, heavy surveillance, and persecution of revolutionary cells in Poland, the Polish national movement suffered numerous losses. The movement sustained a major setback in the 1846 revolt organized in Austrian Poland by the Polish Democratic Society
Polish Democratic Society
Polish Democratic Society was one of the most important organizations of Polish Great Emigration in 19th century France. Formed in 1832 from a faction of the Polish National Committee and led by Tadeusz Krępowiecki and Aleksander Pułaski, it argued for the need of drastic reforms in reconstituted...
, the leading radical nationalist group. The uprising ended in a bloody fiasco when the peasantry took up arms
Galician slaughter
"The Galician Slaughter" also "The Peasant Uprising of 1846" or Szela uprising was a two month uprising of Polish peasants resulting inter alia in suppression of other - szlachta uprising and massacre of szlachta in Galicia in the Austrian partition in early 1846. The peasant uprising lasted from...
against the rebel leadership dominated by nobility and gentry, which was regarded as potentially a worse oppressor than the Austrians. By incurring harsh military repression from Austria, the failed revolt
Kraków Uprising
The Kraków Uprising of February 1846 was an attempt, led by Edward Dembowski, to incite a Polish fight for national independence. Even though most of Poland was part of the Russian Empire, the Polish risings were conducted mainly in Prussia and in the Austrian Empire.-History:Most of the...
left the Polish nationalists in a poor position to participate in the wave of national revolution that crossed Europe in 1848 and 1849 (although an insurrection occurred in German occupied Greater Poland). The stubborn idealism of this uprising's leaders emphasized individual liberty and separate national identity rather than establishment of a unified republic—a significant change of political philosophy from earlier movements.
The last and most tenacious of the Polish uprisings of the mid-nineteenth century erupted in the Russian-occupied sector in January 1863 (see January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
). Following Russia's disastrous defeat in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, the government of Tsar Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
enacted a series of liberal reforms, including liberation of the serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
s throughout the empire. High-handed imposition of land reforms in Poland aroused hostility among the landed nobles and a group of young radical intellectuals influenced by Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and the Russian liberal Alexander Herzen
Alexander Herzen
Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism", and one of the main fathers of agrarian populism...
. Repeating the pattern of 1830-31, the open revolt of the January Insurrection by Congress Poland failed to win foreign backing. Although its socially progressive program could not mobilize the peasants, the rebellion persisted stubbornly for fifteen months. After finally crushing the insurgency in August 1864, Russia abolished the Congress Poland of Poland altogether and revoked the separate status of the Polish lands, incorporating them directly as the Western Region of the Russian Empire. The region was placed under the dictatorial rule of Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov-Vilensky
Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov-Vilensky
Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov was one of the most reactionary Russian imperial statesmen of the 19th century...
, who became known as the Hangman of Vilna. All Polish citizens were assimilated into the empire. When Russia officially emancipated the Polish serfs in early 1864, it removed a major rallying point from the agenda of potential Polish revolutionaries.
The time of "Organic Work"
Increasing oppression at Russian hands after failed national uprisings finally convinced Polish leaders that the recent insurrection was premature at best and perhaps fundamentally misguided and counterproductive. During the decades that followed the January Insurrection, Poles largely forsook the goal of immediate independence and turned instead to fortifying the nation through the subtler means of education, economic development, and modernization. This approach took the name Organic WorkOrganic work
Organic work is a term coined by 19th century Polish positivists, denoting an ideology demanding that the vital powers of the nation be spent on labour rather than fruitless national uprisings. The basic principles of the organic work included education of the masses and increase of the economical...
for its philosophy of strengthening Polish society at the grass roots, influenced by positivism
Positivism in Poland
Positivism in Poland was a socio-cultural movement that defined progressive thought in literature and social sciences of Partitioned Poland following the suppression of the 1863 January Uprising against the occupying army of Imperial Russia...
. For some, the adoption of Organic Work meant permanent resignation to foreign rule, but many advocates recommended it as a strategy to combat repression while awaiting an eventual opportunity to achieve self-government.
Neither as colorful as the rebellions nor as loftily enshrined in national memory, the quotidian methods of Organic Work proved well successful in combating policies of occupiers polices of Germanization and Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
.
Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland
Revolution in the Kingdom of PolandRevolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905-1907)
The Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland was a major part of the Russian Revolution of 1905 in Russian-partitioned Poland . One of the major events of that period was the insurrection in Łódź in June 1905...
in the years (1905–1907) was a major part of the Russian Revolution of 1905 in Russian-partitioned Poland . One of the major events of that period was the insurrection in Łódź in June 1905. Throughout that period, many smaller manifestations, demonstrations and armed struggles between the peasants and workers on one side, and the government on the other, would take place. The demands of the demonstrators would include both the improvement of the workers living conditions, and political freedoms, particularly related to increased autonomy for Poland. Particularly in 1905, Poland was at the verge of the new uprising, revolution or a civil war. While never reaching the national scale of the November or January Uprisings, some Polish historians indeed consider the events of that period a notable uprising against the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
World War I
After World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the collapse of the Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
n, German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and Austro-Hungarian Empires, Poland became an independent republic. However, Poland's geographical position between Germany and Russia had meant much fighting and terrific human and material losses for the Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
between 1914 and 1918.
The war split the ranks of the three partitioning empires, pitting Russia as defender of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and ally of Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
against the leading members of the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
, Germany and Austria-Hungary. This circumstance afforded the Poles political leverage as both sides offered pledges of concessions and future autonomy in exchange for Polish loyalty and army recruits, as partitioners encouraged the raise of Polish resistance movements targeting the "other side". The Austrians wanted to incorporate Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
into their territory of Galicia, so even before the war they allowed nationalist organizations to form there (for example, Związek Strzelecki
Zwiazek Strzelecki
Związek Strzelecki "Strzelec" was a Polish paramilitary cultural and educational organization created in 1910 in Lwów as a legal front of Związek Walki Czynnej, and revived in Poland in 1991....
), which would eventually be the basis of the Polish Legions in World War I
Polish Legions in World War I
Polish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...
. The Russians recognized the Polish right to autonomy and allowed formation of the Polish National Committee, which supported the Russian side; it would eventually read to the rise of the Blue Army
Blue Army
The Blue Army, or Haller's Army, are informal names given to the Polish Army units formed in France during the later stages of World War I. The army was created in June 1917 as part of the Polish units allied to the Entente. After the Great War ended, the units were transferred to Poland, where...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
In the meantime, Piłsudski had correctly predicted that the war would ruin all three of the partitioners, a conclusion most people thought highly unlikely before 1918. Piłsudski, in addition to his Legions, would also form the Polish Military Organization, a secret counterpart to the officially pro-Austrian Legions. PMO, clearly tasked with regaining Polish independence, would increasingly work against all three partitioners.
Piłsudski became a popular hero when Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
jailed him for insubordination. The Allies broke the resistance of the Central Powers by autumn 1918, as the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
monarchy disintegrated and the German imperial government collapsed. The Greater Poland Uprising
Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919)
The Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919, or Wielkopolska Uprising of 1918–1919 or Posnanian War was a military insurrection of Poles in the Greater Poland region against Germany...
, one of the few Polish uprisings to actually succeed, that begun around that time, marks - with its success - the end of the Polish resistance to the partitioners. In October 1918, Polish authorities took over Galicia and Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...
. In November 1918, Piłsudski was released from internment in Germany by the revolutionaries and returned to Warsaw. Upon his arrival, on November 11, 1918 the Regency Council
Regency Council
right|thumb|Regency Council: Ostrowski, Kakowski, LubomirskiThe Regency Council of the Kingdom of Poland was a semi-independent and temporary highest authority during World War I, formed by Germany and Austria-Hungary in the occupied Polish territories in September 1917. It was supposed to stay...
of the Regency Kingdom of Poland (intended to be a German puppet state) ceded all responsibilities to him and Piłsudski took control over the newly created state as its provisional Chief of State
Naczelnik panstwa
Naczelnik Państwa was the title of Poland's head of state in the early years of the Second Polish Republic. This office was held only by Józef Piłsudski, from 1918 to 1922. Until 1919 it was called tymczasowy naczelnik państwa...
. Soon all the local governments that had been created in the last months of the war pledged allegiance to the central government in Warsaw. Independent Poland, which had been absent from the map of Europe for 123 years, was reborn.
The newly created state initially consisted of former Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
, western Galicia (with Lwów besieged
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
by the Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
) and part of Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...
.