Second Polish Republic

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rzeczpospolita Polska
Republic of Poland
↓ 1918–1939 →
 
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Flag Coat of arms
1919–1927
Anthem
Mazurek Dąbrowskiego

Capital Warsaw
Language(s) Polish official
Ukrainian, Yiddish, Belarusian, Russian, Lithuanian and German also spoken
Government Republic
President List
Prime minister List
Legislature Sejm
 - upper chamber Senat
 - lower chamber Sejm
Historical era Interwar period
 - World War I November 11, 1918
 - Invasion September 1, 1939
Area
 - 1921 387,000 km² (149,422 sq mi)
 - 1931 388,634 km² (150,052 sq mi)
 - 1938 389,720 km² (150,472 sq mi)
Population
 - 1921 est. 27,177,000 
     Density 70.2 /km²  (181.9 /sq mi)
 - 1931 est. 32,107,000 
     Density 82.6 /km²  (214 /sq mi)
 - 1938 est. 34,849,000 
     Density 89.4 /km²  (231.6 /sq mi)
Currency Marka (until 1924)
Złoty (after 1924)
Preceded by Succeeded by
Russian Empire
Austria–Hungary
German Empire
Kingdom of Poland (1916–1918)
Republic of Zakopane
West Ukrainian National Republic
Lemko-Rusyn Republic
Komancza Republic
Ukrainian People's Republic
Republic of Central Lithuania
Nazi Germany
Soviet Union
Lithuania
Polish Underground State

The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland (Polish: II Rzeczpospolita, lit. "Second Republic"), officially known as the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska), was the independent Polish state that existed between the two world wars: from the creation of an independent Poland in the aftermath of World War I, to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic, which marked the beginning of World War II.

When the borders of the state were fixed in 1922 after several regional conflicts, the Republic bordered Czechoslovakia, Germany, Free City of Danzig, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, and the Soviet Union, plus a tiny strip of the coastline of the Baltic Sea, around the city of Gdynia. Furthermore, in the period March 1939 – August 1939, Poland bordered then-Hungarian Carpathian Ruthenia. It had an area of 388 634 km² (sixth largest in Europe, in the fall of 1938, after the annexation of Zaolzie, the area grew to 389,720 km².), and 27.2 million inhabitants according to the 1921 census. In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, it had an estimated 35.1 million inhabitants. Almost a third of these were of minority groups: 13.9% Ukrainians; 3.1% Belarusians; 8.6% Jews; 2.3% Germans; and 3.4% percent Czechs, Lithuanians and Russians).

The Second Polish Republic is often associated with times of great adversity, of troubles and of triumph. Having to deal with the economic difficulties and destruction of World War I, followed by the Soviet invasion during the Polish–Soviet War, and then increasingly hostile neighbors such as Nazi Germany, the Republic managed not only to endure, but to expand. Lacking an overseas empire (see: Maritime and Colonial League), Poland nevertheless maintained a level of economic development and prosperity comparable to that of the West. The cultural hubs of Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Wilno and Lwów raised themselves to the level of major European cities. They were also the sites of internationally acclaimed universities and other institutions of higher education. By 1939 the Republic was becoming a major world player in politics and economics.[1]

History

Timeline (1918–1939)

• Independence; Warsaw was free: November 11, 1918.
• Elections to the Sejm: January 26, 1919.
• Treaty of Versailles (Articles 87–93) and Little Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919, establish Poland as a sovereign and independent state on the international arena.
• War against the Ukrainians: Polish-Ukrainian War.
• War against the Soviets: Polish-Soviet War. Miracle of the Vistula. Treaty of Riga.
• War against the Lithuanians: Polish-Lithuanian War.
• Border conflicts between Poland and Czechoslovakia.
• Uprisings in Wielkopolska and Silesia. Great Poland Uprising, Silesian Uprisings.
• July 15, 1920 – Agrarian Reform.
• March 17, 1921 – March Constitution.
• 1921 – alliances with France, Romania.
• March 24, 1922 – annexation of Vilnius Region from Lithuania
• Elections to the Sejm (1922-11-05) and to the Senat – 1922-11-12.
• President Gabriel Narutowicz, and his assassination (December 16, 1922).
• 1924 – Wladyslaw Grabski Government. Bank Polski. Monetary reform 1924 in Poland.
• President Stanisław Wojciechowski – December 20, 1922, to Zamach majowy.
• Coup of May – Zamach majowy, 1926, May, Józef Piłsudski coup d'état (May Coup). beginning of Sanacja government.
• Roman Dmowski, Obóz Wielkiej Polski (4 December 1926), Endecja.
• 1928 – Piłsudski's nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government.
• 16 November 1930 – Polish legislative election.
• 25 July 1932 – non-aggression pact with Soviet Union
• 26 January 1934 – non-aggression pact with Germany
• 23 April 1935 – April Constitution
• 12 May 1935 – death of Józef Piłsudski
• 1930s – Gdynia, Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy (1936), Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski
• 2 February 1937 – creation of the Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego political party".[2].
• October 1938 – annexation of Zaolzie, Górna Orawa, Jaworzyna from Czechoslovakia
• 2 January 1939 – death of Roman Dmowski
• 31 March 1939 – military guarantees from United Kingdom and France
• 23 August 1939 – non-aggression pact between Soviet Union and Germany: Ribbentrop-Molotow Pact with a secret military alliance protocol targeting Poland (among several other countries)
• 25 August 1939 – alliance between Poland and United Kingdom

The beginnings

Occupied by German and Austro-Hungarian armies in the summer of 1915, the formerly Russian-ruled part of what was considered Poland was proposed to become a German puppet state by the occupying powers on November 5, 1916, with a governing Council of State and (from October 15, 1917) a Regency Council (Rada Regencyjna Królestwa Polskiego) to administer the country under German auspices (see also Mitteleuropa) pending the election of a king.