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| JOZEF PILSUDSKI |
"Comrades, I took the red tram of socialism to the stop named Independence, but that's where I got off..." |
Jozef Pilsudski figured prominently in Polish history as the one man responsible for restoring Polish independence after 123 years of partition by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Early in his youth, and like his father, Pilsudski participated in student demonstrations against the Soviet attempt at Russification of the Polish people. He was of noble Lithuanian heritage. |
On March 22, 1887, he was arrested and falsely charged for plotting the assasination of Tsar Alexander III, and was sentenced to fifteen years hard labor in Siberia, but he served only five years. It was his brother Bronislaw who was connected with the conspiracy. While in prison Jozef Pilsudski parlticipated in a prisoner revolt, for which he and the other prisoners were brutally beaten. When the Soviets removed privileges, Pilsudski went on a hunger strike. The authorities sentenced him to another six months imprisonment, in which he served his first night outside in 40 degree below zero temperature. It led to an illness that almost killed him and which plagued him with health problems all his life. In 1893, a year after his release, Pilsudski joined the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), but sided with its more radical proponents. The following year he became editor and chief writer of the socialist newspaper he founded, Robotnik ( The Writer). In 1895 he beame the leader of the PPS. Pilsudski founded the Bojowki (Combat Team), an armed resistance movement which took part in numerous demonstrations, bombings and assasinations of Soviet authorities. In retaliation the Soviet Cossack Cavalry trampled over the demonstrators. (Oct. 28, 1904) During the Russian Revolution, Pilsudski had enormous influence on events taking place in Congress Poland. He ordered a general strike involving over 400,000 workers. It lasted for 2 months, until the Russians put a stop to it. Pilsudski was instrumental in organizing the Lodz uprising in June 1905, the June Days as it came to be known. It turned out to be a struggle between factions loyal to Pilsudski (PPS), and those loyal to Roman Dmowski, and the New Democratic Party (the Endeks). But the workers ignored Pilsudski's appeal for an uprising, because he had called for a boycott to the elections for the first Duma. Pilsudski believed that the most effective means of restoring independence to Poland was only through the combined ideologies of socialism and nationalism. When the Russians discovered Robotnik's printing press, Pilsudski was arrested and detained in prison in the Warsaw Citadel. He faked mental illness in order to be transfered to a mental hospital in St. Petersberg, and with the help of his comrades fled to Galicia. Pilsudski began to plan for Poland's uprising but was unable to obtain assistance from the Japanese, who were already embroiled in a war with Russia (1904-1905). It was during this time that he met Roman Dmowski, who was also planning a revolution but whose opinions were drastically opposed to Pilsudskis'. They remained enemies for life. It caused considerable tension among party affiliates and lead to a split between two factions - the Old Faction ( or Revolution Faction) loyal to Pilsudski, and the Young Faction ( or Moderate Faction of the Left Wing) loyal to Dmowski. Dmowski was committed to cooperation with the Russian revolutionaries first, and he believed that the socialist state would lead to Polish independence later on. Pilsudski's vision was the opposite - Polish independence had to be secured first. By 1909 Pilsudski's faction would again rise in prominence and he would remain as the most important leader until World War I. In anticipation of war, Pilsudski, using the support of the Austrian authorities, established a military school in Krakow for the training of Bojowki, Polish insurgents, whose membership grew steadily. Pilsudski was associated with Wladyslaw Sikorski, Marian Kukiel, and Kazimierz Sosnkowski in the organization of combat teams. Its purpose was to train officers for the future Polish Army. As Commander-in-chief of Zwiazek Strzelecki, Pilsudski, with Austria's permission, established several military forces under the guise of "sporting clubs" and "riflemens' associations". By 1914, its membership swelled to 12,000 men. After the outbreak of World War I, Pilsudski sent a small unit of men into Russian Poland with the aim of instigating a large scale uprising. It failed miserably. After his alliance with Austria and the creation of the Polish Legion, he lead numerous battles to victory. Pilsudski's plan was to fight against Russia on the side of the Central Powers ( the Austrian, Hungarian and German Empires), and later these powers alliance itself with France, Britain, and the U.S. In November 1916, the Central Powers created the Kingdom of Poland and proclaimed its independence. As a result, Polish troops were obliged to fight alongside German forces in order to defeat the Russians. Although he was not opposed to this plan, Pilsudski was not willing to swear allegiance to Germany or Austria. His refusal to do so worsened relations with the Central Powers. In July 1917, Pilsudski forbade his troops from taking an oath of allegiance to the Central Powers, and was arrested and imprisoned at Majdeburg. His troops were incorporated into the Austro-Hungarian Army. On November 1918, Pilsudski and Sosnkowski were released, and headed for Warsaw. On November 11, Pilsudski was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Polish forces, by the Regency Council. On that day, Pilsudski proclaimed an independent Polish State. After the evacuation of German troops from Poland, Pilsudski became the Provisional Chief of State in a socialist government. Though he introduced many reforms - the 8 hour work day, free education, the women's vote, he believed that he had to operate above party politics. Poland after World War I was in ruins, destroyed by war and looting. The greatest challenge to Pilsudski was in unifying Poland's internal structure. The former occupiers, Germany, Austria, and Russia had left behind a system of diverging and multifarious institutions. There were 9 different legal systems, 5 currencies, 66 types of railway systems, with 165 different models of locomotives, and numerous othe problems to resolve. The remaining problem was the existence of two separate Polish governments - Pilsudski's, in Warsaw, and Dmowski's in Paris. Both rivals met to discuss the establishment of a single government. |