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| − | {{images OK}}{{epname|Pilsudski, Jozef}}{{submitted}}{{approved}}
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| − | {{Infobox Officeholder
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| − | | name = Józef Klemens Piłsudski
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| − | | image = Jozef Pilsudski1.jpg
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| − | | caption =
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| − | | order = [[Naczelnik państwa|Chief of State of the Republic of Poland]]
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| − | | term_start = November 18, 1918
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| − | | term_end = December 9, 1922
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| − | | vicepresident =
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| − | | viceprimeminister =
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| − | | deputy =
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| − | | president =
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| − | | primeminister = under President [[Ignacy Mościcki]]
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| − | | predecessor = independence
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| − | | successor = President [[Gabriel Narutowicz]]
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| − | | birth_date = {{birth date|1867|12|5|mf=y}}
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| − | | birth_place = [[Image:Romanov Flag.svg|25px]] [[Zułów]], [[Russian Empire]]
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| − | | death_date = {{death date and age|1935|5|12|1867|12|5|mf=y}}
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| − | | death_place = [[Warsaw]], [[Poland]]
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| − | | constituency =
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| − | | party = None (Formerly [[Polska Partia Socjalistyczna|PPS]])
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| − | | spouse = [[Maria Piłsudska]]<br/>[[Aleksandra Piłsudska]]
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| − | '''Józef Klemens Piłsudski''' ({{Audio|Pilsudski.ogg|['juzɛf piw'sutski]}}, December 5, 1867 – May 12, 1935) was a [[Poland|Polish]] [[statesman]], [[Field Marshal]], first [[Chief of State]] (1918–1922) and [[dictator]] (1926–1935) of the [[Second Polish Republic]], as well as head of its [[Polish Armed Forces|armed forces]]. He was born into a [[szlachta|noble]] family with [[Lithuanian nobility|traditions]] dating back to the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] in the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. From [[World War I]] until his death Piłsudski was a major influence on Poland's government and foreign policy, and an important figure in European politics.<ref name="Plach">{{cite book | title=The Clash of Moral Nations: Cultural Politics in Pilsudski's Poland, 1926–1935| last=Plach| first=Eva| date=2006| pages=p.14| publisher=Ohio University Press| location=Ohio, United States| id=ISBN 0821416952}}</ref> He played a decisive role in Poland regaining her [[independence]] in 1918, 123 years after the last [[partitions of Poland|partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] in 1795.<ref name="Pozeg9–11"/><ref>[[Anatol Lieven]], ''The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence'', Yale University Press, 1994, ISBN 0300060785, [http://books.google.com/books?id=iz3NACNOpCAC&pg=PA159&dq=Pilsudski+Polish+independence&as_brr=3&ei=7cZmR9X2G6SEjAGuoZ2nAw&sig=UF1oPw56pneIbaUzKQLxTtZkGb0 Google Print, p.159]Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref><ref name="HD2">[[Jerzy Jan Lerski]], ''Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945'', Greenwood Press, 1996, ISBN 0313260079, [http://books.google.com/books?id=FPxhOu_n1VYC&pg=PA441&vq=chief+restorer&dq=Pilsudski+Polish+independence&lr=&as_brr=3&sig=iJxuE4j82fjQgvWGYI-kkEwkYB0 Google Print, p.441] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref><ref>Joseph Held, ''The Columbia History of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century'', Columbia University
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| − | Press, 1992, ISBN 0231076975, [http://books.google.com/books?id=5O5NkwX-NnYC&pg=PA249&dq=Pilsudski+Polish+independence&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=e8hmR7D1LI7-igHz5eCdAw&sig=EXRmOzUfwHMrgjxeBne9BLQj7Jk Google Print, p.249] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref>
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| − | From his youth, Piłsudski desired the independence of the former [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. In his early political life, he was an influential member and later leader of the [[Polish Socialist Party]]. He considered the [[Russian Empire]] to be the most formidable obstacle to Polish independence, and worked with [[Austro-Hungary]] and [[German Empire|Germany]] to ensure Russia's defeat in [[World War I]]. Later in the war, he withdrew his support from the [[Central Powers]] to work with the [[Triple Entente]] for the defeat of the Central Powers. After World War I, during the [[Polish-Soviet War]] (1919–21), he was in charge of the [[1920 Kiev Offensive]] and the [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)]]. From November 1918, when Poland regained its independence, until 1922, he was Poland's [[Chief of State]] ''([[Naczelnik Państwa]])''.
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| − | In 1923, as the [[Polish government]] became dominated by Piłsudski's chief opponents, the [[National Democratic Party (Poland)|National Democrats]], he withdrew from active politics. Three years later, however, he returned to power in the [[May Coup|May 1926 ''coup d'état'']], becoming ''[[de facto]]'' [[dictator]] of Poland. From then until his death in 1935, he concerned himself primarily with [[military]] and [[foreign affairs]]. To this day, Piłsudski is held in high regard by many Poles, considered by many to be a national savior.<ref name="Roshwald">[[Aviel Roshwald]], [[Richard Stites]], ''European Culture in the Great War: The Arts, Entertainment and Propaganda, 1914–1918'', [[Cambridge University Press]], 2002, ISBN 0521013240, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0521013240&id=uteV3ytfmqQC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=Pilsudski+hero&sig=pUTn7o9EK83j—_aOWyiwKGkgPQ Google Books, p.60] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref>
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| − | ==Biography==
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| − | [[Image:Herb Piłsudski.PNG|100px|thumb|right|[[Piłsudski (family)|Piłsudski's family]] [[Coat of arms of Piłsudski|coat of arms]] was a ''[[Kościesza coat of arms|Kościesza]]'' variant.]]
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| − | ===Early life===
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| − | Józef Piłsudski was born December 5, 1867 at his family's manor in Zulovo ({{lang-pl|Zułów}}), in a district then part of the [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Zalavas]], [[Lithuania]]). The area was part of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], a component of the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], before the latter was [[partitions of Poland|partitioned]].<ref name="Poland.gov">{{cite web | title=Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935) | work=Poland.gov | url=http://poland.gov.pl/Jozef,Pilsudski,(1867-1935),1972.html | accessmonthday = April 23 | accessyear=2006 }}</ref> [[Piłsudski (family)|His ''szlachta'' family]]<ref name=Pidl>Oleksa Pidlutskyi, "Postati XX stolittia," (Figures of the 20th century), [[Kiev]], 2004, ISBN 9668290011. Chapter ''"Józef Piłsudski: The Chief who Created Himself a State"'' reprinted in [[Zerkalo Nedeli]] ''(the Mirror Weekly)'', Kiev, February 3 – 9 February, 2001, Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> cherished Polish patriotic traditions<ref name="Poland.gov"/><ref name="Urb 13-15">{{pl icon}} [[Bohdan Urbankowski]], ''Józef Piłsudski: marzyciel i strateg'' (Józef Piłsudski: Dreamer and Strategist), ''tom pierwszy'' (volume one), Warsaw, Wydawnictwo ALFA, 1997, ISBN 8370019145, pp. 13–15.</ref> and has been characterized either as Polish<ref name="HD">[[Jerzy Jan Lerski]], ''Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945'', Greenwood Press, 1996, ISBN 0313260079, [http://books.google.com/books?id=S6aUBuWPqywC&pg=PA439&dq=pilsudski+Polish+noble&ei=01QNR_SuO6jA7AKop8CuBg&sig=Bldt8emkmGuNNIdY6sjE2dEWZMg Google Print, p.449] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref><ref name="Davies40">[[Norman Davies]], ''God's Playground: A History of Poland in Two Volumes'', vol.2, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0199253404, [http://books.google.com/books?id=9Tbed6iMNLEC&pg=PA41&vq=Pilsudski+Polish&dq=editions:ISBN0231053533&sig=-_sGmCIqDuKvauBCXo8AD1oZElg#PPA40,M1 Google Print, p.40] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> or as [[Polonized]] [[Lithuanians|Lithuanian]];<ref>{{cite web
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| − | |title= A History of Eastern Europe Crisis and Change
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| − | |author=[[Robert Bideleux]], [[Ian Jeffries]]
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| − | |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6Eh9KQTrOckC&pg=PA186&dq=pilsudski+lithuanian+polonized&sig=4d0UM_aagBPKUskM4yxR-g4ZQ84
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| − | }}Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref><ref name=Pidl/> {{Ref_label|a|a|none}}
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| − | [[Image:Piludski w szkole.jpg|thumb|left|100px|Piłsudski as a schoolboy]]
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| − | Piłsudski attended the Russian [[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]] in Vilna (modern [[Vilnius]]), but was not an especially diligent student.<ref name="Aviel">{{cite book | first=Aviel | last=Roshwald | title=Ethnic Nationalism and the Fall of Empires: Central Europe, the Middle East and Russia, 1914–1923 | publisher=Routledge | year=2001 | isbn=0415242290 | pages=p. 36}}</ref> His mother, Maria, ''[[née]]'' Bilewicz, introduced Piłsudski, along with his brothers [[Adam Piłsudski|Adam]], [[Bronisław Piłsudski|Bronisław]] and [[Jan Piłsudski|Jan]] to Polish history and literature, although the books were suppressed by the Russian authorities.<ref name="MM-208">[[Margaret MacMillan|MacMillan, Margaret]], ''Paris 1919 : Six Months That Changed the World'', Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003, ISBN 0375760520, p. 208.</ref> His father, also named Józef, had fought in the [[January Uprising|January 1863 Uprising]] against the Russian occupation of Poland.<ref name="Poland.gov"/>
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| − | In 1885 Piłsudski began [[medicine|medical]] studies at the [[University of Kharkov]] ([[Kharkiv]], [[Ukraine]]), where he became involved with ''[[Narodnaya Volya]]'', part of the Russian ''[[Narodnik]]i'' revolutionary movement. In 1886 he was suspended for participating in student demonstrations.<ref name="Poland.gov"/> He was rejected by the [[University of Dorpat]] ([[Tartu]], [[Estonia]]), whose authorities had been informed of his political affiliations.<ref name="Poland.gov"/> On March 22, 1887, he was arrested by Tsarist authorities on a false<ref name="Encarta">"[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761558833/Pilsudski.html Pilsudski, Józef Klemens]," Microsoft Encarta. Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> charge of plotting with [[Vilna]] [[socialists]] to assassinate [[Tsar]] [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]]. In fact Piłsudski's main connection to the plot was the involvement in it of his elder brother, Bronisław. Bronisław was sentenced to fifteen years' [[hard labor]] ''([[katorga]])'' in eastern Siberia.<ref name="Urb 50">Urbankowski, [[op cit]], p. 50</ref>
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| − | Józef received a milder sentence: five years' [[exile]] in [[Siberia]], first at [[Kirensk]] on the [[Lena River]], then at [[Tunka]].<ref name="Poland.gov"/><ref name="Urb 50"/> As an exile, he was allowed to work in an occupation of his own choosing, and earned his living tutoring local children in mathematics and foreign languages<ref name=Pidl/> (he knew [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]] and [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], in addition to [[Russian language|Russian]] and, of course, his native [[Polish language|Polish]]; he would later learn [[English language|English]] as well).<ref name="Jedrz13">[[Wacław Jędrzejewicz]], [[Janusz Cisek]], ''Kalendarium Życia Józefa Piłsudskiego'', Zaklad Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1994, ISBN 8304041146, p.13</ref> Local officials decided that as a Polish noble he was not entitled to the 10-[[Russian ruble|ruble]] pension received by most other exiles.<ref name="Urb 71">Urbankowski, op.cit, p. 71</ref>
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| − | While being transported in a prisoners' convoy to Siberia, Piłsudski was held for several weeks at a prison in [[Irkutsk]]. There he took part in what the authorities viewed as a revolt: after one of the inmates had insulted a guard and refused to apologize, he and other [[political prisoner]]s were beaten by the guards for their defiance;<ref name="Urb 62–66">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 62–66</ref> Piłsudski lost two teeth and took part in a subsequent [[hunger strike]] until the authorities reinstated political prisoners' privileges that had been suspended after the incident.<ref name="Urb 62–66"/> For his involvement, he was sentenced in 1888 to six months' imprisonment. He had to spend the first night of his incarceration in 40-degree-below-zero Siberian cold; this led to an illness that nearly killed him and to health problems that would plague him throughout life.<ref name="Urb 68–69">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 68–69</ref> During his years of exile in Siberia, Piłsudski met many ''[[Sybiraks]]'', including [[Bronisław Szwarce]], who had almost become a leader of the [[January Uprising|January 1863 Uprising]].<ref name="Urb 74–77">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 74–77</ref>
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| − | [[Image:Pilsudski wanted.jpg|thumb|right|200px|1928 reproduction of an 1887 [[Tsarist Russia]]n [[wanted poster]] for Piłsudski, distributed (presumably by his political enemies) "on the 10th anniversary of Poland's independence":<br/>
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| − | "State criminal<br/>
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| − | <u>JÓZEF PIŁSUDSKI,</u> nobleman<br/>
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| − | '''DESCRIPTION''':<br/>
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| − | '''Age''' 19 (1887)<br/>
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| − | '''Height''' 1 meter, 75 cm.<br/>
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| − | '''Face''' clear<br/>
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| − | '''Eyes''' grey<br/>
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| − | '''Hair''' dark-blond<br/>
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| − | '''Sideburns''' light-blond, sparse<br/>
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| − | '''Eyebrows''' dark-blond, fused<br/>
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| − | '''Beard''' dark-blond<br/>
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| − | '''Mustaches''' light-blond<br/>
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| − | '''Nose''' normal<br/>
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| − | '''Mouth''' normal<br/>
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| − | '''Teeth''' missing some<br/>
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| − | '''Chin''' round<br/>
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| − | '''Distinctive marks:'''<br/>
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| − | 1) clear face, with eyebrows fused over nose,<br/>
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| − | 2) wart at the end of right ear"]]
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| − | In 1892 Piłsudski was allowed to return from exile. In 1893 he joined the [[Polish Socialist Party]] ''(PPS)''<ref name="Poland.gov"/> and helped organize its Lithuanian branch.<ref name="Urb 88">Urbankowski, op.cit., Page 88</ref> Initially he sided with the Socialists' more radical wing, but despite the socialist movement's ostensible internationalism he remained a Polish nationalist.<ref name="MM-209">MacMillan, op. cit., p. 209.</ref> In 1894, as its [[chief editor]], he began publishing a ''[[bibuła]]'' [[socialist]] [[newspaper]], ''[[Robotnik (1894–1939)|Robotnik]]'' (The Worker); he would also be one of its chief writers.<ref name="Poland.gov" /><ref name="Urb 93">Urbankowski, op.cit., Page 93</ref> In 1895, he became a PPS leader, and took the position that doctrinal issues were of minor importance and that socialist ideology should be merged with [[nationalist]] ideology, as that combination offered the greatest chance of restoring Polish independence.
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| − | [[Image:Jozef Pilsudski in 1899.jpg|thumb|left|100px|Piłsudski in 1899]]
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| − | In 1899, while an underground organizer, Piłsudski married a fellow [[Socialism|socialist]] organizer, [[Maria Piłsudska|Maria Juszkiewiczowa, ''née'' Koplewska]], but the marriage deteriorated when several years later Piłsudski began an affair with a younger socialist,<ref name="MM-209"/> [[Aleksandra Piłsudska|Aleksandra Zahorska]]. Maria died in 1921, and in October that year Piłsudski married Aleksandra. They had two daughters, Wanda and Jadwiga, but this marriage was also troubled.
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| − | In February 1900, after the Russian authorities found ''Robotnik'''s underground [[printing press]] in [[Łódź]], Piłsudski was imprisoned at the [[Warsaw Citadel]] but, after feigning [[mental illness]] in May 1901, he managed to escape from a [[mental hospital]] at [[Saint Petersburg]] with the help of a Polish physician, [[Władysław Mazurkiewicz (1871 - 1933)|Władysław Mazurkiewicz]], and others, fleeing to [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]], then part of [[Austria-Hungary]].<ref name="Poland.gov"/>
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| − | On the outbreak of the [[Russo-Japanese War]] (1904–1905), in the summer of 1904, Piłsudski traveled to [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]], where he tried unsuccessfully to obtain that country's assistance for an uprising in Poland. He offered to supply Japan with [[intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]] in support of her war with Russia and proposed the creation of a [[Polish Legion]] from Poles,<ref name="Urb 109–111">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 109–111</ref> [[conscription|conscripted]] into the Russian Army, who had been captured by Japan. He also suggested a [[Prometheism|"Promethean" project]] directed at liberating non-Russian [[ethnic]] communities living in the Russian Empire—a goal that he later continued to pursue.
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| − | Another notable Pole, [[Roman Dmowski]], also traveled to Japan, where he argued against Piłsudski's plan, endeavoring to discourage the Japanese government from supporting at this time a Polish revolution which Dmowski felt would be doomed to failure.<ref name="Zamoyski-330"/><ref name="Urb 109–111"/> Dmowski, himself a Polish patriot, would remain Piłsudski's political arch-enemy to the end of Piłsudski's life.<ref name="Zamoyski-332">Zamoyski, op cit, p. 332.</ref> In the end, the Japanese offered Piłsudski much less than he had hoped for; he received Japan's help in purchasing weapons and ammunition for the PPS and its corganizationsation, while the Japanese declined the Legion proposal.<ref name="Urb 109–111"/><ref name="Poland.gov"/>
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| − | In the fall of 1904, Piłsudski formed [[paramilitary]] units (the [[Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party]], or ''bojówki'') to create an armed [[resistance movement]] against the Russian authorities.<ref name="Zamoyski-330">{{cite book | author=[[Adam Zamoyski]] | title =The Polish Way | year =1987 | pages =422 | publisher =John Murray | location =London | id =ISBN 0531150690 | quote = p. 330}}</ref> The PPS organized increasing numbers of demonstrations, mainly in [[Warsaw]]; on October 28, 1904, Russian [[Cossack]] [[cavalry]] attacked a demonstration, and in reprisal, during a demonstration on November 13, Piłsudski's paramilitary opened fire on Russian police and military.<ref name="Urb 113–116">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 113–116</ref><ref name="Zamoyski-330"/> Initially concentrating their attention on spies and informers, in March 1905 the paramilitary began using [[bomb]]s to [[assassinate]] selected Russian police officers.<ref name="Urb 117–118">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', pp. 117–18.</ref>
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| − | During the [[Russian Revolution of 1905|1905 Russian Revolution]], Piłsudski played a leading role in events in [[Congress Poland]].<ref name="Zamoyski-330"/> In early 1905, he ordered the PPS to launch a general strike there; it involved some 400,000 workers and lasted two months until it was broken by the Russian authorities.<ref name="Zamoyski-330"/> In June 1905, Piłsudski ordered an uprising in [[Łódź]].<ref name="Zamoyski-330"/> During the "[[Łódź insurrection (1905)|June Days]]," as the Łódź uprising came to be known, armed clashes broke out between Piłsudski's paramilitaries and gunmen loyal to Dmowski and his [[National Democracy|National Democrats]].<ref name="Zamoyski-330"/> On December 22, 1905, Piłsudski called for all Polish workers to rise up; the call went largely unheeded.<ref name="Zamoyski-330"/>
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| − | Unlike the situation with the National Democrats, Piłsudski instructed the PPS to boycott the elections to the [[First Duma]].<ref name="Zamoyski-330"/> The decision to boycott the elections and try to win Polish independence through uprisings caused tension within the PPS, and in November 1906, a part of the party split off in protest against Piłsudski's leadership.<ref name="Zamoyski-332"/> Piłsudski's faction came to be called the "Old Faction" or the "Revolutionary Faction" (''Starzy'' or ''[[Polska Partia Socjalistyczna - Frakcja Rewolucyjna|Frakcja Rewolucyjna]]''), while their opponents were known as the "Young Faction," "Moderate Faction" or "Left Wing" (''Młodzi'', ''Frakcja Umiarkowana'', ''[[Polska Partia Socjalistyczna - Lewica|Lewica]]''). The "Young" sympathized with the [[Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania|Social Democrats of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania]] and believed that priority should be given to cooperation with Russian revolutionaries in toppling the Tsarist regime and creating a [[socialist]] [[utopia]] in which negotiations for independence would be easier. Piłsudski and his supporters in the Revolutionary Faction continued to plot a revolution against Tsarist Russia<ref name="Poland.gov"/> that would secure Polish independence. By 1909 Piłsudski's faction would again be the majority in the PPS, and Piłsudski would remain one of the most important PPS leaders up to the outbreak of the [[First World War]].<ref name="Urb 131">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 131</ref>
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| − | Piłsudski anticipated a coming European war and the need to organize the nucleus of a future Polish Army which could help win Poland's independence from the three empires that had partitioned her out of political existence in the late 18th century. In 1906, Piłsudski, with the connivance of Austrian authorities, founded a military school in [[Kraków]] for the training of paramilitary units.<ref name="Zamoyski-332"/> In 1906 alone, the 800-strong paramilitaries, operating in five-man teams in Congress Poland, killed 336 Russian officials; in subsequent years, the number of their casualties declined, while the paramilitaries' numbers increased to some 2,000 in 1908.<ref name="Urb 121–122">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', pp. 121–22.</ref><ref name="Zamoyski-332"/>
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| − | ===World War I===
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| − | [[Image:Jozef Pilsudski3.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Piłsudski in uniform]]
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| − | {{main|World War I}}
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| − | At a meeting in [[Paris]] in 1914, Piłsudski presciently declared that in the imminent war, for Poland to regain her independence, [[Russian Empire|Russia]] must be beaten by the [[Central Powers]] (the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] and [[German Empire]]s), and the latter powers must in their turn be beaten by [[French Third Republic|France]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] and the [[United States]].<ref name="Roos">[[Hans Roos]], ''A History of Modern Poland, from the Foundation of the State in the First World War to the Present Day'', [[Alfred A. Knopf]], 1966., p. 14. Translated by J.R. Foster from the German ''Geschichte der polnischen Nation, 1916–1960''.</ref> By contrast, [[Roman Dmowski]], Piłsudski's rival, believed the best way to achieve a unified and independent [[Poland]] was to support the [[Triple Entente]] against the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]].<ref name="Zamoyski-333">Zamoyski, op cit, p. 333.</ref>
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| − | [[Image:Jozef Pilsudski2.jpg|thumb|left|90px|Piłsudski in [[World War I]] (1914)]]
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| − | At the outbreak of [[World War I]], on August 3, in [[Kraków]], Piłsudski formed a small [[cadre]] military unit, the [[First Cadre Company]], from members of the [[Riflemen's Association]] and [[Polish Rifle Squads]].<ref name="Urb 171–172">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 171–172</ref> That same day, a cavalry unit under [[Władysław Belina-Prażmowski]] was sent to scout across the Russian border, even before the official [[declaration of war]] between Austro-Hungary and Russia, which ensued on August 6.<ref name="Urb 168">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 168</ref>
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| − | Piłsudski's strategy was to send his forces north across the border into [[Congress Poland|Russian Poland]], into an area which the [[Military history of Imperial Russia|Russian Army]] had evacuated, in the hope of breaking through to Warsaw and sparking a national uprising.<ref name="Cienciala">[http://web.ku.edu/~eceurope/hist557/lect11.htm THE REBIRTH OF POLAND] University of Kansas, lecture notes by professor [[Anna M. Cienciala]], 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> Using his limited forces, in those early days he backed his orders with the sanction of a fictitious "National Government in Warsaw,"<ref name="Urb 174–175">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 174–175</ref> and bent and stretched Austrian orders to the utmost, taking initiatives, moving forward and establishing Polish institutions in liberated towns, while the Austrians saw his forces as good only for scouting or for supporting main Austrian formations.<ref name="Urb 178–179">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', pp. 178–79.</ref> On August 12, 1914, Piłsudski's forces took the town of [[Kielce]], capital of [[Kielce Governorate]], but Piłsudski found the populace less supportive than he had expected.<ref name="Urb 170–171 and 180–182">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', pp. 170–71 and 180–82.</ref>
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| − | On November 5, 1916, the Central Powers proclaimed the "independence" of Poland, hoping to increase the number of Polish troops that could be sent to the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|eastern front]] against Russia, thereby relieving German forces to bolster the [[Western Front (World War I)|western front]].
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| − | Piłsudski agreed to serve in the "[[Kingdom of Poland (1916–1918)|Kingdom of Poland]]" created by the Central Powers, and acted as [[minister of war]] in the newly formed [[Polish Regency government]].<ref name="Zamoyski-333"/> In the wake of the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]] and in view of the worsening situation of the Central Powers, Piłsudski took an increasingly uncompromising stance, insisting that his men not be treated as "German [[colonial troops]]" and only be used to fight Russia. Anticipating the [[Central Powers]]' defeat in the war, he did not wish to be allied with the losing side.<ref name="Urb 253">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', p. 253.</ref>
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| − | In the aftermath of a July 1917 "[[Oath Crisis]]" when Piłsudski forbade Polish soldiers to swear an [[loyalty oath|oath of loyalty]] to the [[Central Powers]], he was arrested and imprisoned at [[Magdeburg]]; the Polish units were disbanded, and the men were incorporated into the [[Austro-Hungarian Army]],<ref name="Poland.gov"/><ref name="Cienciala"/> while the [[Polish Military Organization]] began attacking German targets. Piłsudski's arrest greatly enhanced his reputation among Poles, many of whom began to see him as the most determined Polish leader, willing to take on ''all'' the partitioning powers.
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| − | On November 8, 1918, Piłsudski and his comrade, Colonel [[Kazimierz Sosnkowski]], were released from Magdeburg and soon—like [[Vladimir Lenin]] before them—placed on a private train, bound for their national capital, as the increasingly desperate Germans hoped that Piłsudski would gather forces friendly to them.<ref name="Cienciala"/>
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| − | ===Rebuilding Poland===
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| − | [[Image:Ulica Mokotowska 50, Warsaw.JPG|thumb|right|200px|''Ulica Mokotowska 50'', [[Warsaw]], where Piłsudski stayed November 13–29, 1918, after release from [[Magdeburg]]]]
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| − | On November 11, 1918, in [[Warsaw]], Piłsudski was appointed [[Commander in Chief]] of Polish forces by the [[Regency Council]] and was entrusted with creating a national government for the newly independent country; on that day (which would become Poland's [[Independence Day]]), he proclaimed an independent Polish state.<ref name="Cienciala"/> In that week he also negotiated the evacuation of the German garrison from Warsaw and of other German troops from the "[[Ober Ost]]" authority; over 55,000 [[Germans]] would peacefully depart Poland immediately afterwards, leaving their weapons to the [[Poles]]; over 400,000 total would depart Polish territories in coming months.<ref name="Cienciala"/><ref name="Urb 256 and 277–278">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 256 and 277–278</ref> On November 14, 1918, he was asked to provisionally supervise the running of the country. On November 22 he officially received, from the new government of [[Jędrzej Moraczewski]], the title of Provisional [[Chief of State]] ''([[Naczelnik Państwa]])'' of renascent Poland.<ref name="Poland.gov"/>
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| − | Various Polish military organizations and provisional governments (the Regency Council in Warsaw, the government of [[Ignacy Daszyński]] in [[Lublin]], and the [[Polish Liquidation Committee]] in [[Kraków]]) bowed to Piłsudski, who set about forming a new coalition government. It was predominantly [[socialism|socialist]] and immediately introduced many reforms long proclaimed as necessary by the [[Polish Socialist Party]], such as the [[eight-hour day]], free school education, and [[women's suffrage]]. This was necessary to avoid major unrest. However, Piłsudski believed that as head of state he must be above political parties,<ref name="Cienciala"/> and the day after his arrival in Warsaw, he met with old colleagues from underground days, who addressed him socialist-style as "[[Comrade]]" ("''[[Towarzysz]]''") and asked for support of their revolutionary policies. He declined to support any one party and did not form any political organization of his own; instead, he advocated creating a coalition government.<ref name="Suleja202>[[Włodzimierz Suleja]], ''Józef Piłsudski'', Wrocław, 2004, ISBN 8304047063, p.202</ref> He also set about organizing a Polish army out of Polish veterans of the German, Russian and Austrian armies.
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| − | In the days immediately after World War I, Piłsudski attempted to build a government in a shattered country. Piłsudski and the first Polish government were distrusted in the West because Piłsudski had cooperated with the Central Powers in 1914–17 and because the governments of Daszyński and [[Jędrzej Moraczewski]] were primarily socialist. It was not until January 1919, when the world-famous pianist and composer [[Ignacy Jan Paderewski|Ignacy Paderewski]] became [[Prime Minister of Poland|prime minister]] and foreign minister of a new government, that it was recognized in the West.<ref name="Cienciala"/> That still left two separate governments claiming to be Poland's legitimate government: Piłsudski's in Warsaw, and Dmowski's in [[Paris]]. To ensure that Poland had a single government and to avert civil war, Paderewski met with Dmowski and Piłsudski and persuaded them to join forces, with Piłsudski acting as provisional [[president]] and supreme [[commander-in-chief]] while Dmowski and Paderewski represented Poland at the [[Paris Peace Conference of 1919|Paris Peace Conference]].<ref name="MM-213–214">MacMillan, ''op. cit.'', pp. 213–14.</ref> Articles 87-93 of the [[Treaty of Versailles|Versailles Treaty]]<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/partiii.htm See Articles 87-93 of the Treaty]. Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> and the [[Little Treaty of Versailles]], signed on June 28, 1919, formally established Poland as a sovereign and independent state on the international arena.<ref>Thomas D. Grant, ''The Recognition of States: Law and Practice in Debate and Evolution'', Praeger/Greenwood, 1999, ISBN 0275963500 [http://books.google.com/books?id=GAQ8vIJE8_QC&pg=PA114&dq=Poland+recognition+1919+versailles&as_brr=3&ei=ET9cR__8G6butAPi0NDvAw&sig=uc8xW0mfzxTFUDYohdfCEG5t81Q Google Print, p. 114.]Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref>
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| − | On February 20, 1919, Piłsudski declared that he would return his powers to the newly elected Polish parliament ''([[Sejm]])''. However, the ''Sejm'' reinstated his office in the [[Little Constitution of 1919]]. The word "Provisional" was struck from his title, and Piłsudski would hold the office until December 9, 1922, when [[Gabriel Narutowicz]] was elected the first [[President of Poland|president of Poland]].<ref name="Poland.gov"/>
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| − | ===Polish-Soviet War===
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| − | {{main|Polish-Soviet War}}
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| − | [[Image:Jozef Pilsudski w Poznaniu.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Piłsudski in [[Poznań]]]]
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| − | In the chaotic aftermath of [[World War I]], there was unrest on all Polish borders. In 1918 in the east, Polish forces clashed with Ukrainian forces in the [[Polish-Ukrainian War]], and Piłsudski's first orders as Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army, on 12 November 1918, were to provide support for the [[Battle of Lwów (1918)|Polish struggle in Lwów]].<ref name="Urb 281">Urbankowski, op. cit., p. 281.</ref> However, while Ukrainians were the first clear enemy, it soon became apparent that the various Ukrainian factions were not the real power in that region. The coming months and years would show that the [[Bolshevik]]s were, in fact, the most dangerous enemy not only of renascent Poland, but of the Ukrainians as well.
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| − | Piłsudski was aware that the Bolsheviks were no friends of independent Poland, and that war with them was inevitable.<ref name="Urb 90–2">Urbankowski, op.cit., page 90 (second tome)</ref> He viewed their advance west as a major problem, but considered the Bolsheviks less dangerous for Poland than their [[White movement|Russian-civil-war contenders]].<ref name="Kenez">[[Peter Kenez]], ''A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End'', Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0521311985, [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0521311985&id=aIY9qb6iIEcC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=%22Peace+of+Riga%22&sig=DOZgge7R-dNB7KTNOVV_QWrE8KI Google Books, p.37] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> These "White Russians"—representative of the old [[Russian Empire]]—were willing to accept only limited independence for Poland, probably within borders similar to those of the former [[Congress Poland]], and clearly objected to Ukrainian independence, which was crucial for Piłsudski's [[Międzymorze]] project.<ref name="Urb 83–2">{{pl icon}} [[Bohdan Urbankowski]], ''Józef Piłsudski: marzyciel i strateg'', (Józef Piłsudski: Dreamer and Strategist), Tom drugi (second volume), Wydawnictwo ALFA, Warsaw, 1997, ISBN 8370019145, p. 83</ref>
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| − | This was in contrast to the Bolsheviks, who proclaimed the partitions of Poland null and void.<ref name="Urb 291">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 291</ref> Piłsudski thus speculated that Poland would be better off with the Bolsheviks, alienated from the Western powers, than with a restored Russian Empire.<ref name="Kenez"/><ref name="Urb 45–2">Urbankowski, op.cit., page 45 (second tome)</ref> By his refusal to join the attack on [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s struggling [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] government, by ignoring the strong pressures from the [[Entente Cordiale]], Piłsudski helped to save the Bolshevik government in the summer and fall of 1919.<ref name="Urb 92–2">Urbankowski, op.cit., page 92 (second tome)</ref>
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| − | [[Image:Jozef Pilsudski5.jpg|thumb|left|100px|In March 1920, Piłsudski was made "First [[Marshal of Poland]]."]]
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| − | In the wake of the [[Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919]] and of a series of escalating battles which resulted in the Poles advancing eastward, on April 21, 1920, [[Marshal]] Piłsudski (as his rank had been since March 1920) signed a [[military alliance]] (the [[Treaty of Warsaw (1920)|Treaty of Warsaw]]) with Ukrainian leader [[Symon Petliura]] to conduct joint operations against [[Russian SFSR|Soviet Russia]]. The goal of the Polish-Ukrainian treaty was to establish an independent Ukraine in alliance with Poland. In return, Petliura gave up Ukrainian claims to [[Galicia (Central Europe)|eastern Galicia]], for which he was denounced by eastern-Galician Ukrainian leaders.<ref name="Cienciala"/> The Polish and Ukrainian armies, under Piłsudski's command, launched [[1920 Kiev Offensive|a successful offensive]] against the Russian forces in Ukraine. On May 7, 1920, with remarkably little fighting, they captured [[Kiev]].<ref name="Davies_WERS">[[Norman Davies|Davies, Norman]], ''White Eagle, Red Star: the Polish-Soviet War, 1919–20'', Pimlico, 2003, ISBN 0712606947. (First edition: New York, St. Martin's Press, inc., 1972.)</ref>
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| − | [[Image:Pilsudski and Rydz-Smigly.jpg|thumb|200px|Piłsudski and [[Edward Rydz-Śmigły]], 1920, during [[Polish-Soviet War]]]]
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| − | On July 1, 1920, in view of the rapidly advancing Soviet offensive, Poland's paliament, the ''[[Sejm]]'', formed a [[Council for Defense of the Nation]]. It was chaired by Piłsudski and was to provide expeditious decision-making and temporarily supplant the fractious ''Sejm''.<ref name="Urb 341–346 and 357–358">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', pp. 341–46 and 357–58.</ref> The [[National Democracy|National Democrats]], however, contended that the string of Bolshevik victories had been Piłsudski's fault<ref name="Suleja265">Suleja, op.cit., p. 265</ref> and demanded that he resign; some even accused him of treason. Their July 19 failure to carry a [[vote of no-confidence]] in the council led to [[Roman Dmowski]]'s withdrawal from it.<ref name="Urb 341–346">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', pp. 341–46.</ref> The [[Triple Entente|Entente]] pressured Poland to surrender and enter into negotiations with the Bolsheviks. Piłsudski, however, was a staunch advocate of continuing the fight.<ref name="Urb 341–346"/> On August 12 he tendered his resignation to Prime Minister [[Wincenty Witos]], offering to be the scapegoat if the military solution failed, but Witos refused to accept his resignation.<ref name="Urb 341–346"/>
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| − | Over the next few weeks, Poland's risky, unconventional strategy at the August 1920 [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Battle of Warsaw]] halted the Soviet advance.<ref name="Davies_WERS"/>
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| − | A [[National Democracy|National Democrat]] ''[[Sejm]]'' deputy, [[Stanisław Stroński]], coined the phrase, "Miracle at the Vistula" ("''Cud nad Wisłą''"), to express his disapproval of Piłsudski's "Ukrainian adventure." Stroński's phrase was adopted as praise for Piłsudski by some patriotically or piously minded Poles, who were unaware of Stroński's [[irony|ironic]] intent. A junior member of the French military mission, [[Charles de Gaulle]], would later adopt some lessons from the Polish-Soviet War as well as from Piłsudski's career.<ref name="Davies_E">[[Norman Davies]], ''[[Europe: A History]]'', HarperCollins, 1998, ISBN 0060974680, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0060974680&id=7zN4crdeEWoC&pg=PA935&lpg=PA935&dq=Charles+de+Gaulle+Pilsudski&sig=8MgVNDO2YBQhsudBY_UvgNWvsJE Google Books, p.935] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref>
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| − | In February 1921, Piłsudski visited Paris, where in negotiations with French president [[Alexandre Millerand]] he laid the foundations for the [[Franco-Polish Military Alliance]] that would be signed later that year.<ref name="Urb 484">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', p. 484.</ref> The [[Treaty of Riga]], which ended the [[Polish-Soviet War]] in March 1921, partitioned [[Belarus]] and [[Ukraine]] between Poland and Russia. Piłsudski called the treaty an "act of cowardice."<ref name="Davies_GP2-399">[[Norman Davies]], ''[[God's Playground]], vol. 2: 1795 to the Present'', Columbia University Press, 1982, ISBN 0231053525. [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0231053525&id=DMoPXktGwiUC&pg=PA399&lpg=PA399&dq=Riga+an+act+of+cowardice&sig=i3vknEXAKsMRzbdbyuxKdq9e1XE Google Books, p.399]) Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> The treaty, and General [[Lucjan Żeligowski]]'s capture of [[Vilna]] from the Lithuanians, marked an end to this incarnation of Piłsudski's federalist ''[[Międzymorze]]'' dream.
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| − | On September 25, 1921, when Piłsudski visited [[Lwów]] for the opening ceremony of the [[Eastern Trade Fair]] ''(Targi Wschodnie)'', he was the target of an unsuccessful [[assassination]] attempt by [[Stefan Fedak]], a member of the [[Ukrainian Military Organization]].<ref name="Urb 485">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', p. 485.</ref>
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| − | ===Retirement and coup===
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| − | [[Image:Pilsudski in Bristol.jpg|thumb|right|180px|At [[Warsaw]]'s [[Hotel Bristol]], July 3, 1923, Piłsudski announces his [[retirement]] from active [[politics]].]]
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| − | After the Polish [[March Constitution|Constitution of March 1921]] severely limited the powers of the [[presidency]] under the [[Second Polish Republic]], Piłsudski refused to run for president. On December 9, 1922, the Polish [[National Assembly of the Republic of Poland|National Assembly]] elected [[Gabriel Narutowicz]] of ''[[Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe Wyzwolenie|PSL Wyzwolenie]]''; his election was opposed by the right-wing parties and caused increasing unrest.<ref name="Urb 487-488">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', pp. 487–88.</ref> On December 13, at the [[Belweder|Belweder Palace]], Piłsudski officially transferred his powers as [[Chief of State]] to Narutowicz; the ''Naczelnik'' was replaced by the President.<ref name="Urb 488">Urbankowski, ''op. cit.'', p. 488.</ref>
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| − | After his inauguration, on December 16, 1922, Narutowicz was shot dead by a mentally deranged, [[right-wing]], [[anti-Semitic]] painter and art critic, [[Eligiusz Niewiadomski]], who had originally wanted to kill Piłsudski but changed his target when the non-right-wing president was elected.<ref name="Urb 489">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 489</ref> For Piłsudski this was a major shock, an event that shook his belief that Poland could function as a [[democracy]].<ref name="Suleja300>Suleja, op.cit., p.300</ref> According to historian [[Norman Davies]], Piłsudski believed in government by a strong hand.<ref>[[Norman Davies]]. ''1984: Heart of Europe: A Short History of Poland''. [[Oxford]]: [[Oxford University]] Press. ISBN 0-19-285152-7. Page 140: ''"Pilsudski believed that the world was ruled by brute force, and that fundamental changes could only be obtained, or essential interests defended, by the willingness to use violence, terror, and military power."''</ref> Piłsudski became [[Chief of the General Staff (Poland)|Chief of the General Staff]] and, together with [[Władysław Sikorski]], [[Polish Minister of Military Affairs]], managed to stabilize the situation, quelling unrest with a brief [[state of emergency]].<ref name="Urb 489–490">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 489–490</ref>
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| − | [[Stanisław Wojciechowski]] of ''[[Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe Piast|PSL Piast]]'' was elected the new president, and [[Wincenty Witos]], also of ''PSL Piast'', became [[Prime Minister of Poland|prime minister]]. But the new government—in the aftermath of the [[Lanckorona Pact]], an alliance between the centrist ''PSL Piast'' and the right-wing [[National Populist Union]] and [[Polskie Stronnictwo Chrześcijańskiej Demokracji|Christian Democrat]] parties—contained right-wing enemies of Piłsudski, people whom he held morally responsible for Narutowicz's death and whom he found it impossible to work with.<ref name="Urb 490–491">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 490–491</ref> On May 30, 1923, Piłsudski resigned as Chief of the General Staff. After General [[Stanisław Szeptycki]] proposed that the military should be more closely supervised by civilian authorities, Piłsudski criticized this as an attempt to politicize the army, and on June 28 he resigned from his last political appointment. The same day, the Sejm's left-wing deputies adopted a declaration thanking him for his past work.<ref name="Urb 490">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 490</ref> Piłsudski went into retirement in [[Sulejówek]], outside Warsaw, at his modest country house which had been presented to him by his former soldiers. There he settled down to supporting his family by writing a series of political and military memoirs, including ''Rok 1920'' (The Year 1920).<ref name="Poland.gov"/>
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| − | [[Image:Piłsudski on Poniatowski's Bridge.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Piłsudski on [[Warsaw]]'s [[Poniatowski Bridge]] during the [[May Coup|May 1926 Coup d'État]]. At right is General [[Gustaw Orlicz-Dreszer]].]]
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| − | Meanwhile Poland's economy was in shambles. [[Hyperinflation]] fueled public unrest. When the unpopular [[Chjeno-Piast]] coalition, which Piłsudski had strongly criticized, formed a new government, on May 12–14, 1926, Piłsudski returned to power in a ''[[coup d'état]]'' (the [[May Coup]]), supported by the [[Polish Socialist Party]], [[PSL Wyzwolenie|Liberation]], the [[Stronnictwo Chłopskie|Peasant Party]], and even the [[Communist Party of Poland|Polish Communist Party]].<ref name="Urb 515">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 515</ref> Piłsudski had hoped for a bloodless coup, but the government refused to back down.<ref name="Suleja343">Suleja, op.cit., p. 343</ref> During the coup, 215 soldiers and 164 civilians were killed, and over 900 persons were wounded.<ref>{{pl icon}} [[Wojciech Roszkowski]] Historia Polski 1914–1991, Warszawa, 1992 ISBN 83-01-11014-7, pg 53 section 5.1</ref> President Wojciechowski and Prime Minister Witos stepped down. Piłsudski, however, aware of the presidency's limited powers, refused to take office as president. His formal offices—apart from two terms as [[prime minister]] in 1926–28 and 1930—would for the most part remain limited to those of [[minister of defense]] and [[inspector-general]] of the [[Polish Armed Forces]]. He also served as minister of military affairs and chairman of the war council.<ref name="Poland.gov"/>
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| − | ===Authoritarian rule===
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| − | Piłsudski had no plans for major reforms; he quickly distanced himself from the most radical of his left-wing supporters, declaring that his coup was to be a "revolution without revolutionary consequences." His goals were to stabilize the country, reduce the influence of [[political party|political parties]], which he blamed for [[corruption]] and inefficiency, and strengthen the army.<ref name="Urb 528–529">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 528–529</ref>
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| − | ====Internal politics====
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| − | [[Image:5 Warszawa 083.jpg|thumb|right|170px|[[Belweder|Belweder Palace]], [[Warsaw]], Piłsudski's official residence during his years in power]]
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| − | In internal politics, Piłsudski's coup entailed sweeping limitations on parliamentary government, as his [[Sanacja|Sanation]] regime (1926–1939)—at times employing [[authoritarian]] methods—sought to "restore [public life] to moral health." The powers of the ''Sejm'' were curtailed by [[August Novelization|constitutional amendments]] introduced soon after the coup, on August 2, 1926.<ref name="Poland.gov"/> From 1926 to 1930, Piłsudski relied chiefly on [[propaganda]] to weaken the influence of opposition leaders. The culmination of his dictatorial and supralegal policies came in 1930 with the imprisonment and [[Brest trial|trial of certain political opponents]] on the eve of the 1930 [[Polish legislative election, 1930|Polish legislative elections]], and with the 1934 establishment of a [[Bereza Kartuska Detention Camp|prison]] for [[political prisoner]]s at [[Bereza Kartuska]] (today [[Biaroza]]), where some prisoners were brutally mistreated.
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| − | One of his main goals was to transform the [[parliamentary system]] into a [[presidential system]]; however, he opposed the introduction of a [[totalitarianism|totalitarian]] system. The adoption of a new Polish constitution in April 1935, tailored by Piłsudski's supporters to his specifications—providing for a strong presidency—came too late for Piłsudski to seek that office; but this [[April Constitution]] would serve Poland up to the outbreak of [[World War II]] and would carry its [[Polish Government in Exile|Government in Exile]] through to the end of the war and beyond. Nonetheless, Piłsudski's government depended more on his [[charismatic authority]] than on [[rational-legal authority]]. None of his followers could claim to be his legitimate heir, and after his death the [[Sanacja|Sanation]] structure would quickly fracture, with Poland returning to the pre-Piłsudski era of parliamentary political contention.
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| − | Piłsudski's regime marked a period of much-needed national stabilization and improvements in the situation of [[ethnic minorities]], which formed almost a third of the Second Republic's population. Piłsudski replaced the National Democrats' "[[polonization|ethnic-assimilation]]" with a "state-assimilation" policy: citizens were judged by their loyalty to the state, not by their nationality.<ref name="Snyder">[[Timothy Snyder]], ''The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999'', Yale University Press, ISBN 030010586X[http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN030010586X&id=xSpEynLxJ1MC&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=stanislaw+grabski&sig=5kSKOnXipwsTitk7w_hotRTooPQ Google Books, p.144] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> The years 1926–35, and Piłsudski himself, were favorably viewed by many [[Polish Jews]], whose situation improved especially under the Piłsudski-appointed prime minister [[Kazimierz Bartel]].<ref name="Cieplinski">[[Feigue Cieplinski]], ''Poles and Jews: The Quest For Self-Determination 1919–1934'', Binghamton Journal of History, Fall 2002, Last accessed on 2 June 2006.</ref><ref>[[Gunnar S. Paulsson|Paulsson, Gunnar S.]], '' Secret City: The Hidden Jews of Warsaw, 1940–1945'', Yale University Press, 2003, ISBN 0300095465, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300095465&id=vjJimC—9-kC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=Pilsudski,+Jews&sig=LiJGKRzy0dm5BA9pqohB8gmvq5U Google Books, p. 37] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref>
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| − | In the military sphere, Piłsudski, who had shown himself an accomplished military strategist in engineering the "[[Miracle at the Vistula]]," has been criticized by some for subsequently concentrating on [[personnel management]] and allegedly neglecting modernization of military [[strategy]] and equipment.<ref name="Garlicki178">Andrzej Garlicki, ''Jozef Pilsudski. 1867–1935''. Scolar Press, 1995, ISBN. 1859280188, p.178</ref> His experiences in the [[Polish-Soviet War]] (1919–21) may have led him to overestimate the importance of [[cavalry]] and to neglect the development of [[armored forces]] and [[air force]].<ref name="Garlicki178"/> Others, however, contend that, particularly from the late 1920s, he did support the development of those branches of military.<ref name="Urb 330–337-2">Urbankowski, op.cit., vol.2, p. 30–337</ref> The limitations on Poland's military modernization in this period may have been less [[Military doctrine|doctrinal]] than [[finance|financial]].
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| − | ====Foreign policy====
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| − | [[Image:Pilsudski by Kossak portrait.jpg|150px|thumb|right| Painting of Marshal Józef Piłsudski by [[Wojciech Kossak]], ca. 1928]]
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| − | Under Piłsudski's direction, Poland had good [[foreign relations]] with some of its neighbors, notably the [[Kingdom of Romania]], [[Hungary]] and [[Latvia]]. However, relations with [[Czechoslovakia]] were strained, and those with [[Lithuania]] were even worse. Relations with [[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]] (USSR) varied over time, but during Piłsudski's tenure could for the most part be described as neutral.<ref name="Urb 538">Urbankowski, op.cit., Pages 538</ref><ref name="Ilya Prizel"/>
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| − | Piłsudski, as [[Charles de Gaulle]] was later to do in [[France]], sought to maintain his country's independence on the international scene. Assisted by his protégé, [[Minister of Foreign Affairs]] [[Józef Beck]], he sought support for Poland in alliances with western powers, such as France and the [[United Kingdom]], and with friendly, if less powerful, neighbors, such as Romania and Hungary. A supporter of the [[Franco-Polish Military Alliance]] and the [[Polish-Romanian Alliance]] (part of the [[Little Entente]]), he was disappointed by the French and British policy of [[appeasement]] evidenced in their signing of the [[Locarno Treaties]].<ref name="Ilya Prizel">[[Ilya Prizel]], ''National Identity and Foreign Policy: Nationalism and Leadership in Poland, Russia and Ukraine'', Cambridge University Press, 1998, ISBN 0521576970, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0521576970&id=fE2quB852jcC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=Pilsudski+wealth&sig=MmY_fMN0nBIs5qFavD_godqa-0Q Google Books, p.71] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref><ref name="JLu">[[John Lukacs]], '' The Last European War: September 1939-December 1941'', Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN 0300089155 [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300089155&id=5wktT0vEYgkC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=Pilsudski+France+1933&sig=Lp1a7st1SGuMJfKpvFWzLqOtm0w Google Books, p.30] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref><ref name="NJ">[[Nicole Jordan]], ''The Popular Front and Central Europe: The Dilemmas of French Impotence 1918–1940'', Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0521522420, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0521522420&id=4iQQrESpA48C&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=Pilsudski+France+1933&sig=La39fTfAVC8dXNTUcbufCrapDTk Google Books, p.23] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> Piłsudski therefore aimed to also maintain good relations with the USSR and Germany; hence Poland signed [[non-aggression pact]]s with both its powerful neighbors: the 1932 [[Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact]] and the 1934 [[German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact]]. The two treaties were meant to strengthen Poland's position in the eyes of its allies and neighbors.<ref name="Poland.gov"/> Piłsudski himself was acutely aware of the shakiness of the pacts, and remarked, "Having these pacts, we are straddling two stools. This cannot last long. We have to know from which stool we will tumble first and when that will be."<ref>[[Jacob Kipp|Kipp, Jacob]], ed., ''Central European Security Concerns: Bridge, Buffer, Or Barrier?'', Routledge, 1993, ISBN 0714645451, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0714645451&id=__zem3Mlm8AC&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95&dq=Pilsudski,+which+of+the+stools&sig=5tsX1PsM3c8El1ttH3LM2tGvuJ8 Google Books, p. 95] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref>
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| − | ===Death===
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| − | [[Image:Rossa-MATKA I SERCE SYNA.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Grave of Piłsudski's mother in [[Vilnius]], [[Lithuania]]. The huge black [[tombstone]] is inscribed: "''MATKA I SERCE SYNA''"<br/> ("A mother and the heart of her son") and bears evocative lines from a poem by [[Juliusz Słowacki|Słowacki]].]]
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| − | By 1935, unbeknown to the public, Piłsudski had for several years been in declining health. On May 12, 1935, he died of [[liver cancer]] at [[Warsaw]]'s [[Belweder|Belweder Palace]]. His funeral turned into a national tribute to the man who had done so much to restore Poland's independence. The celebration of his life had begun spontaneously within half an hour after his death had been announced.<ref name="Pozeg5">[[Zbigniew Wojcik]], ''Przedmowa'', in [[Marian Marek Drozdowski]], [[Hanna Szwankowska]], ''Pożegnanie Marszałka: antologia tekstów historycznych i literackich'', Oficyna Wydawnicza "Typografika," 1995, ISBN 8386417188, p.5 </ref> It was led by military personnel, including former [[Polish Legions in World War I|Legionnaires]], members of the [[Polish Military Organization]], veterans of the wars of 1919–21, and his political collaborators from his time as [[Naczelnik Państwa|Chief of State]] and, later, prime minister.<ref name="Pozeg9–11">Marian Marek Drozdowski, ''Przedmowa'', in Marian Marek Drozdowski, Hanna Szwankowska, ''Pożegnanie Marszałka: antologia tekstów historycznych i literackich'', Oficyna Wydawnicza "Typografika," 1995, ISBN 8386417188, pp. 9–11.</ref>
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| − | ==Legacy==
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| − | <!--[[Image:Pilsudski carricature by Szwajcer.PNG|thumb|left|200px|Contemporary [[caricature]] of Józef Piłsudski]]—>
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| − | On May 13, 1935, in accordance with Piłsudski's last wishes, [[Edward Rydz-Śmigły]] was named by Poland's president and government to be [[Inspector-General]] of the [[Polish Armed Forces]], and on November 10, 1936, he was elevated to [[Marshal of Poland]].<ref name="JabStaw13">Marek Jabłonowski, Piotr Stawecki, ''Następca komendanta. Edward Śmigły-Rydz. Materiały do biografii''. Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczna w Pułtusku. 1998. ISBN 9390920808, p.13</ref> Rydz was now one of the most powerful people in Poland—the "second man in the state after the President."<ref name="JabStaw5">''Następca...'', op.cit., p.5</ref>
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| − | Piłsudski had given Poland something akin to what [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]]'s [[Onufry Zagłoba]] had mused about: a Polish [[Oliver Cromwell]]. As such, the Marshal had inevitably drawn both intense loyalty and intense vilification.<ref name="Goldfarb">[[Jeffrey C. Goldfarb]], ''Beyond Glasnost: The Post-Totalitarian Mind'', University of Chicago Press, 1992, ISBN 0226300986, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0226300986&id=7aHEDQ0HbyIC&pg=PA152&lpg=PA152&dq=Pilsudski+hero&sig=HyAJCU-pvFO3L3CYoCtisFxjflc Google Books, p.152] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref><ref name="Pozeg6">Zbigniew Wojcik, ''Przedmowa'', in [[Marian Marek Drozdowski]], [[Hanna Szwankowska]], ''Pożegnanie Marszałka: antologia tekstów historycznych i literackich'', Oficyna Wydawnicza "Typografika," 1995, ISBN 8386417188, p.6 </ref>
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| − | President Mościcki delivered a [[eulogy]] at Piłsudski's funeral in 1935: "He was the king of our hearts and the sovereign of our will. During a half-century of his life’s travails, he captured heart after heart, soul after soul, until he had drawn the whole of Poland within the purple of his royal spirit... He gave Poland freedom, boundaries, power and respect." Yet after [[World War II]], little of Piłsudski's thought influenced the policies of the [[Polish People's Republic]], a ''de facto'' [[satellite state|satellite]] of the [[Soviet Union]].
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| − | After the [[Revolutions of 1989|fall of communism]], Piłsudski came to be publicly acknowledged as a [[national hero]].<ref name="Roshwald"/> On the sixtieth anniversary of his death, on May 12, 1995, Poland's Sejm issued a statement: "Józef Piłsudski will remain, in our nation's memory, the founder of its independence and the victorious leader who fended off a foreign assault that threatened the whole of Europe and its civilization. Józef Piłsudski served his country well and has entered our history forever." Nonetheless Piłsudski remains a controversial figure; he has been criticized by a number of prominent modern Poles, including the Polish historian and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Poland)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] [[Bronislaw Geremek]],<ref>Henry Kamm, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE4DC1330F937A15750C0A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print Eastern Europe's Historians, Now Free, Face New Burden], ''The New York Times'', March 24, 1991. Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref> and by the [[Nobel Prize]]-winning author [[Czesław Miłosz]].<ref>[[Czesław Miłosz]], ''The History of Polish Literature'', New York, Macmillan, 1969, [http://books.google.com/books?id=11MVdBYUX5oC&pg=PA383&dq=%22whims+and+resentments%22&sig=rcBrQw2F3MDMAodBJvZNiLpT4j0 Google Print, p. 383] Retrieved September 20, 2008.</ref>
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| − | {{start box}}
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| − | {{succession box|title=[[List of Presidents of Poland|Head of State]]|before=[[Regency Council]]|after=[[Gabriel Narutowicz]]|years=1918–1922}}
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| − | {{succession box|title=[[Prime Minister of Poland]]|before=[[Kazimierz Bartel]]|after=Kazimierz Bartel|years=1926–1928}}
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| − | {{succession box|title=[[Prime Minister of Poland]]|before=[[Walery Sławek]]|after=Walery Sławek|years=1930}}
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| − | {{end box}}
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| − | ==Notes==
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| − | {{reflist|2}}
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| − | ==References==
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| − | <div class="references-small">
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| − | * {{pl icon}} Czubiński, Antoni (ed.), ''Józef Piłsudski i jego legenda'', Państowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1988, ISBN 8301078197
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| − | * Davies, Norman, ''Heart of Europe, the Past in Poland's Present'', Oxford University Press, 1984, 2001, ISBN 0192801260
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| − | * [[Marian Kamil Dziewanowski|Dziewanowski, M. K.]], ''Joseph Pilsudski: A European Federalist, 1918–1922'', Stanford, CA, 1969, ISBN 9780817917913
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| − | * {{pl icon}} Garlicki, Andrzej, ''Jozef Pilsudski, 1867–1935'', Scolar Press, 1995 (Polish edition, 1990), ISBN 1859280188
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| − | * Hauser, Przemysław, "Jozef Pilsudski's Views on the Territorial Shape of the Polish State and HisEndeavorss to Put them into Effect, 1918–1921," ''Polish Western Affairs'', Poznan, 1992, no. 2, pp. (235)–249, trans. Janina Dorosz. ISSN 0032-3039
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| − | * [[Wacław Jędrzejewicz|Jędrzejewicz, Wacław]], ''Pilsudski: a Life for Poland'', Hippocrene Books, 1982, ISBN 0882546333
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| − | * {{pl icon}} Jędrzejewicz, Wacław, ''Józef Piłsudski 1867–1935'', Wrocław 1989; ISBN 8388736256
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| − | * {{ru icon}}{{uk icon}} Pidlutskyi, Oleksa, ''Postati XX stolittia'', (Figures of the 20th century), [[Kiev]], 2004, ISBN 9668290011, {{LCCN|20||04440333}}. Chapter ''"Józef Piłsudski: The Chief who Created Himself a State"'' reprinted in [[Zerkalo Nedeli]] ''(the Mirror Weekly)'', Kiev, February 3–9 February, 2001, [http://www.zerkalo-nedeli.com/nn/show/329/29435/ in Russian] and [http://www.zn.kiev.ua/ie/show/329/29435/ in Ukrainian].
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| − | * [[Aleksandra Piłsudska|Piłsudska, Aleksandra]], ''Pilsudski: A Biography by His Wife'', Dodd, Mead and Co. NY., 1941. OCLC 65700731
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| − | * Piłsudski, Józef, Darsie Rutherford Gillie, ''Joseph Pilsudski, the Memories of a Polish Revolutionary and Soldier'', Faber & Faber, 1931. OCLC 2219582
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| − | * ''Jozef Pilsudski, Year 1920 and its Climax: Battle of Warsaw during the Polish-Soviet War, 1919–1920, with the Addition of Soviet Marshal Tukhachevski's March beyond the Vistula'', New York (Jozef Pilsudski Institute of America), 1972, ISBN B0006EIT3A
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| − | *{{pl icon}} [[Polski Słownik Biograficzny]] (Polish Biographical Dictionary), Zeszyt 109 (T. XXVI/2), pp. 311–324
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| − | * Reddaway, W. F., ''Marshal Pilsudski'', Routledge, 1939. OCLC 1704492
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| − | * Rothschild, Joseph, ''Pilsudski's Coup d'Etat'', Columbia University Press, 1967, ISBN 0231029845
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| − | *[[Piotr S. Wandycz|Wandycz, Piotr S.]], "Polish Federalism 1919–1920 and its Historical Antecedents," ''East European Quarterly'', Boulder, CO., 1970, vol. IV, no. 1, pp. 25–39. ISSN 0012-8449
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| − | * {{pl icon}} Wójcik, Włodzimierz, ''Legenda Piłsudskiego w Polskiej literaturze międzywojennej'' (Piłsudski's Legend in Polish interwar literature), Warszawa, 1987, ISBN 8321605338
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| − | </div>
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | All links Retrieved September 20, 2008.
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| − | {{wikiquote}}
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| − | {{commons|Józef Piłsudski}}
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| − | * [http://web.archive.org/web/20050213064816/http://www.polonica.net/Marshal-Jozef-Pilsudski.htm Marshal Jozef Pilsudski. Messiah and Central European Federalist] by Patryk Dole
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| − | * {{en icon}}/{{pl icon}} [http://www.pilsudski.org Jozef Pilsudski Institute of America]
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| − | * {{en icon}} [http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/rsolecki/jozef_pilsudski.html Abbreviated version of biography from the above page]. Site by [http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/rsolecki/ Roman Solecki].
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| − | * {{en icon}} [http://www.geocities.com/veldes1/pilsudski.html Josef Piłsudski's biographical sketch]
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| − | {{Presidents of Poland}}
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| − | {{Persondata
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| − | |NAME=Piłsudski, Józef Klemens
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| − | |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
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| − | |SHORT DESCRIPTION=Polish revolutionary and statesman, Field Marshal, first Chief of State (1918–1922) and dictator (1926–1935), of the Second Polish Republic, and leader of its armed forces.
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| − | |DATE OF BIRTH=December 5, 1867
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| − | |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Zułów]], in today's [[Lithuania]]
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| − | |DATE OF DEATH=May 12, 1935
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| − | |PLACE OF DEATH=[[Warsaw]], [[Poland]]
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| − | }}
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| − | [[category:Politics and social sciences]]
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| − | [[category:Politics]]
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| − | {{credits|Jozef_Pilsudski|178553974}}
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