Lithuanian victory
195-761: The Klaipėda Revolt took place in January 1923 in the Klaipėda Region (also known as the Memel Territory or Memelland ). The region, located north of the Neman River , was detached from East Prussia , German Empire by the Treaty of Versailles and became a mandate of the League of Nations . It was placed under provisional French administration until a more permanent solution could be worked out. Lithuania wanted to unite with
390-642: A Provisional People's Government of the Republic of Poland ( Tymczasowy Rząd Ludowy Republiki Polskiej ) in Lublin. On Sunday, 10 November at 7 a.m., Józef Piłsudski , newly freed from 16 months in a German prison in Magdeburg , returned by train to Warsaw. Piłsudski, together with Colonel Kazimierz Sosnkowski , was greeted at Warsaw's railway station by Regent Zdzisław Lubomirski and by Colonel Adam Koc . Next day, due to his popularity and support from most political parties,
585-409: A border settlement agreement that included the status of the Memel Territory. Importantly, the annexation gave Lithuania control of a year-round, ice-free Baltic port. Lithuania made full use of Klaipėda's port, modernizing and adapting it largely for its agricultural exports. The port reconstruction was certainly one of the larger long-term investment projects enacted by the government of Lithuania in
780-514: A committee of the Conference of Ambassadors scheduled the presentation of a proposal for the future of the region on January 10, 1923. While the content of the proposal was not known until after the start of the revolt, the Lithuanians expected the decision to be against their interest and hastened their preparations. Indeed, the committee proposed either creating a free city (an autonomous region under
975-454: A failed attempt to resolve the Polish question as quickly as possible, Berlin set up the puppet Kingdom of Poland on 14 January 1917, with a governing Provisional Council of State and (from 15 October 1917) a Regency Council ( Rada Regencyjna Królestwa Polskiego ). The Council administered the country under German auspices (see also Mitteleuropa ), pending the election of a king . More than
1170-534: A formal international agreement, the Klaipėda Convention , was signed in May 1924. The convention formally acknowledged Lithuania's sovereignty in the region and outlined its extensive legislative, judicial, administrative, and financial autonomy. The region remained part of Lithuania until March 1939 when it was transferred to Nazi Germany after a German ultimatum . The German–Lithuanian border had been stable since
1365-554: A genuine uprising of the local population against its German Directorate and not against the French or Allied administration. Such plan was designed to direct Allied protests away from the Lithuanian government and to exploit the anti-German sentiment in Europe. Galvanauskas was careful to hide any links between the rebels and the Lithuanian government so that if the revolt failed he could blame
1560-547: A graduate of high school received a big matura , which enabled them to seek university-level education. Before 1918, Poland had three universities: Jagiellonian University , the University of Warsaw and Lwów University . The Catholic University of Lublin was established in 1918; Adam Mickiewicz University , Poznań, in 1919; and finally, in 1922, after the annexation of the Republic of Central Lithuania , Wilno University became
1755-433: A local army, which included 317 men by January 24. The men were enticed by a guaranteed six-month position and a wage of two litas a day. France protested against the Lithuanian actions and issued direct military threats demanding to return to the status quo ante bellum . Britain protested, but refrained from threats. It was suspected that Lithuania had Soviet support, which meant that if either France or Poland initiated
1950-402: A major reform which introduced two main levels of education: common school ( szkoła powszechna ), with three levels – 4 grades + 2 grades + 1 grade; and middle school ( szkoła średnia ), with two levels – 4 grades of comprehensive middle school and 2 grades of specified high school (classical, humanistic, natural and mathematical). A graduate of middle school received a small matura , while
2145-497: A military response Soviet Russia would intervene, possibly causing another war. Poland protested, but also feared wider repercussions. It offered military assistance, but only if France and Britain approved. On January 17, 1923, the Conference of Ambassadors decided to dispatch a special commission, led by Frenchman Georges Clinchant. The commission with a handful of Allied troops arrived on January 26 and almost immediately demanded that
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#17328516136792340-633: A month before Germany surrendered on 11 November 1918 and the war ended, the Regency Council had dissolved the Provisional Council of State and announced its intention to restore Polish independence (7 October 1918). With the notable exception of the Marxist -oriented Social Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania ( SDKPiL ), most Polish political parties supported this move. On 23 October
2535-567: A new envoy to the region. Due to his initiative, Poland and Klaipėda signed a trade agreement in April 1922. In addition, Poland attempted to establish its economic presence by buying property, establishing business enterprises, and making connections with the port. Influenced by the Polish proposals, the Allies took Klaipėda Region into account when signing the peace treaty with Germany. According to article 28 of
2730-546: A new five-member Directorate within 3 days. The declaration also provided that the German and Lithuanian language were given equal status as official languages of the region, all political prisoners were to be released, martial law was enacted. In addition to this declaration, the Committee issued a French appeal to the French soldiers, in which they, as "fighters for noble ideas of freedom and equality", were asked not to fight against
2925-505: A peaceful retreat of the French and to avoid any casualties, shooting was allowed only as a last resort of self-defense. Galvanauskas ordered perfect behavior (politeness, no plunder, no alcoholic drinks, no political speeches) and no Lithuanian identification (no Lithuanian documents, money, tobacco, or matchboxes). In the Klaipėda Region, these men were met by some 300 local volunteers, though Lithuanian historian Vygandas Vareikis disputed
3120-599: A policy of "Lithuanization". This was met by even more opposition, as religious and regional differences slowly became insurmountable. After the December 1926 coup d'état , Antanas Smetona came to power. As the status of the Memel Territory was regulated by international treaties, the Memel Territory became an oasis of democracy in Lithuania. Lithuanian intelligentsia often held marriages in Memel/Klaipėda, since Memel Territory
3315-410: A result of this backlash, Odry left his post shortly after coming to Memel and handed the responsibility of the administration over to High Commissioner Gabriel Jean Petisné . During the period of French administration, the idea of an independent state of Memelland grew in popularity among local inhabitants. The organisation Deutsch-Litauischer Heimatbund (German-Lithuanian homeland federation) promoted
3510-402: A separate parliament, two official languages, the capacity to raise its own taxes, charge custom duties, and manage its cultural and religious affairs, and was allowed a separate judicial system, separate citizenship, internal control of agriculture and forestry, as well as a separate social security system. The Council of Ambassadors accepted the resulting arrangement and confirmed the autonomy of
3705-582: A series of three Silesian Uprisings . The most critical military conflict of that period, however, the Polish–Soviet War (1919-1921), ended in a decisive Polish victory. The Second Polish Republic was a parliamentary democracy from 1919 (see Small Constitution of 1919 ) to 1926, with the President having limited powers. The Parliament elected him, and he could appoint the Prime Minister as well as
3900-462: A share of 1.6% (solely identifying with a non-Polish ethnic group) or 3.8% (including those identifying with both the Polish ethnicity and with another ethnic group) in 2011. The first spontaneous flight of about 500,000 Poles from the Soviet Union occurred during the reconstitution of sovereign Poland. In the second wave, between November 1919 and June 1924, some 1,200,000 people left the territory of
4095-467: A sovereign state at the end of the First World War in Europe in 1917–1918. The victorious Allies of the First World War confirmed the rebirth of Poland in the Treaty of Versailles of June 1919. It was one of the great stories of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference . Poland solidified its independence in a series of border wars fought by the newly formed Polish Army from 1918 to 1921. The extent of
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#17328516136794290-510: A twenty-day siege. Open organised Polish resistance ended on 6 October 1939 after the Battle of Kock , with Germany and the Soviet Union occupying most of the country. Lithuania annexed the area of Wilno , and Slovakia seized areas along Poland's southern border – including Górna Orawa and Tatranská Javorina - which Poland had annexed from Czechoslovakia in October 1938. Poland did not surrender to
4485-639: A vaccine against typhus. Bronisław Malinowski counted among the most important anthropologists of the 20th century. In Polish literature , the 1920s were marked by the domination of poetry. Polish poets were divided into two groups – the Skamanderites ( Jan Lechoń , Julian Tuwim , Antoni Słonimski and Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz ) and the Futurists ( Anatol Stern , Bruno Jasieński , Aleksander Wat , Julian Przyboś ). Apart from well-established novelists ( Stefan Żeromski , Władysław Reymont ), new names appeared in
4680-459: Is Lithuanian, have never desired a separation from Germany;...they have always proved themselves a loyal constituent part of the German community...moreover, Memel is an entirely German town...which has never in its whole history belonged to Lithuania or to Poland. To this claim, the Allied Powers responded the following: The Allied and associated Powers reject the suggestion that the cession of
4875-539: The 1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania ). On top of this, there were natural disasters, such as the 1934 flood in Poland . Interbellum Poland was unofficially divided into two parts – better developed "Poland A" in the west, and underdeveloped "Poland B" in the east. Polish industry was concentrated in the west, mostly in Polish Upper Silesia , and the adjacent Lesser Poland 's province of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie , where
5070-633: The Directorate of the Klaipėda Region and the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union , a church of united administration of Lutheran and Reformed congregations, the mostly Lutheran congregations (and a single Reformed one in Klaipėda) in the Klaipėda Region were disentangled from the old-Prussian Ecclesiastical Province of East Prussia and formed the Regional Synodal Federation of
5265-598: The Entente 's Council of Ambassadors . The Memel Territory, together with other areas severed from Germany (the Saar and Danzig ), was to remain under the control of the League of Nations until a future date, when the people of these regions would be allowed to vote on whether the land would return to Germany or not. Today, the former Memel Territory is controlled by Lithuania as part of Klaipėda and Tauragė counties. In 1226, Duke Konrad I of Masovia requested assistance against
5460-745: The Federal Republic of Germany . No property restoration was performed by the Republic of Lithuania for owners prior to 1945. Although maintaining that the Memel Territory in 1939 was re-annexed by Germany and acknowledging that Lithuania itself was occupied in 1940 by the Soviets, Lithuania, after regaining independence on 11 March 1990, did not restore autonomy to the Memel Territory. [REDACTED] Media related to Memelland at Wikimedia Commons 55°27′N 21°24′E / 55.450°N 21.400°E / 55.450; 21.400 Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic , at
5655-619: The Free City of Danzig was not granted to Poland. In early 1919, Roman Dmowski , the Polish representative to the Paris Peace Conference , campaigned for the incorporation of Klaipėda Region into Lithuania, which was then to enter into a union with Poland (see Dmowski's Line and Międzymorze federation). The Polish formula was Klaipėda to Lithuania, Lithuania to Poland. Until the Polish–Lithuanian union could be worked out, Klaipėda
5850-523: The German Empire , being much more developed and prosperous. Frequent border closures and a customs war with Germany also had negative economic impacts on Poland. In 1924, Prime Minister Władysław Grabski , who was also the Economic Minister, introduced the złoty as a single common currency for Poland (replacing the marka), which remained a stable currency. The currency helped Poland to control
6045-605: The Imperial Russian rouble , the Austrian krone , the Polish marka and the Ostrubel ) and with little or no direct infrastructural links. The situation was so bad that neighbouring industrial centres, as well as major cities, lacked direct railway links because they had been parts of different jurisdictions and different empires. For example, there was no direct railway connection between Warsaw and Kraków until 1934. This situation
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6240-652: The Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation . The eastern boundaries of Prussia (from 1871, part of the German Empire), having remained unchanged since the Treaty of Melno in 1422, became a matter of discussion following World War I as the newly independent states of Poland and Lithuania emerged. The separatist Act of Tilsit was signed by a few pro-Lithuanian-oriented Prussian Lithuanians in 1918, demanding
6435-447: The League of Nations . The three-member commission, chaired by American Norman Davis , prepared the final convention which was signed by Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and Lithuania in May 1924. The Klaipėda Region became an autonomous region under unconditional sovereignty of Lithuania. The region had extensive legislative, judicial, administrative, and financial autonomy and elected its own local parliament. The port of Klaipėda
6630-501: The Lithuanian Army could disarm the small French regiment and take the region in 24 hours. However, a direct military action against France was too dangerous, both in military and diplomatic sense. Therefore, it was decided to stage a local revolt, using the example of the Polish Żeligowski's Mutiny in October 1920. The preparations were left in the hands of Prime Minister Ernestas Galvanauskas . While he delegated specific tasks,
6825-553: The Lithuanian Riflemen's Union for help. This became the official pretext for the riflemen to enter into the region on January 9. On January 9, the SCSLM declared that, based on the authorization from other salvation committees to represent all inhabitants of the region, the SCSLM usurped all power in the region, dissolved the Directorate , chaired by Vilius Steputaitis (Wilhelm Stepputat), and authorized Erdmonas Simonaitis to form
7020-515: The Neman River would be internationalized. Lithuania accepted and thus the revolt was legitimized. The French and British ships left the port on February 19. Initially the proposed Klaipėda Convention reserved extensive rights for Poland to access, use, and govern the port of Klaipėda. This was completely unacceptable to Lithuania, which had terminated all diplomatic ties with Poland over the Vilnius Region. The stalled negotiations were referred to
7215-647: The Occupation of the Ruhr in Germany, and the French administration in Memel did not take any significant counteractive measures against the rebels. On 19 January, the territory was annexed by Lithuania, and the fait accompli was eventually confirmed by the Council of Ambassadors in 1924. In the Klaipėda Convention , signed by the Council of Ambassadors and Lithuania, the area was granted
7410-759: The Polish People's Republic and the Third Polish Republic , the historical state is referred to as the Second Polish Republic . In the Polish language, the country is traditionally referred to as II Rzeczpospolita ( Druga Rzeczpospolita ), which means the Second Republic . After more than a century of partitions between the Austrian , the Prussian , and the Russian imperial powers, Poland re-emerged as
7605-772: The Prussians and other Baltic tribes , including the Skalvians who lived along the Neman (Memel) River . In March 1226, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II issued the Golden Bull of Rimini , which provided that the Teutonic Knights would possess lands taken beyond the Masovian border in exchange for securing Masovia. After uprisings of the Baltic Prussian tribes in 1242 through 1274 failed,
7800-607: The Republic ; however, republika is a general term, while Rzeczpospolita traditionally refers exclusively to Polish states. Additionally, between 8 November 1918 and 16 August 1919, the Journal of Laws of the State of Poland referred to the country as the State of Poland ( Polish : Państwo Polskie ). Following the end of the Second World War , and the establishment of the later states of
7995-609: The Second World War in September 1939 ended the sovereign Second Polish Republic. The German invasion of Poland began on 1 September 1939, one week after Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . On that day, Germany and Slovakia attacked Poland, and on 17 September the Soviets attacked eastern Poland . Warsaw fell to the Nazis on 28 September after
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8190-548: The Soviet Union (0.8%) was virtually nonexistent. Czechoslovakia accounted for 3.9%, Latvia for 0.3%, and Romania for 0.8%. By mid-1938, after the Anschluss with Austria , Greater Germany was responsible for as much as 23% of Polish foreign trade. Piłsudski's regime followed the conservative free-market economic tradition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth throughout its existence. Poland had one of
8385-566: The Soviet Union . It had access to the Baltic Sea via a short strip of coastline known as the Polish Corridor on either side of the city of Gdynia . Between March and August 1939, Poland also shared a border with the then- Hungarian governorate of Subcarpathia . In 1938, the Second Republic was the sixth largest country in Europe. According to the 1921 census , the number of inhabitants
8580-489: The Treaty of Melno in 1422. However, northern East Prussia had a significant Lithuanian-speaking population of Prussian Lithuanians or Lietuvninkai and was known as Lithuania Minor . The Klaipėda Region covered 2,848 km (1,100 sq mi), which included the Curonian Lagoon of approximately 412 km (159 sq mi). According to the Prussian Census of 1910, the city of Memel numbered 21,419 inhabitants, of whom 92% were German and 8% were Lithuanian, while
8775-526: The Treaty of Versailles , effective January 10, 1920, lands north of the Neman River were detached from the German Empire and, according to article 99, were placed under a mandate of the League of Nations . The French agreed to become temporary administrators of the region while the British declined. The first French troops, the 21st Battalion [ fr ] of Chasseurs Alpins under General Dominique Joseph Odry [ pl ] , arrived on February 10, 1920. The Germans officially handed over
8970-405: The displaced persons camps to make promises to former inhabitants that they could return and their property would be restored. In the period of 1945–50 about 8,000 persons were repatriated. Bilingual Lithuanian-German returners were viewed as Germans. The few remaining ethnic Germans were then forcibly expelled , with most opting to flee to what would become West Germany . People who remained in
9165-458: The "will and achievements of the Lithuanian nation". On January 13, Simonaitis formed a new pro-Lithuanian Directorate, which included Vilius Gaigalaitis , Martynas Reizgys, Jonas Toleikis, and Kristupas Lekšas . On January 19, representatives of Committees for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor met in Šilutė (Heydekrug) and passed a five-point declaration, asking for the region to be incorporated as an autonomous district into Lithuania. The document
9360-445: The 1920s, the relations between Lithuania and Germany under Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann were rather normal. However, tensions began to rise after Adolf Hitler came to power. Weaknesses of the convention were exploited by Nazi Germany when it supported anti-Lithuanian activities and campaigned for reincorporation of the region into Germany. This culminated in a 1939 ultimatum , which successfully demanded that Lithuania give up
9555-402: The 1939 Statistical Yearbook of Poland , the total length of the railways in Poland (as of 31 December 1937) was 20,118 km (12,501 mi). Rail density was 5.2 km (3.2 mi) per 100 km (39 sq mi). Railways were very dense in the western part of the country, while in the east, especially Polesie , rail was non-existent in some counties. During the interbellum period,
9750-419: The German area north of the Memel river was given the status of Territoire de Memel under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors, and French troops were sent for protection. The German delegation at the Paris Peace Conference , under the leadership of Count Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau immediately protested this decision, stating on 9 May 1919: [Memellanders] including those whose mother-tongue
9945-507: The Jews from all spheres of social, economic, and cultural life in Poland". The government in response organised the Camp of National Unity (OZON), which in 1938 took control of the Polish Sejm and subsequently drafted anti-Semitic legislation similar to the Anti-Jewish laws in Germany, Hungary, and Romania. OZON advocated mass emigration of Jews from Poland, numerus clausus (see also Ghetto benches ), and other limitations on Jewish rights. According to William W. Hagen , by 1939, prior to
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#173285161367910140-418: The Klaipėda Region to Germany . As World War II came to an end in 1945, the Soviet Union incorporated the region into the Lithuanian SSR . Since 1990, the area of the Klaipėda Region has formed part of the independent Republic of Lithuania , as part of Klaipėda and Tauragė counties. The southern border established by the Treaty of Versailles defines the current international boundary between Lithuania and
10335-399: The Klaipėda Region under threat of invasion. Klaip%C4%97da Region The Klaipėda Region ( Lithuanian : Klaipėdos kraštas ) or Memel Territory ( German : Memelland or Memelgebiet ) was defined by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia , when, as Memelland , it was put under the administration of
10530-470: The League of Nations) or transferring the region to Lithuania if it agreed to a union with Poland. January 1923 was also convenient as France was distracted by the occupation of the Ruhr and Europe feared the outbreak of another war. The domestic situation in Lithuania was also favorable: Galvanauskas, as the Prime Minister, had extensive powers while the First Seimas was deadlocked and the election of President Aleksandras Stulginskis , who strongly opposed
10725-410: The Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Juozas Urbšys and his German counterpart Joachim von Ribbentrop signed the Treaty of the Cession of the Memel Territory to Germany in exchange for a Lithuanian Free Zone for 99 years in the port of Memel, using the facilities erected in previous years. Hitler had anticipated this aboard a Kriegsmarine naval ship and at dawn sailed into Memel to celebrate
10920-508: The Lithuanian case to the Conference of Ambassadors. This failure became the impetus to organize the uprising. During a secret session on November 20, 1922, the Lithuanian government decided to organize the revolt. They recognized that the diplomatic efforts through the League of Nations or the Conference of Ambassadors were fruitless and economic measures to sway the inhabitants towards Lithuania were too expensive and ineffective in international diplomacy. General Silvestras Žukauskas claimed that
11115-402: The Lithuanian plans. When the Allies contemplated turning Klaipėda into a free city like Danzig, Polish Foreign Minister Konstanty Skirmunt believed that such a free city would hurt the Polish interest by allowing Germany to maintain its influence in the region. Skirmunt instead supported the transfer of the region to Lithuania if Poland would secure unrestricted trade via the Neman River and
11310-486: The Lithuanian point of view, Memellanders were viewed as Germanized Lithuanians who should be re-Lithuanized. There was also a strong denominational difference since about 95% of the inhabitants of Lithuania Minor were Lutherans while more than 90% of Greater Lithuanians were Catholics . Following the Agreement concerning the Evangelical Church of the Klaipėda Region ( German : Abkommen betr. die evangelische Kirche des Memelgebietes ) of 23 July 1925, concluded between
11505-414: The Lithuanians looked for an ally in Soviet Russia, which opposed a strong Polish state. On November 29, Soviet Foreign Minister Georgy Chicherin stopped briefly in Kaunas on his way to Berlin. In a conversation with Galvanauskas, Chicherin expressed support for Lithuanian plans in Klaipėda and declared that Soviet Russia would not remain passive if Poland moved against Lithuania. On December 18, 1922,
11700-463: The Memel Territory (Landessynodalverband Memelgebiet) since, being ranked an old-Prussian ecclesiastical province of its own. An own consistory in Klaipėda was established in 1927, led by a general superintendent (at first F. Gregor, elected in 1927, succeeded by O. Obereiniger, elected by the regional synod in 1933). The Catholic parishes in the Klaipėda Region used to belong to the Bishopric of Ermland until 1926 and were then disentangled, forming
11895-466: The Memel Territory during the occupation period from 1923 to 1939 should emigrate. About 8,900 Lithuanians did so. At the same time, Germany expelled about 1,300 local Memel and Lithuanian Jews and about 40 Prussian Lithuanians. High Commissioners Plenipotentiaries Governors Transitional Commissioner for the Integration of Memelland After Nazi Germany took over the area in 1939, many Lithuanians and their organizations began leaving Memel and
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#173285161367912090-411: The National Council of the Principality of Cieszyn (established in November 1918), the Republic of Zakopane and the Polish Liquidation Committee (28 October). Soon afterward, the Polish–Ukrainian War broke out in Lwów (1 November 1918) between forces of the Military Committee of Ukrainians and the Polish irregular units made up of students known as the Lwów Eaglets , who were later supported by
12285-477: The Order conquered many remaining western Balts in Lithuania Minor , including the Skalvians, Nadruvians , and Yotvingians . In 1252, the Order constructed Memel Castle where the Dangė river flows into the Neman, at the north end of the Curonian Spit . In 1422, after centuries of conflict, the Order and the Polish–Lithuanian union signed the Treaty of Melno which defined a border between Prussia and Lithuania. Although Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania wanted
12480-487: The People's Assemblies of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus (22 October 1939), annexed eastern Poland partly to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic , and partly to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (November 1939). Polish war plans ( Plan West and Plan East ) failed as soon as Germany invaded in 1939. The Polish losses in combat against Germans (killed and missing in action) amounted to ca. 70,000 men. Some 420,000 of them were taken prisoners. Losses against
12675-404: The Polish 18th Lancer Regiment near Chojnice. This arose from misreporting of a single clash on 1 September 1939 near Krojanty , when two squadrons of the Polish 18th Lancers armed with sabers surprised and wiped out a German infantry formation with a mounted saber charge. Shortly after midnight the 2nd (Motorized) Division was compelled to withdraw by Polish cavalry, before the Poles were caught in
12870-472: The Polish Army (see Battle of Lwów (1918) , Battle of Przemyśl (1918) ). Meanwhile, in western Poland, another war of national liberation began under the banner of the Greater Poland uprising (1918–1919) . In January 1919, Czechoslovak forces attacked Polish units in the area of Trans-Olza (see Polish–Czechoslovak War ). Soon afterwards, the Polish–Lithuanian War (ca 1919–1920) began, and, in August 1919, Polish-speaking residents of Upper Silesia initiated
13065-408: The Polish Government constructed several new lines, mainly in the central part of the country (see also Polish State Railroads Summer 1939 ). Construction of the extensive Warszawa Główna railway station was never finished due to the war, while Polish railways were famous for their punctuality (see Luxtorpeda , Strzała Bałtyku , Latający Wilnianin ). In the interbellum, the road network of Poland
13260-457: The Polish Parliament created the State Road Fund, the purpose of which was to collect money for the construction and conservation of roads. The government drafted a 10-year plan, with road priorities: a highway from Wilno, through Warsaw and Kraków, to Zakopane (called Marshal Piłsudski Highway), asphalt highways from Warsaw to Poznań and Łódź, as well as a Warsaw ring road. However, the plan turned out to be too ambitious, with insufficient money in
13455-424: The Polish economy by the German and Russian occupying powers, and the sabotage performed by retreating armies, the new republic was faced with the task of economically unifying disparate economic regions, which had previously been part of different countries and different empires. Within the borders of the Republic were the remnants of three different economic systems, with five different currencies (the German mark ,
13650-411: The Polish–Soviet War, Marshal Piłsudski led an intentionally modest life, writing historical books for a living. After he took power through a military coup in May 1926, he emphasised that he wanted to heal Polish society and politics of excessive partisan politics. His regime, accordingly, was called Sanacja in Polish. The 1928 parliamentary elections were still considered free and fair, although
13845-418: The Red Army (which invaded Poland on 17 September) added up to 6,000 to 7,000 of casualties and MIA, 250,000 were taken prisoners. Although the Polish Army – considering the inactivity of the Allies – was in an unfavourable position – it managed to inflict serious losses to the enemies: 20,000 German soldiers were killed or MIA, 674 tanks and 319 armored vehicles destroyed or badly damaged, 230 aircraft shot down;
14040-572: The Red Army lost (killed and MIA) about 2,500 soldiers, 150 combat vehicles and 20 aircraft. The Soviet invasion of Poland, and lack of promised aid from the Western Allies, contributed to the Polish forces defeat by 6 October 1939. A popular myth is that Polish cavalry armed with lances charged German tanks during the September 1939 campaign. This often repeated account, first reported by Italian journalists as German propaganda , concerned an action by
14235-788: The Regency Council appointed Piłsudski as Commander in Chief of the Polish Armed Forces. On 14 November, the Council dissolved itself and transferred all its authority to Piłsudski as Chief of State ( Naczelnik Państwa ). After consultation with Piłsudski, Daszyński's government dissolved itself and a new government formed under Jędrzej Moraczewski . In 1918, the Kingdom of Italy became the first country in Europe to recognise Poland's renewed sovereignty. Centres of government that formed at that time in Galicia (formerly Austrian-ruled southern Poland) included
14430-649: The Regency Council appointed a new government under Józef Świeżyński and began conscription into the Polish Army . In 1918–1919, over 100 workers' councils sprang up on Polish territories; on 5 November 1918, in Lublin , the first Soviet of Delegates was established. On 6 November socialists proclaimed the Republic of Tarnobrzeg at Tarnobrzeg in Austrian Galicia . The same day the Socialist, Ignacy Daszyński , set up
14625-573: The Republic's sixth university. There were also three technical colleges : the Warsaw University of Technology , Lwów Polytechnic and the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, established in 1919. Warsaw University of Life Sciences was an agricultural institute. By 1939, there were around 50,000 students enrolled in further education. 28% of students at universities were women, which
14820-497: The Riflemen and the rebels absolving the government of any responsibility. Galvanauskas warned that all those involved could be subject to criminal prosecutions if it was necessary for Lithuania's prestige. The local population was engaged in the political tug of war between Germany, Lithuania, and free city. Reunion with Germany was a political impossibility, but local Germans wished to preserve their political and cultural dominance in
15015-629: The Second Polish Republic in its final years is frequently referred to as Piłsudski's colonels . Interwar Poland had a large army of 270,000 soldiers on active duty: in 37 infantry divisions, 11 cavalry brigades, and two armored brigades, plus artillery units. Another 700,000 men served in the reserves. At the outbreak of the war, the Polish Army was able to put in the field almost one million soldiers, 4,300 guns, around 1,000 armored vehicles including in between 200 and 300 tanks (the majority of
15210-505: The Second World War . The Polish government-in-exile was established in Paris and later London after the fall of France in 1940. When, after several regional conflicts, most importantly the victorious Polish-Soviet war , the borders of the state were finalised in 1922, Poland's neighbours were Czechoslovakia , Germany , the Free City of Danzig , Lithuania , Latvia , Romania and
15405-679: The Supreme Committee for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor. At the same time, the League was making its final decision regarding the bitter territorial dispute over the Vilnius Region between Poland and Lithuania. On February 3, the League decided to divide the 6 km (3.7 mi) wide neutral zone, established in the aftermath of the Żeligowski's Mutiny in November 1920. Despite Lithuanian protests,
15600-448: The USSR for Poland. It is estimated that some 460,000 of them spoke Polish as the first language. According to the 1931 Polish Census : 69% of the population was Polish, 14% were Ukrainian, around 10% Jewish, 3% Belarusian, 2% German and 3% other, including Lithuanian, Czech, Armenian, Russian, and Romani. The situation of minorities was a complex subject and changed during the period. Poland
15795-525: The Ukrainian state were suppressed and any existent violence or terrorism initiated by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists was emphasised to create the image of a "brutal Eastern savage". The Second Polish Republic was mainly flat with an average elevation of 233 m (764 ft) above sea level , except for the southernmost Carpathian Mountains (after the Second World War and its border changes,
15990-452: The accuracy of this assertion. More local men joined once the rebels reached cities. The rebels met little resistance, but struggled with cold winter weather, lack of transportation and basic supplies (they were not provided with food or clothes, but were given a daily allowance of 4000 German marks). The contingent was divided into three armed groups. The first and strongest group (530 men commanded by Major Jonas Išlinskas codename Aukštuolis)
16185-408: The area had been annexed from Lithuanian kingdom to the monastic state since the 13th century, and even many Lithuanian-speakers, regarding themselves as East Prussians , declared themselves "Memellanders/Klaipėdiškiai" in the official census (see below for demographic information) and did not want to belong to a Lithuanian national state due to strong Germanisation in the late 1800s. According to
16380-415: The armored vehicles were outclassed tankettes ) and 745 aircraft (however, only around 450 of them were bombers and fighters available to fight as of 1 September 1939). The training of the Polish Army was thorough. The non-commissioned officers were a competent body of men with expert knowledge and high ideals. The officers, both senior and junior, constantly refreshed their training in the field and in
16575-527: The average elevation of Poland decreased to 173 m (568 ft)). Only 13% of territory, along the southern border, was higher than 300 m (980 ft). The highest elevation in the country was Mount Rysy , which rises 2,499 m (8,199 ft) in the Tatra Range of the Carpathians, approximately 95 km (59 mi) south of Kraków . Between October 1938 and September 1939, the highest elevation
16770-413: The border into the region. Among them were Steponas Darius and Vladas Putvinskis . They wore civilian clothes and had green armband with letters MLS for Mažosios Lietuvos sukilėlis or Mažosios Lietuvos savanoris (rebel/volunteer of Lithuania Minor). Each man had a rifle and 200 bullets; the rebels had a total of 21 light machine guns , four motorcycles, three cars, 63 horses. In hopes of negotiating
16965-522: The border to be coextensive with the Neman River, the treaty border started north of Memelberg and ran southeasterly to the Neman. This border remained until 1918. After the Treaty of Melno was signed, many Lithuanians returned to northeastern Prussia, which became known as Lithuania Minor in the 16th century. After World War I ended in 1918, the Klaipėda Region was defined as a roughly triangular wedge, with
17160-704: The bulk of coal mines and steel plants was located. Furthermore, heavy industry plants were located in Częstochowa ( Huta Częstochowa , founded in 1896), Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski ( Huta Ostrowiec , founded in 1837–1839), Stalowa Wola (brand new industrial city, which was built from scratch in 1937 – 1938), Chrzanów ( Fablok , founded in 1919), Jaworzno , Trzebinia (oil refinery, opened in 1895), Łódź (the seat of Polish textile industry), Poznań ( H. Cegielski – Poznań ), Kraków and Warsaw ( Ursus Factory ). Further east, in Kresy , industrial centres included two major cities of
17355-423: The cause and pledged another $ 10,000 if needed. Additional support was provided by Lithuanian Americans , including Antanas Ivaškevičius (Ivas) and Andrius Martusevičius (Martus). For several weeks before the revolt, the local press reported on alleged Polish plans for the region. This was designed to strengthen the anti-Polish sentiment and paint Lithuania as a more favorable solution. It seems that these actions had
17550-437: The centuries-old German–Lithuanian relations in the region. The authoritarian regime of Smetona enforced a policy of discrimination and Lithuanisation: it sent administrators from Lithuania, and German teachers, officials, and priests were fired from jobs. Local inhabitants—both Germans and Prussian Lithuanians—were not accepted for state service in Memel Territory. People were sent from Kaunas instead. Until 1938, no governor
17745-632: The characteristic features of the Polish economy in the interbellum was the gradual nationalisation of major plants. This was the case for the Ursus Factory (see Państwowe Zakłady Inżynieryjne ) and several steelworks, such as Huta Pokój in Ruda Śląska – Nowy Bytom, Huta Królewska in Chorzów – Królewska Huta, Huta Laura in Siemianowice Śląskie , as well as Scheibler and Grohman Works in Łódź. According to
17940-565: The counties inhabited by the Hutsul minority, that there was permanent starvation. Farmers rebelled against the government (see: 1937 peasant strike in Poland ), and the situation began to change in the late 1930s, due to the construction of several factories for the Central Industrial Region , which gave employment to thousands of rural and small town residents. Beginning in June 1925, there
18135-463: The countryside was inhabited by a Lithuanian majority of 66%. In the Memel region as a whole, the Germans constituted 50.7% (71,191), the Lithuanians 47.9% (67,345), and the bilingual population (composed mostly of Lithuanians) – 1.4% (1,970). According to contemporary statistics by Fred Hermann Deu, 71,156 Germans and 67,259 Prussian Lithuanians lived in the region. The census that was carried out just after
18330-437: The district of Memel conflicts with the principles of nationality. The district in question has always been Lithuanian; the majority of the populace is Lithuanian in origin and in speech and that fact the city of Memel itself is in large parts German is no justification for maintaining the district under German sovereignty, particularly from the view of the fact that the port of Memel is the only sea outlet for Lithuania Following
18525-462: The division of the neutral zone proceeded on February 15. In these circumstances, the League decided on an unofficial exchange: Lithuania would receive the Klaipėda Region for the lost Vilnius Region . By February 4, the Allied ultimatum was replaced by a diplomatic note requesting that the transfer of the Klaipėda Region would be orderly and not coerced. On February 11, the Allies even thanked Lithuania for
18720-771: The east (located in the Dzisna county of the Wilno Voivodeship ); and Mukocinek near Warta River and Meszyn Lake to the west (located in the Międzychód county of the Poznań Voivodeship ). Almost 75% of the territory of interbellum Poland was drained northward into the Baltic Sea by the Vistula (total area of drainage basin of the Vistula within boundaries of the Second Polish Republic
18915-631: The eastern half of the interwar territory of Poland was settled diplomatically in 1922 and internationally recognised by the League of Nations . Over the course of the First World War (1914-1918), the German Empire gradually dominated the Eastern Front as the Imperial Russian Army fell back. German and Austro-Hungarian armies seized the Russian-ruled part of what became Poland . In
19110-483: The eleventh one planned to be opened in the autumn of 1939. Furthermore, in 1935, Polish engineers began working on TV services. By early 1939, experts of the Polish Radio built four TV sets. The first movie broadcast by experimental Polish TV was Barbara Radziwiłłówna , and by 1940, a regular TV service was scheduled to begin operation. Interbellum Poland was also a country with numerous social problems. Unemployment
19305-570: The enrollment of Jews into universities. The political movement National Democracy ( Endecja , from the abbreviation "ND") often organised anti-Jewish business boycotts. Following the death of Marshal Józef Piłsudski in 1935, the Endecja intensified their efforts, which triggered violence in extreme cases in smaller towns across the country. In 1937, the National Democracy movement passed resolutions that "its main aim and duty must be to remove
19500-523: The evacuation of German troops from Memel, the French took over the temporary military administration of the region on 15 February 1920, under the leadership of General Dominique Odry. This was supplemented by a civilian one headed by Gabriel Jean Petisné in 1921. The French Administration proved problematic, as they were accused by the Lithuanian population of siding too closely with the pro-German Landes Directorium and then subsequently accused of siding with Polish civilian and military representatives. As
19695-518: The first anti-Nazi trial in Europe. Three members of the organizations were sentenced to death, and their leaders imprisoned. Following political and economic pressure from Germany, most were later released. The local parliament had 29 seats, one for every 5,000 inhabitants. Men and women over the age of 23 had the right to vote. See also the results of the January 1919 elections to the Nationalversammlung . A Lithuanian census carried out in
19890-550: The former Russian Partition and the Austrian Partition of eastern Poland. In 1921, one-third of citizens of Poland remained illiterate (38% in the countryside). The process was slow, but by 1931 the illiteracy level had dropped to 23% overall (27% in the countryside) and further down to 18% in 1937. By 1939, over 90% of children attended school. In 1932, Janusz Jędrzejewicz , the Minister for Religion and Education, carried out
20085-488: The former Memel territory were dismissed from their jobs. Families of notable local Lithuanians, who had opposed German parties before the war, were deported to Siberia . In 1951, the Lithuanian SSR expelled 3,500 people from the former Memel Territory to East Germany . In 1958, when emigration was allowed, the majority of the surviving population, both Germans and Prussian Lithuanians, emigrated to West Germany; this event
20280-611: The government with the Sejm ' s (lower house's) approval, but he could only dissolve the Sejm with the Senate 's consent. Moreover, his power to pass decrees was limited by the requirement that the Prime Minister and the appropriate other Minister had to verify his decrees with their signatures. Poland was one of the first countries in the world to recognise women's suffrage . Women in Poland were granted
20475-458: The grand plan was kept secret even from the First Seimas or Ministry of Foreign Affairs and thus very few Lithuanians understood the full role of the government in the revolt. Thus the main credit for organization of the revolt is sometimes given to Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius , Chairman of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union , which provided the manpower. Galvanauskas planned to present the revolt as
20670-537: The idea of a Freistaat Memelland , which later should return to Germany. It had 30,000 members, both ethnic Germans and Lithuanians, or about 21% of the total population. On 9 January 1923, three years after the Versailles Treaty had become effective, Lithuania occupied the territory during the Klaipėda Revolt , mainly by militias that had entered the region from Lithuania. At the same time, France had started
20865-524: The idea of a free city was gaining momentum. At the end of 1921, Arbeitsgemeinschaft für den Freistaat Memel (Society for Free State Memel) collected 54,429 signatures out of 71,856 total eligible residents (75.7%) in support of the free state. Therefore, even before the decision to organize the revolt, Lithuania attempted to maximize its influence and attract supporters in the region. Lithuania restricted its trade to demonstrate region's economic dependence as it did not produce enough food. The economic situation
21060-406: The intended result and public opinion shifted towards Lithuania. Germany understood that the region would not be re-attached. Therefore, they favored the lesser of two evils and tacitly supported the interests of Lithuania. The Weimar Republic saw both Poland and France as its major enemies while Lithuania was more neutral. Also, once Germany restored its might, it would be much easier to recapture
21255-413: The interbellum – Zofia Nałkowska , Maria Dąbrowska , Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz , Jan Parandowski , Bruno Schultz , Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz , Witold Gombrowicz . Among other notable artists there were sculptor Xawery Dunikowski , painters Julian Fałat , Wojciech Kossak and Jacek Malczewski , composers Karol Szymanowski , Feliks Nowowiejski , and Artur Rubinstein , singer Jan Kiepura . Theatre
21450-527: The interwar ethnic composition as 41.9% German, 27.1% Memeländisch, and 26.6% Lithuanian. The idea of uniting Lithuania Minor with Lithuania surfaced during the Lithuanian National Revival of the late 19th century. It was part of the vision to consolidate all ethnic Lithuanian lands into an independent Lithuania. The activists also eyed Klaipėda (Memel), a major sea port in the Baltic Sea . It would become Lithuania's only deep-water access to
21645-442: The interwar period. The inhabitants of the area were not given a choice on the ballot as to whether they wanted to be part of the Lithuanian state or part of Germany. Since the pro-German political parties had an overall majority of more than 80% in all elections to the local parliament (see election statistics below) in the interwar period, there can be little doubt that such a referendum would have been in favour of Germany. In fact,
21840-610: The invaders, but continued fighting under the auspices of the Polish government-in-exile and of the Polish Underground State . After the signing of the German–Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Demarcation on 28 September 1939, Polish areas occupied by Nazi Germany either became directly incorporated into Nazi Germany, or became part of the General Government . The Soviet Union, following Elections to
22035-467: The lecture hall, where modern technical achievement and the lessons of contemporary wars were demonstrated and discussed. The equipment of the Polish Army was less developed technically than that of Nazi Germany and its rearmament was slowed by confidence in Western European military support and by budget difficulties. The Polish command system at the level of the entire Polish military and the armies
22230-449: The local population, the revolt met little resistance from either the German police or the French troops. The rebels established a pro-Lithuanian administration, which petitioned to unite with Lithuania, citing the right of self-determination . The League of Nations accepted the fait accompli and the Klaipėda Region was transferred as an autonomous territory to the Republic of Lithuania on February 17, 1923. After prolonged negotiations,
22425-630: The lowest taxation rates in Europe, with 9.3% of taxes as a distribution of national income. Piłsudski's regime was also heavily dependent on foreign investments and economies, with 45.4% of Polish equity capital controlled by foreign corporations. After the Great Depression , the Polish economy crumbled and failed to recover until Ignacy Mościcki 's government introduced economic reforms with more government interventions with an increase in tax revenues and public spending after Piłsudski's death. These interventionist policies saw Poland's economy recover from
22620-492: The majority of citizens lived in the countryside (75% in 1921). Farmers made up 65% of the population. In 1929, agricultural production made up 65% of Poland's GNP. After 123 years of partitions, regions of the country were very unevenly developed. The lands of the former German Empire were the most advanced; in Greater Poland , Upper Silesia and Pomerelia , farming and crops were on a Western European level. The situation
22815-508: The massive hyperinflation . It was the only country in Europe able to do this without foreign loans or aid. The average annual growth rate ( GDP per capita ) was 5.24% in 1920–29 and 0.34% in 1929–38. Hostile relations with neighbours were a major problem for the economy of interbellum Poland. In the year 1937, foreign trade with all neighbours amounted to only 21% of Poland's total. Trade with Germany, Poland's most important neighbour, accounted for 14.3% of Polish exchange. Foreign trade with
23010-456: The mid-1930s, Poland had 340,000 km (211,266 mi) of roads, but only 58,000 had a hard surface (gravel, cobblestone or sett ), and 2,500 were modern, with an asphalt or concrete surface. In different parts of the country, there were sections of paved roads, which suddenly ended, and were followed by dirt roads. The poor condition of the roads was the result of both long-lasting foreign dominance and inadequate funding. On 29 January 1931,
23205-473: The modern Third Polish Republic. Historically, Poland was almost always a multiethnic country. This was especially true for the Second Republic, when independence was once again achieved in the wake of the First World War and the subsequent Polish–Soviet War , the latter war being officially ended by the Peace of Riga . The census of 1921 shows 30.8% of the population consisted of ethnic minorities, compared with
23400-943: The national budget to pay for it. In January 1938, the Polish Road Congress estimated that Poland would need to spend three times as much money on roads to keep up with Western Europe . In 1939, before the outbreak of the war, LOT Polish Airlines , which was established in 1929, had its hub at Warsaw Okęcie Airport . At that time, LOT maintained several services, both domestic and international. Warsaw had regular domestic connections with Gdynia - Rumia , Danzig - Langfuhr , Katowice-Muchowiec , Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny , Lwów-Skniłów , Poznań-Ławica , and Wilno-Porubanek . Furthermore, in cooperation with Air France , LARES , Lufthansa , and Malert , international connections were maintained with Athens , Beirut , Berlin, Bucharest , Budapest , Helsinki , Kaunas , London, Paris, Prague , Riga , Rome, Tallinn , and Zagreb . Statistically,
23595-466: The new Territorial Prelature of Klaipėda under Prelate Justinas Staugaitis . The government of Lithuania faced considerable opposition from the region's autonomous institutions, among them the Parliament of the Klaipėda Region . As the years passed, claims were becoming more and more vocal about a re-integration into a resurgent Germany. It was only during the latter period that Lithuania then instituted
23790-421: The northern border being the Treaty of Melno border, the southern border following the Neman River, and on the west abutting the Baltic Sea . In 1923, fearing that the western powers would create a free state, Lithuanians took control of the region and, as part of larger regional negotiations, incorporated the region into the State of Lithuania . In March 1939, Lithuania acquiesced to Nazi demands and transferred
23985-408: The number of Lithuanian speakers in the city of Klaipėda itself increased over time due to urbanization and migration from villages into cities and later also from remaining Lithuania (in the city of Klaipėda, Lithuanian-speaking people made up 21.5% in 1912, 32.6% in 1925, and 38.7% in 1932*). Foreign citizens might include some Germans who opted for German citizenship instead of Lithuanian (although at
24180-454: The number was 5,000, in 1939–30,000. Lithuania introduced a hard-line Lithuanisation campaign that led to even deeper antagonism between local Prussian Lithuanians, Memellanders, Germans and newcomers. By late 1938, Lithuania had lost control of the situation in the Territory. In the early hours of 23 March 1939, after an oral ultimatum had caused a Lithuanian delegation to travel to Berlin ,
24375-484: The open by German armored cars. The story arose because some German armored cars appeared and gunned down 20 troopers as the cavalry escaped. Even this failed to persuade everyone to reexamine their beliefs—there were some who thought Polish cavalry had been improperly employed in 1939. Between 1945 and 1990, the Polish government-in-exile operated in London, presenting itself as the only legal and legitimate representative of
24570-463: The orders of Józef Piłsudski . The purpose was to give the lower part of the Neman River and its delta, which was located in Germany and called the Memel River, to Lithuania, as this would provide her access to the Baltic Sea , while Lithuania itself should be part of Poland. These ideas were supported by the French prime minister, Georges Clemenceau . In 1920, according to the Treaty of Versailles,
24765-650: The outbreak of the war, there were approximately one million radios (see Radio stations in interwar Poland ). The administrative division of the Second Republic was based on a three-tier system, referring to the administrative division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . On the lowest rung were the gminy , local town and village governments akin to districts or parishes. These were then grouped together into powiaty (akin to counties), which, in turn, were grouped as województwa ( voivodeships , akin to provinces). This administrative system passed into
24960-599: The peaceful resolution of the crisis. To further appease the League, the Simonaitis' Directorate was disbanded on February 15. Viktoras Gailius formed a provisional five-member Directorate, which included two Germans and three Prussian Lithuanians. On February 17, the Conference transferred the region to Lithuania under several conditions to be later formalized in the Klaipėda Convention : the region would be granted autonomy, Lithuania would compensate Allied costs of administration and assume German liabilities of war reparations , and
25155-537: The politicians received (such as accusations of corruption or the 1919 Polish coup attempt ), made them increasingly unpopular. Major politicians at this time, in addition to General Piłsudski, included peasant activist Wincenty Witos (Prime Minister three times) and right-wing leader Roman Dmowski . Ethnic minorities were represented in the Sejm ; e.g. in 1928 – 1930 there was the Ukrainian-Belarusian Club, with 26 Ukrainian and 4 Belarusian members. After
25350-490: The port of Klaipėda carrying Colonel Eugène Trousson, a member of the French military mission in Poland, and reinforcements to French troops. However, the ship soon departed as the fighting was over and ceasefire was in effect. On January 17–18, the British cruiser HMS Caledon and two French torpedo boats, Algérien and Senégalais , reached Klaipėda. The French cruiser Voltaire was on its way. The Lithuanians began organizing
25545-535: The port. At the same time Poland was preoccupied by other issues (assassination of President Gabriel Narutowicz , economic crisis, territorial disputes in Silesia , tense relations with Soviet Russia ) and paid less attention to Klaipėda. Lithuania understood that a military action against Polish interest in the region could resume the Polish–Lithuanian War . To counter the expected backlash from Poland and France,
25740-463: The pro-Piłsudski Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government won them. The following three parliamentary elections (in 1930 , 1935 and 1938 ) were manipulated, with opposition activists sent to Bereza Kartuska prison (see also Brest trials ). As a result, the pro-government party Camp of National Unity won huge majorities in them. Piłsudski died just after an authoritarian constitution
25935-436: The proposal as they were not ready to give up on Vilnius. After the rejection, the French and British attitudes turned against Lithuania and they now favored the free city solution ( Freistadt like the Free City of Danzig ). Thus the Lithuanians could wait for an unfavorable decision or they could seize the region and present a fait accompli . On November 3–4, 1922, a delegation of Prussian Lithuanians unsuccessfully pleaded
26130-466: The rebels withdraw from the region, threatening to use force, but quickly backed down. On January 29, the Allies rejected the proposal to send troops to quash the revolt. France wanted to restore its administration, but Britain and Italy supported the transfer of the region to Lithuania. On February 2, the Allies presented a sternly worded ultimatum demanding withdrawal of all rebels from the region, disbandment of any armed forces, Steponaitis' Directorate and
26325-516: The recession. The basis of Poland's gradual recovery after the Great Depression was the mass economic development plans of the new government (see Four Year Plan ) under economist Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski , which oversaw the building of three key infrastructural elements. The first was the establishment of the Gdynia seaport, which allowed Poland to completely bypass Gdańsk (which was under heavy German pressure to boycott Polish coal exports). The second
26520-403: The region (part of Lithuania Minor ) due to its large Lithuanian-speaking population of Prussian Lithuanians and major port of Klaipėda (Memel) – the only viable access to the Baltic Sea for Lithuania. As the Conference of Ambassadors favoured leaving the region as a free city, similar to the Free City of Danzig , the Lithuanians organized and staged a revolt. Presented as an uprising of
26715-569: The region believing that once they received international recognition, the region should be theirs. As the mediation of the Polish–Lithuanian conflict over the Vilnius Region by the League of Nations was going nowhere, the Klaipėda Region became a major bargaining chip. Already in 1921, implicit "Klaipėda-for-Vilnius" offers were made. In March 1922, the British made a concrete and explicit offer: in exchange for recognition of Polish claims to Vilnius, Lithuania would receive de jure recognition, Klaipėda Region, and economic aid. The Lithuanians rejected
26910-487: The region from weaker Lithuania than from larger Poland. Already on February 22, 1922, the Germans unofficially informed the Lithuanians that they were not opposed to Lithuanian action in Klaipėda and that, understandably, such a stance would never be officially declared. Such attitudes were later confirmed in other unofficial German–Lithuanian communications and even during the revolt, when Berlin urged local Germans not to hinder
27105-437: The region in 1925 found its total population was 141,000. Declared language was used to classify the inhabitants, and on this basis 43.5 percent were German, 27.6 percent were Lithuanian, and 25.2 percent were "Klaipėdan" ( Memeländisch ). Other sources give the interwar ethnic composition as 41.9 percent German, 27.1 percent Memeländisch, and 26.6 percent Lithuanian. Overall, Prussian Lithuanians were more rural than Germans;
27300-483: The region on February 15. Two days later General Odry established a seven-member Directorate —the main governing institution. After Lithuanian protests, two Prussian Lithuanian representatives were admitted to the Directorate, increasing its size to nine members. On June 8, 1920, France appointed Gabriel Jean Petisné as the head of the civilian administration in the Klaipėda Region. Petisné showed anti-Lithuanian bias and
27495-627: The region within the Republic of Lithuania. On 8 May 1924, a further Convention on the Klaipėda region confirmed the annexation, and a resulting autonomy agreement was signed in Paris. In the Lithuanian-German Arbitration and Settlement Agreement ( Schieds- und Vergleichsvertrag ) of 29 January 1928, the Republic of Lithuania and the Weimar Republic agreed "as a sign of the friendly nature of their relations" to conclude, among other items,
27690-473: The region – Lwów and Wilno ( Elektrit ). Besides coal mining, Poland also had deposits of oil in Borysław , Drohobycz , Jasło and Gorlice (see Polmin ), potassium salt ( TESP ), and basalt ( Janowa Dolina ). Apart from already-existing industrial areas, in the mid-1930s an ambitious, state-sponsored project called the Central Industrial Region was started under Minister Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski . One of
27885-468: The region. Krėvė-Mickevičius cheaply bought 1,500 guns, five light machine guns, and 1.5 million rounds of ammunition from the Germans. The military action was coordinated by Lithuanian counterintelligence officer and former Russian colonel Jonas Polovinskas , who changed his name to Jonas Budrys, which sounded more Prussian Lithuanian. Later his entire staff changed their last names to sound more Prussian Lithuanian. According to memoirs of Steponas Darius ,
28080-464: The region. While Prussian Lithuanians spoke the Lithuanian language , they had developed their own complex identity, including a different religion ( Lutherans as opposed to Roman Catholic Lithuanians). The Lithuanians were seen as both economically and culturally backward people. Farmers and industry workers worried that cheaper produce and labor from Lithuania would destroy their livelihood. Therefore,
28275-475: The return heim ins Reich of the Memelland. This proved to be the last of a series of bloodless annexations of territories separated from the German or Austrian Empire by the Treaty of Versailles, which had been perceived by many Germans as a humiliation. German forces seized the territory even before the official Lithuanian ratification. The United Kingdom and France, as after the revolt of 1923, took no action. It
28470-399: The revolt demonstrated slightly different results in 1925. It recorded the region's total population at 141,000. Declared language was used to classify the inhabitants, and on this basis 43.5% were German, 27.6% were Lithuanian, and 25.2% were "Klaipėdan" (Memeländisch) – those who spoke Lithuanian, but named themselves locals to distinguish from other Lithuanian population. Other sources give
28665-611: The revolt was first scheduled for the night of the New Year, but the Lithuanian government pulled out based on a negative intelligence report. Supporters of the revolt gathered in Kaunas and convinced the government to proceed. The delay jeopardized the mission as the secret could have leaked to the Allies. The revolt started on January 10, 1923. Arriving with trains to Kretinga and Tauragė , 1,090 volunteers (40 officers, 584 soldiers, 455 riflemen, three clerks, two doctors, six orderlies) crossed
28860-465: The revolt, was contested. In late 1922, Lithuanian activists were sent to various towns and villages to deliver patriotic speeches and organize a number of pro-Lithuanian Committees for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor. On December 18, 1922, the Supreme Committee for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor (SCSLM), chaired by Martynas Jankus , was established in Klaipėda to unite all these committees. It
29055-420: The revolt. Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius , chairman of the union, believed that the idea to organize the revolt originated within the organization and Galvanauskas only tacitly approved the plan while carefully distancing the government from the rebels. In December 1922, Krėvė-Mickevičius met with Reichswehr 's commander Hans von Seeckt and was assured that German army would not interfere with the Lithuanian plans in
29250-675: The right to vote on 28 November 1918 by a decree of General Józef Piłsudski. The major political parties at this time were the Polish Socialist Party , National Democrats , various Peasant Parties , Christian Democrats , and political groups of ethnic minorities (German: German Social Democratic Party of Poland , Jewish: General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland , United Jewish Socialist Workers Party , and Ukrainian: Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance ). Frequently changing governments (see 1919 Polish legislative election , 1922 Polish legislative election ) and other negative publicity
29445-503: The sea and having a port was seen as an economic necessity for self-sustainability. On November 30, 1918, twenty-four Prussian Lithuanian activists signed the Act of Tilsit , expressing their desire to unite Lithuania Minor with Lithuania. Based on these considerations, the Lithuanians petitioned the Allies to attach the whole of Lithuania Minor (not limited to Klaipėda Region) to Lithuania. However, at
29640-411: The second largest Jewish population in the world, with one-fifth of all the world's Jews residing within its borders (approx. 3,136,000). The urban population of interbellum Poland was rising steadily; in 1921, only 24% of Poles lived in the cities, in the late 1930s, that proportion grew to 30%. In more than a decade, the population of Warsaw grew by 200,000, Łódź by 150,000, and Poznań – by 100,000. This
29835-534: The sites of internationally acclaimed universities and other institutions of higher education. Although Polish Jews were some of the biggest supporters of Second Republic leader Józef Piłsudski , even after he returned to politics and staged a coup in 1926 , after his death in 1935 Pilsudskites ruling the Republic began to openly discriminate against its Jewish (and, to a lesser extent, its Ukrainian) citizens, restricting Jewish entry into professions and placing limitations on Jewish businesses. The official name of
30030-513: The start of the Second World War. Other achievements of interbellum Poland included Stalowa Wola (a brand new city, built in a forest around a steel mill), Mościce (now a district of Tarnów , with a large nitrate factory), and the creation of the central bank Bank Polski SA . There were several trade fairs, with the most popular being Poznań International Fair , Lwów's Targi Wschodnie , and Wilno's Targi Północne . Polish Radio had ten stations (see Radio stations in interwar Poland ), with
30225-423: The state was referred to as: Republik Polen in German , Польська Республіка ( transcription : Polʹsʹka Respublika ) in Ukrainian , Польская Рэспубліка ( transcription : Poĺskaja Respublika ) in Belarusian , and Lenkijos Respublika , in Lithuanian . Between 14 November 1918 and 13 March 1919, the state was referred to in Polish as Republika Polska , instead of Rzeczpospolita Polska . Both terms mean
30420-460: The state was the Republic of Poland . In the Polish language , it was referred to as Rzeczpospolita Polska ( abbr. RP ), with the term Rzeczpospolita being a traditional name for the republic when referring to various Polish states, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (considered to be the First Polish Republic, Pierwsza Rzeczpospolita ), and later, the current Third Polish Republic . In other regionally-used official languages,
30615-413: The surrounding area. Memel was quickly turned into a fortified naval base by the Germans. After the failure of the German invasion of the USSR the fate of East Prussia and Memel was sealed. By October 1944, the inhabitants of the area, without ethnic distinction, had to make a decision whether to stay or leave. Nearly all of the population was evacuated from the approaching Red Army , but the city itself
30810-404: The time Lithuania was not officially recognized by the western powers and not invited into any post-war conferences. Lithuania was recognized by the United States in July 1922 and by most western powers in December 1922. The Second Polish Republic regarded the Klaipėda Region as possible compensation for Danzig . After World War I , the Polish Corridor provided access to the Baltic Sea , but
31005-408: The time officially known as the Republic of Poland , was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I . The Second Republic ceased to exist in 1939, after Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany , the Soviet Union , and the Slovak Republic , marking the beginning of the European theatre of
31200-468: The time the German government pressured local Germans to take Lithuanian citizenship so that German presence would remain). There were more Lithuanian speakers in the north of the region (Klaipėdos apskritis and Šilutės apskritis) than in the south (Pagėgių apskritis). Other locals included people of other nationalities who had citizenship in Lithuania, such as Jews . In the 1930s, a novel by local author Ieva Simonaitytė based on family history illustrated
31395-418: The time the organization was just a name and apart from issuing several declarations had no other activity. Some of its members admitted that they learned about their role in the SCSLM only after the revolt. On January 7, the SCSLM published a proclamation, Broliai Šauliai! , alleging that the Lithuanians were persecuted by foreigners, declaring its resolve to take up arms to rid itself of "slavery", and pleading
31590-457: The unification of Prussian Lithuania with Lithuania proper . It is traditionally viewed by Lithuanians as expressing the desire of Lithuania Minor to unite with Lithuania, but the majority of Prussian Lithuanians did not want to join with Lithuania, and the Prussian Lithuanians, at 26.6% of the population, did not make up a majority of the region. The division of Prussia was also promoted by Poland's Roman Dmowski in Versailles who acted on
31785-492: The war, Polish Jews were threatened with conditions similar to those in Nazi Germany. The pre-war government also restricted the rights of people who declared Ukrainian nationality, belonged to the Eastern Orthodox Church and inhabited the Eastern Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic. Poland was consequently refusing to grant Ukrainians any form of autonomy . The goal was to completely Polonize them, including changing their religion to Roman Catholicism . Ukrainian
31980-517: Was 180,300 km (69,600 sq mi), the Niemen (51,600 km or 19,900 sq mi), the Oder (46,700 km or 18,000 sq mi) and the Daugava (10,400 km or 4,000 sq mi). The remaining part of the country was drained southward, into the Black Sea , by the rivers that drain into the Dnieper ( Pripyat , Horyn and Styr , all together 61,500 km or 23,700 sq mi) as well as Dniester (41,400 km or 16,000 sq mi) The beginning of
32175-599: Was 25.7 million. By 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, this had grown to an estimated 35.1 million. Almost a third of the population came from minority groups : 13.9% Ukrainians ; 10% Ashkenazi Jews ; 3.1% Belarusians ; 2.3% Germans and 3.4% Czechs and Lithuanians . At the same time, a significant number of ethnic Poles lived outside the country's borders. The Second Republic maintained moderate economic development. The cultural hubs of interwar Poland – Warsaw , Kraków , Poznań , Wilno , and Lwów – became major European cities and
32370-461: Was 5,529 km (3,436 mi), including: 140 km (87 mi) of coastline (out of which 71 km (44 mi) were made by the Hel Peninsula ), the 1,412 km (877 mi) with Soviet Union, 948 kilometers with Czechoslovakia (until 1938), 1,912 km (1,188 mi) with Germany (together with East Prussia ), and 1,081 km (672 mi) with other countries (Lithuania, Romania, Latvia, Danzig). The warmest yearly average temperature
32565-414: Was Lodowy Szczyt (known in Slovak as Ľadový štít ), which rises 2,627 m (8,619 ft) above sea level. The largest lake was Lake Narach . The country's total area, after the annexation of Trans-Olza, was 389,720 km (150,470 sq mi). It extended 903 km (561 mi) from north to south and 894 km (556 mi) from east to west. On 1 January 1938, total length of boundaries
32760-440: Was a customs' war, with the revanchist Weimar Republic imposing a trade embargo against Poland for nearly a decade; it involved tariffs and broad economic restrictions. After 1933 the trade war ended. The new agreements regulated and promoted trade. Germany became Poland's largest trading partner, followed by Britain. In October 1938, Germany granted a credit of 60,000,000 RM to Poland (120,000,000 zloty , or £ 4,800,000) which
32955-424: Was also a nation of many religions. In 1921, 16,057,229 Poles (approx. 62.5%) were Roman (Latin) Catholics , 3,031,057 citizens of Poland (approx. 11.8%) were Eastern Rite Catholics (mostly Ukrainian Greek Catholics and Armenian Rite Catholics ), 2,815,817 (approx. 10.95%) were Orthodox , 2,771,949 (approx. 10.8%) were Jewish, and 940,232 (approx. 3.7%) were Protestants (mostly Lutheran ). By 1931, Poland had
33150-471: Was appointed from local Prussian Lithuanians. This policy led the Prussian Lithuanian intelligentsia and some local Germans to organise a society in 1934 to oppose Lithuanian rule. This group was soon dismantled. Election results in Memel Territory were irritating for the authoritarian Smetona regime, and it attempted to "colonise" Memel Territory with Lithuanians. The Lithuanian settlements Jakai and Smeltė were built. The number of newcomers increased: in 1926
33345-432: Was approved in the spring of 1935. During the last four years of the Second Polish Republic, the major politicians included President Ignacy Mościcki , Foreign Minister Józef Beck and the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army , Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły . The country was divided into 104 electoral districts , and those politicians who were forced to leave Poland founded Front Morges in 1936. The government that ruled
33540-442: Was called a repatriation of Germans by the Lithuanian SSR. Today these formerly Lutheran territories are mostly inhabited by Lithuanians who are Catholic and by Orthodox Russians. However, the minority Prussian Lithuanian Protestants historically were concentrated in these regions, and some remain to this day. Only a few thousand are left. Their continued emigration is facilitated by the fact they are considered German citizens by
33735-420: Was construction of the 500-kilometre rail connection between Upper Silesia and Gdynia, called the Polish Coal Trunk-Line , which served freight trains with coal. The third was the creation of a central industrial district named COP – Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy ( English : Central Industrial Region). Unfortunately, these developments were interrupted and largely destroyed by the German and Soviet invasion and
33930-446: Was defended by 250 French soldiers, 350 German policemen, and 300 civilian volunteers. After a brief gunfight, a ceasefire was signed by Pestiné and Budrys and the French soldiers were interned in their barracks. During the fighting, 12 insurgents, two French soldiers, and one German policeman were killed. According to German sources, one French soldier died and two were injured. On January 16, the Polish ship Komendant Piłsudski entered
34125-401: Was defended by the German army during the Battle of Memel until 28 January 1945. After its capture, only six people were found in the city. At the end of the war, the majority of the inhabitants had fled to the West to settle in Germany. Still, in 1945–46 there were around 35,000 local inhabitants, both Prussian Lithuanians and Germans. The government of the Lithuanian SSR sent agitators into
34320-410: Was dense, but the quality of the roads was very poor – only 7% of all roads were paved and ready for automobile use, and none of the major cities were connected with each other by a good-quality highway. In 1939 the Poles built only one highway: 28 km of straight concrete road connecting the villages of Warlubie and Osiek (mid-northern Poland). It was designed by Italian engineer Piero Puricelli. In
34515-401: Was described by Melchior Wańkowicz in his book Sztafeta . In addition to this was the massive destruction left after both the First World War and the Polish–Soviet War . There was also a great economic disparity between the eastern (commonly called Poland B ) and western (called Poland A ) parts of the country, with the western half, especially areas that had belonged to Prussia and
34710-453: Was due not only to internal migration, but also to an extremely high birth rate. From the 1920s, the Polish government excluded Jews from receiving government bank loans, public sector employment, and obtaining business licenses. From the 1930s, measures were taken against Jewish shops, Jewish export firms, Shechita as well as limitations being placed on Jewish admission to the medical and legal professions, Jews in business associations and
34905-439: Was favorable towards the idea of a free city. General Odry resigned on May 1, 1920, leaving Petisné the highest-ranking official in the region. French Prime Minister and chairman of the Paris Peace Conference Georges Clemenceau commented that the Klaipėda Region was not attached to Lithuania because it had not yet received de jure recognition. The Lithuanians seized this statement and further campaigned for their rights in
35100-604: Was further complicated by the beginning of hyperinflation of the German mark , which the region used as its currency. The Lithuanian cause was also supported by industrialists, who expected cheap labor and raw materials from Lithuania. Lithuanians also engaged in intense propaganda. They established and financed pro-Lithuanian organizations and acquired interest in local press. Many of these activities were coordinated by Lithuanian envoy Jonas Žilius, who received 500,000 German marks for such purposes. Banker Jonas Vailokaitis donated US$ 12,500 (equivalent to $ 223,535.16 in 2023) for
35295-425: Was high, and poverty in the countryside was widespread, which resulted in several cases of social unrest, such as the 1923 Kraków riot , and 1937 peasant strike in Poland . There were conflicts with national minorities, such as the Pacification of Ukrainians in Eastern Galicia (1930) , relations with Polish neighbours were sometimes complicated (see Soviet raid on Stołpce , Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts , and
35490-407: Was immensely popular in the interbellum, with three main centres in the cities of Warsaw, Wilno and Lwów. Altogether, there were 103 theatres in Poland and a number of other theatrical institutions (including 100 folk theatres). In 1936, different shows were seen by 5 million people, and main figures of Polish theatre of the time were Juliusz Osterwa , Stefan Jaracz , and Leon Schiller . Also, before
35685-446: Was in Kraków among major cities of the Second Polish Republic, at 9.1 °C (48.4 °F) in 1938; and the coldest in Wilno (7.6 °C or 45.7 °F in 1938). Extreme geographical points of Poland included Przeświata River in Somino to the north (located in the Braslaw county of the Wilno Voivodeship ); Manczin River to the south (located in the Kosów county of the Stanisławów Voivodeship ); Spasibiorki near railway to Połock to
35880-427: Was internationalized allowing freedom of transit. The convention was hailed as a major Lithuanian diplomatic victory as it contained none of the special rights initially reserved for Poland and placed no conditions on Lithuanian sovereignty in the region. However, the convention severely limited the powers of the Lithuanian government and caused frequent debates on the relationship between central and local authorities. In
36075-424: Was much worse in parts of Congress Poland , the Eastern Borderlands , and what was formerly Galicia , where agriculture was quite backward and primitive, with a large number of small farms, unable to succeed in either the domestic or international market. Another problem was the overpopulation of the countryside, which resulted in chronic unemployment. Living conditions were so bad in several eastern regions, such as
36270-412: Was never realised, due to the outbreak of war. Germany would deliver factory equipment and machinery in return for Polish timber and agricultural produce. This new trade was to be in addition to the existing German-Polish trade agreements. In 1919, the Polish government introduced compulsory education for all children aged 7 to 14, in an effort to limit illiteracy, which was widespread, especially in
36465-408: Was obsolete. The generals in command of armies had to ask permission from the high command. The Polish military attempted to organize fronts made of army groups only when it was already too late during the Polish Defensive War in 1939. After regaining its independence, Poland was faced with major economic difficulties. In addition to the devastation brought by the First World War, the exploitation of
36660-497: Was ordered to take Klaipėda. The second group (443 men led by Captain Mykolas Kalmantavičius codename Bajoras) was sent to capture Pagėgiai (Pogegen) and secure the border with Germany and the third (103 men led by Major Petras Jakštas codename Kalvaitis) to Šilutė (Heydekrug). By January 11, the pro-Lithuanian forces controlled the region, except for the city of Klaipėda. The French administrator Pestiné refused to surrender and fighting over Klaipėda broke out on January 15. The city
36855-414: Was restricted in every field possible, especially in governmental institutions, and the term "Ruthenian" was enforced in an attempt to ban the use of the term "Ukrainian". Ukrainians were categorised as uneducated second-class peasants or third world people, and rarely settled outside the Eastern Borderland region due to the prevailing Ukrainophobia and restrictions imposed. Numerous attempts at restoring
37050-445: Was signed by some 120 people. The region's autonomy extended to local taxation, education, religion, court system, agriculture, social services. On January 24, the First Seimas (parliament of Lithuania) accepted the declaration thus formalizing the incorporation of the Klaipėda Region. Antanas Smetona was sent as the chief envoy to the region. Galvanauskas enlisted the paramilitary Lithuanian Riflemen's Union to provide manpower for
37245-440: Was the only place in Lithuania where civil marriage was in use, in the rest of Lithuania only church marriages were legitimized. Thus, Lithuanian opposition to Smetona's regime was also based in Memel Territory. At the start of the 1930s, certain leaders and members of pro-Nazi organizations in the region were put on trial by Lithuania "for crimes of terrorism". The 1934–5 trial of Neumann and Sass in Kaunas can be presented as
37440-416: Was the second highest share in Europe. Polish science in the interbellum was renowned for its mathematicians gathered around the Lwów School of Mathematics , the Kraków School of Mathematics , as well as the Warsaw School of Mathematics . There were world-class philosophers in the Lwów–Warsaw school of logic and philosophy. Florian Znaniecki founded Polish sociological studies. Rudolf Weigl invented
37635-427: Was to be placed under the temporary administration of the Allies. While such a union had a historic tradition in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Lithuania categorically refused any such proposals. Worsening Polish–Lithuanian relations led to the Polish–Lithuanian War and dispute over the Vilnius Region . However, the union idea was met favorably in Western Europe. In December 1921, Poland sent Marceli Szarota as
37830-413: Was to lead the revolt and later organize a pro-Lithuanian regime in the region. According to Jankus testimony to the Conference of Ambassadors in March 1923, up to 8,000–10,000 persons (5–7% of the population) were united around the Committee before January 10, 1923. On January 3, 1923, a congress of the committees authorized SCSLM to represent the interest of the inhabitants of the entire region. However, at
38025-579: Was under these conditions that the Seimas was forced to approve the treaty, hoping that Germany would not press any other territorial demands upon Lithuania. Still, the reunion with Germany was welcomed by the majority of the population, both by Germans and by Memelanders. According to the treaty, the citizens of the Memel Territory were allowed to choose their citizenship: either German or Lithuanian. 303 people or, counting family members, 585, asked for Lithuanian citizenship but only 20 requests were granted. Another term stated that persons who had settled in
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