Second Polish Republic

The Second Polish Republic is an unofficial name applied to the Republic of Poland between World War I and World War II.

When the borders of the state were fixed in 1921, it had an area of 388.6 thousand sq. km. (sixth largest in Europe), and 27.2 million inhabitants according to the census of that year. In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, it had an estimated 35.1 million inhabitants. A third of these were national minorities (17% Ukrainians and Belarusians, 10% Jews, 5% Germans, and 1% percent Lithuanians, Russians and Czechs).

History

The beginnings

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

Shortly before the end of World War I, on October 7, 1918, the Regency Council dissolved the Council of State and announced its intention to restore Polish independence. With the notable exception of the Marxist-oriented Social Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL), most political parties supported this move. On October 23 the Council appointed a new government under Józef Swierzynski and began conscription into the Polish Army.

On November 5, in Lublin, the first Soviet of Delegates was created. On November 6 the Communists announced the creation of a Republic of Tarnobrzeg. The same day, a Provisional People's Government of the Republic of Poland was created under the Socialist, Ignacy Daszynski.

On November 10, Józef Piłsudski, newly freed from imprisonment by the German authorities at Magdeburg, returned to Warsaw. Next day, due to his popularity and support from most political parties, the Regency Council appointed Piłsudski Commander in Chief of the Polish Armed Forces. On November 14 the Council dissolved itself and transferred all its authority to Piłsudski as Chief of State (Naczelnik Państwa).

Centers of government that were created in Galicia (formerly Austrian-ruled southern Poland) included a National Council of the Principality of Cieszyn (created on November 19??) and a Polish Liquidation Committee (created on October 28). Soon afterward, conflict broke out in Lviv (Polish Lwów) between forces of the Military Committee of Ukrainians and the Polish "Eagles" of Lwów.

After consultation with Pilsudski, Daszynski's government dissolved itself and a new government was created under Jedrzej Moraczewski.

Timeline (1919-1939)

Elections to the Sejm: January 26, 1919.
Treaty of Versailles
War against the Ukrainians: Polish-Ukrainian War.
War against the Soviets: Polish-Soviet War. Miracle of the Vistula. Treaty of Riga.
War against the Lithuanians: Polish-Lithuanian War.
Border conflicts between Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Uprisings in Wielkopolska and Silesia. Great Poland Uprising, Silesian Uprisings.
July 15, 1920 - Agrarian Reform.
March 17, 1921 - March Constitution.
1921 - alliances with France, Romania.
Election to the Sejm (1922-11-05)and to the Senat - 1922-11-12.
President Gabriel Narutowicz, and his assassination (December 16, 1922).
1924 - Wladyslaw Grabski Government. Bank Polski. Monetary reform.
President Wojciechowski - December 20, 1922, to Zamach majowy.
Coup of May - Zamach majowy, 1926, May, Józef Piłsudski coup d'etat (May Coup). beginning of Sanacja government.
Roman Dmowski, Obóz Wielkiej Polski (4 December 1926), Endecja.
16 November 1930 - wybory brzeskie (elections
25 July 1932 - non-aggression pact with Soviet Union
26 January 1934 - non-aggression pact with Germany
14 April 1934 - Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny
23 April 1935 - April Constitution
12 May 1935 - death of Józef Piłsudski
Gdynia, Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy (1936), Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski
2 February 1937 - Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego
October 1938 - annexation of Zaolzie
2 January 1939 - death of Roman Dmowski
31 March 1939 - military guarantees from United Kingdom and France
23 August 1939 - non-aggression pact between Soviet Union and Germany: Ribbentrop-Molotow Pact with a secret military alliance protocol targeting Poland (among several other countries)
25 August 1939 - alliance between Poland and United Kingdom

World War II

The beginning of the Second World War put an end to the Second Polish Republic. The "Polish September Campaign" campaign began 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and ended 6 October 1939, with Germany and the Soviet Union occupying the entirety of Poland. Poland did not surrender continued as Polish Government in Exile and Polish Secret State.

Politics and government

Economy

Demographics

**Ludność**
Census date	Population	Percentage of rural population	Population density (per km²)
30 September 1921	27,177,000	75,4%	69,9
9 December 1931	32,107,000	72,6%	82,6
31 December 1938	34,849,000	70%	89,7

Largest cities in early 1939:

Warszawa – 1289 thousands
Łódź – 672 thousands
Lwów – 340 thousands
Poznań – 272 thousands
Kraków – 259 thousands
Wilno – 215 thousands
Bydgoszcz – 141 thousands
Częstochowa – 138 thousands
Katowice – 133 thousands
Sosnowiec – 130 thousands
Lublin – 122 thousands
Gdynia – 120 thousands
Białystok – 107 thousands

Culture

See Culture of Poland

Administrative division and geography

car plates (since 1937)	Voivodship Separate city	Capital	Area in 1000 km² (1930)	Population in 1000 (1931)
Polish voivodships in the interbellum (data as per April 1, 1937)
00-19	City of Warsaw	Warsaw	0,14	1179,5
85-89	warszawskie	Warsaw	31,7	2460,9
20-24	białostockie	Białystok	26,0	1263,3
25-29	kieleckie	Kielce	22,2	2671,0
30-34	krakowskie	Kraków	17,6	2300,1
35-39	lubelskie	Lublin	26,6	2116,2
40-44	lwowskie	Lwów	28,4	3126,3
45-49	łódzkie	Łódź	20,4	2650,1
50-54	nowogródzkie	Nowogródek	23,0	1057,2
55-59	poleskie	Brześć nad Bugiem	36,7	1132,2
60-64	pomorskie	Toruń	25,7	1884,4
65-69	poznańskie	Poznań	28,1	2339,6
70-74	stanisławowskie	Stanisławów	16,9	1480,3
75-79 ?	śląskie	Katowice	5,1	1533,5
80-84	tarnopolskie	Tarnopol	16,5	1600,4
90-94	wileńskie	Wilno	29,0	1276,0
95-99	wołyńskie	Łuck	35,7	2085,6

References

Former countries in Europe | History of Poland (1918–1939)

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