Polish irredentism

Polish irredentism is a term applied to certain currents within Polish nationalism. In one sense, it refers to the territorial scope of the Poles, emphasising the ethnicity of those Poles living outside Poland. In the political sense the term refers to an irredentist belief in the equivalence between the territorial scope of the Polish people and that of the Polish state.

This article is about a Polish nationalist ideology. For the Polish historical homeland, see Greater Poland.
Map of Greater Poland as advocated by Polish nationalists.

Historical background
  • Map of Poland from the early 11th century shows Polish lands separated by Old Prussian and Kiev Russian territories
  • Map of Poland in the first half of the 13th century
  • Map of Poland with visible Polish-Lithuanian border
  • Map of Poland around 1333 - 1370, in pink
  • Map of Poland around 1370 - 1382, in pink
  • Map of Poland around 1386 - 1434, in pink
  • Map of Poland around 1466
  • Map of Poland around 1526
  • Map of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after its formation in 1569, with visible Polish-Lithuanian border. Ukrainian territories were transferred under the administrative control of the Crown of Poland.

20th century irredentism
Intermarium concept proposed by Józef Piłsudski.

Intermarium
Main articles: Kresy Zachodnie and Kresy

Some of the first Polish irredentists in this era included Józef Piłsudski, who initiated the Intermarium concept, which sought to create an united independence state in Central Europe that could deter German and Russian imperialism and to revive the fallen Commonwealth. He had worked with various Polish and even to Ukrainian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Czechoslovak and Romanian groups in order to capitalize and to make it happen. Thus, he unofficially became one of the first modern Polish irredentists.[1]

Unfortunately, his proposed plan faced unprecedented hostilities. The Ukrainians, Czechs and Lithuanians, in particular, did not support the project and saw it as part of Polish imperialism.[2] The Entente was very critical and distrustful of Piłsudski, as well as underestimating Bolsheviks' threats.[3] Meanwhile, the Soviet Russians viewed it as a threat for its agenda and vowed to thwart it. Even among major Polish irredentists like Roman Dmowski who also sought to expand Polish territory, such idea gained very little support since it required Polonization to do so.[4] Eruptions of Polish–Ukrainian War, Polish–Czechoslovak War, Polish–Lithuanian War and Polish–Soviet War, which Poland annexed many territories, including Lithuania's capital Vilnius, dented any hope for a possible Intermarium federation, even after Piłsudski overthrew the civilian government in 1926.

Annexation of Zaolzie and World War 2
Polish Army entering Český Těšín (Czeski Cieszyn) in 1938

In 1938, Poland took advantage of increasing Nazi German irredentism on Czechoslovakia, and had annexed Zaolzie into Polish territory. The annexation of Zaolzie was justified by Poland to protect its Polish minority, but was strongly criticized in Czechoslovakia as a sign of ongoing Polish irredentism.[5] With tensions on the rise, Polish irredentist movement grew stronger. Yet, it was halted in 1939 following a joint invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union. Minorities like Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Germans had utilised the opportunity to demand secession from Poland, which let to frequent ethnic conflicts between Poles and minorities.[6] These conflicts further intensified the growth of Polish irredentism and resulted in numerous massacres throughout the World War II in order to restore Polish border territory, the most infamous of all was the Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia which had severely damaged Polish irredentist movement.[7][8] Both the Germans and Soviets tried to weaken irredentism among Poles and to ensure Poland could not resurge, committing massacres such as Katyń massacre.[8] Eventually, with Poland completely destroyed following the end of World War II, Soviet Union acquired entire of Kresy region and drew Polish border to Kresy Zachodnie as part of Recovered Territories.[9]

Soviet control

During the People's Republic of Poland's era, due to communist censorship and repression, irredentism lost its official place, a legacy of Joseph Stalin's policy toward Poland.[10] To Polish population, such repressive methods used by the Soviets made Polish irredentism back to Polish life, with many Polish livelihood in the Kresy region being stolen by the Russians and its allies (Ukrainians, Lithuanians and Belarusians). Many Poles in these recovered territories often mentioned to their dream of returning to the east, and one quote was widely mentioned that "Just one atom bomb, and we will be back in Lwów" (Jedna bomba atomowa i wrócimy znów do Lwowa).[11] Polish irredentism was further enhanced by the painful losses Poland suffered during the World War II and how the Soviets stole it from Poland. The communist authorities did little to improve it, as the accusation of collaboration was strong among Polish public toward the communist regime, and was fearful of Polish irredentism could bring a dangerous prospect on its relations with the more powerful Soviet Union.[12] Irredentism continued to be repressed in Communist Poland until its collapse at 1989.

Modern Polish irredentism

Since the fall of communist regime, Polish irredentism did not make an immediate resurgence, as Poles were concerned of trying to rebuild the country following decades under suffering communist rule. Poland's successful economic transition from a centralized economy to a market-oriented economy granted the country's accession to the European Union in 2004.

Ukraine

However, a number of unwanted political explosion in 2010s led to the rebirth of Polish irredentism, in the wake of increasing nationalist sentiment.[13][14] Following Ukraine's elevation status of heroes for OUN members Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, in Poland, there have calls calling about reclaiming Lviv and Galicia from Ukraine, blaming Russia of robbing Ukraine from Poland, while rejecting the notion that Poland was an empire.[15] It has drawn criticism from Ukraine and sometimes led to wars of misinformation, affecting its relations.[16][17][18][19]

Vilnius

Polish irredentism also sparked controversy regarding Polish historical claims of Vilnius, the current capital of Lithuania, with the thought that since the city was part of Poland dated from the Commonwealth to even the Second Polish Republic.[20][21]

Belarus

Polish nationalists' irredentist sentiment also draws its desire to Belarus, given Belarus' close cultural bond with Poland from history. In Poland there are also belief that the current Cyrillic alphabet of Belarus was actually a Polish Cyrillic alphabet invented by the Russians to distance Belarusians from Poles.[22] Polish irredentists also staged a march in Hajnówka, a Polish town with dominant Belarusian population.[23] However, the claim receives less intention than that of Ukraine and Lithuania.[24]

See also

References
  1. https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2019/03/31/poland-and-the-success-of-its-intermarium-project/
  2. http://www.pac1944.org/featured-stories/intermarium-as-a-polish-geopolitical-concept-in-history/
  3. Between Imperial Temptation And Anti-Imperial Function In Eastern European Politics: Poland From The Eighteenth To Twenty-First Century. Andrzej Nowak. Accessed September 14, 2007.
  4. (in Polish) Wojna polsko-bolszewicka Archived 2013-11-11 at the Wayback Machine. Entry at Internetowa encyklopedia PWN. Last accessed on 27 October 2006.
  5. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25779814?seq=1
  6. https://ecpr.eu/Filestore/PaperProposal/aade8de0-538f-4654-9382-55593cd5d767.pdf
  7. https://pobeda-mf.ru/en/steny/volynskaya-reznya-pravda-i-vymysel-volynskaya-reznya-ostorozhno/
  8. http://pscourses.ucsd.edu/ps200b/Snyder%20The%20Causes%20of%20Ukrainian-Polish%20Ethnic%20Cleansing%201943.pdf
  9. http://www.essaysinhistory.com/recovered-territory-a-german-polish-conflict-over-land-and-culture-1919-1989/
  10. https://journals.openedition.org/monderusse/9334?lang=en
  11. "Wyborcza.pl". Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  12. "Gazeta Wyborcza, Kresowe życie na walizkach. Interview with Professor Zdzisław Mach, 2010-12-29". Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  13. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/in-central-europe-a-nationalist-bullet-dodged/
  14. https://visegradinsight.eu/polands-conservative-revolution/
  15. https://culture.pl/en/article/slavery-vs-serfdom-or-was-poland-a-colonial-empire
  16. https://geopoliticalfutures.com/poland-ukraines-battle-past/
  17. https://polandin.com/39779608/ukrainepoland-history-exhibition-receives-criticism-for-misrepresentation
  18. https://rpr.org.ua/en/news/how-ukraine-returns-poland/
  19. https://ukrainianweek.com/History/214203
  20. https://books.google.com.vn/books?id=RLRuXV9vjswC
  21. https://books.google.com.vn/books?id=k_g0ldP92ucC
  22. https://ispan.waw.pl/journals/index.php/ch/article/view/ch.2019.006
  23. https://eng.belta.by/society/view/belarus-resents-intention-of-polish-nationalists-to-stage-far-right-march-in-hajnowka-109479-2018
  24. https://jamestown.org/program/84916/
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