When will it be “Our” republic?

 The Royal Family have had a lot of negative press this year – and rightly so. Amongst the backlash, a new campaign emerged called ‘Our Republic’. Front and centre on their website, is their blue and white pyramid logo, and the group’s credo.

 

PL 2: The Diversity of Polish Politics, c. 1890 – 1925

 

The previous article on Polish independence was a hagiography which deliberately missed out a lot of detail. Those omissions – Józef Piłsudski’s flaws, and the Polish independence and socialist movements beyond him – will be explored in this present article.

 

PL 1: Józef Piłsudski, Polish freedom fighter

Following c.865 years of existence as a state power on the European stage, and also following 23 years of territorial losses, in 1795 Poland disappeared entirely from the political map. In 1918, after the First World War, and after 123 years of simultaneous partition by three separate empires – Russia, Germany, and Austria – the ancient Polish nation regained its independence.

This essay is a hagiography of the Polish independence movement’s protagonist Józef Piłsudski, and it will broadly outline of how that independence was achieved. Certain complexities of the wider movement and society have been deliberately overlooked in this essay. These will be explored in a future essay, and their omission on this occasion will allow an element of contrast with the follow-up piece.