Oath crisis
The events surrounding the refusal of the former units of the Polish legions to take the oath of allegiance to the German Empire and Austria-Hungary in the First World War are referred to as the oath crisis ( Polish: Kryzys przysięgowy ) . In 1917, due to the changed war conditions, most of the members of the legions opposed being accepted into a Polish army led by the German army command . Demand and refusal of the oath led to a deterioration in the political relationship between the previous allies.
Course of the crisis
In the late summer of 1915, the Vistula , which had been annexed by Russia since the partitions of Poland, fell to the Central Powers' troops, which had previously been victorious in the east . At this point in time, the German Reich preferred the creation of a largely independent Polish kingdom. This state, militarily linked to Germany, was supposed to act as a buffer to the great power Russia. However, plans were circulating on the German side to annex a more or less wide “border strip” from which the Polish and Jewish populations were to be resettled. The Viennese policy, on the other hand, in coordination with leading aristocratic-Galician-Polish circles, aimed to separate all of Russian Poland, to unite Galicia with the Crown Land and to incorporate it into the Danube monarchy, which would have changed from a double to a triple monarchy (the so-called Austro - Polish solution ). In October 1916, the representatives of the German Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy agreed on a quick implementation of the plan in order to use a newly created Polish army, the Polish Aid Corps - as part of the allied armies - to support their own war aims (also in the West) can.
Polish Auxiliary Corps
On September 19, 1916, the Polish Aid Corps - including the previous legions - was formed under the leadership of Stanisław Szeptycki . The support corps was also referred to as the "Polish Army" by proponents. On November 5th, the reign of Poland was proclaimed by the Warsaw Governor General Hans von Beseler . However, he did not disclose details about borders and government. As early as November 9, 1916, the first call was made to the Polish population in the former Weichselland to report to the new Polish army. This call was criticized by the Polish independence movement as premature, as there was no independent state at the time. In December 1916 the first units of the legions under Szeptycki arrived in Warsaw.
Józef Piłsudski joined the Provisional State Council of the Regency Kingdom founded on January 14, 1917 . However, he opposed the wish of the Germans to integrate the Polish troops into the German army. Piłsudski stuck to his demand for a separate army under a Polish government. All the more so after the February Revolution of 1917 in Russia had additionally weakened the former occupier and war opponent. He also saw the proclamation of the new kingdom on November 5th not as the first step towards an independent Poland, but rather towards the creation of a satellite and buffer state for Germany. Piłsudski and his followers, however, felt obliged exclusively to the independence of their country. The alliance question therefore posed itself again to them in the changed war conditions. The end of tsarist rule and the increasing willingness of the Western powers to support the re-establishment of an independent Polish state made them want to separate the future of Poland from that of the Central Powers.
Since the German army command wanted to integrate the legions into the new army, they endeavored to separate from the stubborn Piłsudski and his supporters, who were seen as the "activist left". The Austrian leadership also tried to replace critics of the new army. On April 21, 1917, the State Council decided by a majority to issue the German call for the Polish population capable of military service to join the auxiliary corps. Piłsudski abstained from the vote. Colonel Władysław Sikorski was appointed to be in charge of recruitment. The auxiliary corps should now only accept Poles from the former Vistula region, those from Galicia should report to the Austro-Hungarian Army. This planned separation of the Polish troops led to renewed disagreements between Poland and representatives of the Central Powers.
At the beginning of July, Piłsudski stated in front of Edward Rydz-Śmigły and other officers of the legions who were devoted to him:
“Our common path with the Germans is coming to an end. Russia, both of our enemies, has played its part. Our goals no longer match those of the Germans. It is in Germany's interest to defeat the Allies; it is in our interest that the Allies beat the Germans. We should therefore not join the Polish army that is now being set up by Germany. "
In the further course of the negotiations on the design of the formulation of the oath of loyalty to be used in the approaching oath, the contradictions intensified. The dispute escalated into a violent conversation between Beseler and Piłsudski. On July 2, 1917, Piłsudski therefore resigned from the State Council with three other representatives. The following day the council accepted the oath drawn up in Berlin.
Refusal of the oath and penalties
The swearing-in was to take place on July 9, 1917 in Warsaw and two days later in the provinces. The oath presented by Beseler with reference to God ("tak mi, Boże, dopomóż!"; German: So God help me ) read:
"I swear to God Almighty that I will serve my fatherland, the Polish Kingdom and my future king on land and sea and in whatever places it may be, faithfully and honestly, in the present war, loyal brotherhood in arms with the armies of Germany and Austria. Hungary and its allied states [...] will hold. "
In addition to the oath on a king who has not yet been determined, the unusual swearing-in on an alliance with the armies of other states was particularly criticized.
Piłsudski had already gone to Krakow on July 8th . He called on the officers and soldiers of the legions not to take the oath of allegiance. Piłsudski's appeal led to a split among Polish officers: Legionaries like Stefan Rowecki , like Piłsudski, refused to take the oath. Rydz-Śmigły also refused to take the oath. Above all, members of the Piłsudski I and III. Brigade joined their superiors.
Piłsudskis own former I. Brigade (Commander: Marian Januszajtis-Żegota ) was almost united against the oath, in the III. Brigade (Commander: Bolesław Roja ) it was a majority of the relatives. The 2nd Brigade, commanded by Józef Haller , however, largely swore the desired oath. Most of the members of this brigade were Austrian citizens. They were taken over into the newly structured Polish Aid Corps , which should have around 7,500 men after being increased. This corps was subsequently deployed under Haller on the Russian front and (remnants) incorporated into it in 1918 when the independent army of Poland was formed.
The rest of the legions were disbanded. The approximately 1,100 legionaries who had German or Russian citizenship and who had taken the oath were transferred to the newly established Polish Wehrmacht , whose actual commander was the German infantry general, Felix Barth . The approximately 3,000 objectors, who came from Galicia, were forcibly integrated into the Austro-Hungarian army after their demotion . They were used on the Italian front.
The 3000 or so officers and soldiers from the former Vistula who also refused to oath were interned in what would later become the prisoner of war camps in Szczypiorno and Beniaminów near Nieporęt. The legions no longer existed. In August 1918, the interned oathers were released from the prison camps. Some volunteered for the Polish Wehrmacht , which grew to around 5,000 officers and men. Others joined the underground armed struggle. This included Rydz-Śmigły, who was commissioned by Piłsudski (from his captivity) with the management of Polska Organizacja Wojskowa , which at the time was already conspiratorial .
Szeptycki, who was in command of the auxiliary corps until April 1917, learned of the cancellation of the solemn line-up on the way to Warsaw. He continued the journey, but limited himself to a visit to Hans von Beseler .
Sikorski had taken the oath. On August 24, however, he resigned from the chair as head of the recruitment commission; In doing so, he drew the personal consequences of the refusal of the oath by such a considerable part of the legions. He also refused to be active in the further organization of the relief corps. Rather, he rejoined the Austro-Hungarian Army, in which he had already served as a lieutenant at the beginning of his career. Sikorski later admitted that Piłsudski was right in his decision; at that point the relationship between the two men was already broken.
Piłsudskis and Sosnkowski are arrested
On July 22, 1917, Piłsudski and his closest confidante and chief of staff Kazimierz Sosnkowski von Beseler were taken into protective custody. Initially, he was placed in a Gdańsk prison. From there, the two prisoners were taken to the Spandau military prison near Berlin and, after a further stay in the Wesel Citadel, were interned in the Magdeburg Fortress after a month . The two officers were housed separately and did not know they were in the same prison.
Harry Graf Kessler , sent by Prince Max von Baden , traveled to Magdeburg on November 8, 1918 to discuss the details of the release with Piłsudski. On November 10, 1918, Piłsudski and Sosnkowski returned to Warsaw after their release from Magdeburg custody, where they were received by the regent of the reign of Poland , Prince Zdzisław Lubomirski . On November 16, 1918, Sosnkowski was appointed Brigadier General.
consequences
After the so-called oath crisis in the legions and the subsequent events, the mood of the population increasingly turned against the German and Austrian authorities.
After the internment of the legionnaires who refused to take oaths, members of the KPSD party (Komisja Porozumiewawcza Stronnictw Demokratycznych) sharply criticized the Council's request to take the oath. The moderate right-wing National Workers' Union NZR (Narodowy Związek Robotniczy) also resigned from the National Council. On August 25, 1917, the members of the Provisional Council of State resigned from their seats. At the instruction of the German government and in consultation with the Austro-Hungarian allies, a Regency Council was appointed, which was sworn in on October 15, 1917. The appointment was intended by the Central Powers as a confidence-building measure.
The circumstances of the oath crisis and especially the imprisonment of Piłsudski increased his popularity among the Polish population. The events were to advance his post-war career significantly. From now on he had the nimbus of a martyr.
On October 12, 1918, the Poles were again asked to join the Polish army, now under the supreme command of the Regency Council. However, the Regency Council and the government it appointed could not prevail domestically. The Narodowa Demokracja with their Paris-based leader Roman Dmowski and the Polish Socialist Party with the POW (whose leader Piłsudski was interned in Magdeburg) were too implacable .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Julia Eichenberg: Fighting for Peace and Welfare: Polish Veterans of the First World War and their international contacts, 1918–1939 , Volume 27 of Studies on International History , ISBN 978-3-486-70457-0 , Oldenbourg Verlag , 2011, p. 29
- ^ A b Frank Grube and Gerhard Richter: The Poles' struggle for freedom. History, documents, analysis , ISBN 3-455-08787-6 , Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1981, p. 49
- ^ A b Heinz Gollwitzer: European peasant parties in the 20th [ie twentieth] century , Volume 29 of the sources and research on agricultural history , ISBN 978-3-437-50189-0 , Gustav Fischer, 1977, p. 249
- ↑ Martin Broszat : Two hundred years of German Poland policy. Suhrkamp, 1972 edition, ISBN 3-518-36574-6 ; Chapter Half-hearted German concessions , p. 188ff
- ↑ Broszat: Chapter Dmowski and Pilsudski , p. 176ff
- ↑ a b c d Gerhard Hirschfeld, Gerd Krumeich and Irina Renz: Encyclopedia First World War , Volume 8396 at UTB, ISBN 978-3-825-28396-4 , UTB 2009, p. 778
- ↑ a b c Neal Ascherson, Uta Haas (transl.): The dream of a free fatherland. Poland's history until today , ISBN 3-8025-2176-5 , vgs, Cologne, 1987, p. 50 u. 75
- ↑ Lawrence Sondhaus: World War One: The Global Revolution , Cambridge University Press, 2011, p 252
- ^ A b Hannes Leidinger , Verena Moritz : Captivity, Revolution, Homecoming: The Significance of the Prisoner of War Problems for the History of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe 1917–1920 , ISBN 3-205-77068-4 , Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2003, p. 213
- ↑ Helena Madurowicz-Urbańska and Markus Mattmüller : Basel Contributions to History , Vol. 157–158, Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel 1989, p. 142
- ↑ David R. Stefancic: Armies in exile , Volume 667 from: East European Monographs , ISBN 978-0-88033-565-2 , East European Monographs, 2005, p. 112.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Archibald L. Patterson: Between Hitler and Stalin: The Quick Life and Secret Death of Edward Smigly Rydz, Marshal of Poland , Dog Ear Publishing, Indianapolis 2010, p. 39
- ↑ Dieter Farwick and Gerhard Hubatschek, in the magazine Criticón , issue 69-92, ISSN 0011-1597 , Criticón-Verlag, Munich 1982, p. 126
- ↑ Arthur Hausner: The Polish Policy of the Central Powers and the Austro-Hungarian Military Administration in Poland during the World War , Hollinek, 1935, p. 106
- ^ A b Arthur Hausner: The Poland Policy of the Central Powers and the Austro-Hungarian Military Administration in Poland during the World War , Hollinek, 1935, p. 173
- ↑ Wolfgang Schlegel: Handbuch für das Geschichteunterricht an Volks- und Realschulen , J. Beltz, 1961, p. 128
- ↑ Bernard Wiaderny: The Polish Underground State and the German Resistance: 1939-1944 , academic treatises on the history, VWF, 2002, p 78
- ↑ a b c Beata Dorota Lakeberg: The German minority press in Poland 1918-1939 and their image of Poland and the Jews (= The Germans and Eastern Europe . Volume 6 ). Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3-631-60048-1 , p. 312 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ a b c d Włodzimierz Borodziej: History of Poland in the 20th Century, European History in the 20th Century , ISBN 978-3-406-60647-2 , CH Beck, 2010, p. 87
- ↑ Keith Sword: Sikorski: soldier and statesman: A collection of essays , ISBN 978-0-901-14933-6 , Orbis Books, 1990, p. 26
- ↑ a b Heidi Hein: The Piłsudski cult and its significance for the Polish state, 1926–1939 , Volume 9 of materials and studies on East Central Europe research , ISBN 978-3-87969-289-7 , Herder Institute, Marburg 2002 , P. 39 and 48
- ↑ Szkoła Letnia Kultury i Języka Polskiego , University Book Series , Volume 2, Lublin Catholic University, 1990, Lublin 1983, p. 164
- ↑ Robert Bubczyk: A History of Poland in Outline Language, Culture and Society , ISBN 978-8-322-72001-1 , Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 2002, p 71
- ↑ a b Joachim Rohlfes and Hermann Körner: Historical Contemporary Studies: Handbook for Political Education , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1970, p. 530 f.