Primary Documents

1. Henryk Sienkiewicz – Banquet Speech

Henryk Sienkiewicz's speech at the Nobel Banquet at Grand Hôtel, Stockholm, December 10, 1905

(Translation)

Nations are represented by their poets and their writers in the open competition for the Nobel Prize. Consequently the award of the Prize by the Academy glorifies not only the author but the people whose son he is, and it bears witness that that nation has a share in the universal achievement, that its efforts are fruitful, and that it has the right to live for the profit of mankind. If this honour is premous to all, it is infinitely more so to Poland. It has been said that Poland is dead, exhausted, enslaved, but here is the proof of her life and triumph. Like Galileo, one is forced to think «E pur si muove» when before the eyes of the world homage has been rendered to the importance of Poland's achievement and her genius.

This homage has been rendered not to me - for the Polish soil is fertile and does not lack better writers than me - but to the Polish achievement, the Polish genius. For this I should like to express my most ardent and most sincere gratitude as a Pole to you gentlemen, the members of the Swedish Academy, and I conclude by borrowing the words of Horace: «Principibus placuisse non ultima laus est».

2. Pan Tadeusz – Adam Mickiewicz

Invocation

O Lithuania, my fatherland,
Thou art like health; what praise thou shouldst command
Only the man finds who has lost thee quite.
Today I see, and limn, thy beauty bright
In all its splendor, for I yearn for thee.

O holy Virgin, who dost oversee
Bright Czenstochowa and in Wilno shinest
Above the Ostra Gate! thou who inclinest
To shelter Nowogrodek with its folk
In faithfulness. When I, in youth, bespoke
Thy help, by miracle thou didst restore
My failing health; when my sad mother bore
Me to thy seat, my deathlike eyes I raised;
Walked to the threshold of thy shrine amazed;
And thanked God for the health brought back to me- 
So by a miracle thou wilt decree
That we regain our country. Meanwhile bear
To those treed hills my spirit of despair,
To those green meadows, stretching far and wide
By the blue Niemen; to those grain fields pied
With hues of various harvests, gold with wheat,
Silvered with rye; where mustard-blossoms meet
With buckwheat white as snow; where clover glows
As with a girl's blush; and green turf-strip bows
Engirdle all the garth with ribbons rare,
As quiet pear-trees slumber here and there.

Translated by Watson Kirkconnel

3. MY SONG (II)
Cyprian Kamil Norwid

For that land where a scrap of bread is picked up
From the ground out of reverence

For Heaven's gifts...

I am homesick, Lord!...

For the land where it's a great travesty
To harm a stork's nest in a pear tree,

For storks serve us all...

I am homesick, Lord!... For the land where we greet each other
In the ancient Christian custom:

"May Christ's name be praised!"

I am homesick, Lord!...

I long still for yet another thing, likewise innocent,
For I no longer know where to find

My abode...

I am homesick, Lord!

For worrying-not and thinking-not,
For those whose yes means yes --- and no means no ---

Without shades of grey...

I am homesick, Lord!

I long for that distant place, where someone cares for me!
It must be thus, though my friendship

Will never come to pass!...

I am homesick, Lord!

-translated by Walter Whipple

4. AGAMEMNON’S TOMB

by Juliusz Slowacki

 O Poland ! As long as you imprison
An angelic soul in a boorish skull,
So long your flesh will be hacked by a headsman,
So long your revenge sword will remain dull,
So long a hyena will lie over you
And a grave – your eyes opened in the grave too.

Throw off completely those hideous tatters,
First – that Deianira’s burning attire :
And then arise like great shameless sculptures,
Naked – and bathed up in die Stygian mire,
New – brazen in your iron nakedness –
Not embarrassed by anything – deathless.

Let the people arise at the dead of night
From the quiet grave and frighten the others,
It’s such a big statue – from one block cast tight,
And so hardened, it won’t break under thunders.
But with thunderbolts its hands and wreath are rife,
The eyes that disdain death – the flush of life.

Poland ! You are still deceived with baubles ;
You were the nations’ peacock and parrot,
Now you are a handmaid of other peoples.
Though I know these words won’t quaver a minute
In your heart – where thought doesn’t long remain :
I speak – for I am sad – and full of blame.

Ay, curse me – yet my soul will make you run
Like Eumenides – through the snaky canes,
For you are Prometheus’s only son :
The vulture doesn’t eat your heart – but your brains.
Although in your blood my Muse I will stain,
I’ll reach to your bowels’ core – and pull with a strain.

Put a curse on your son and howl in torment,
But be aware – the hand of the curser
Stretched over me – will coil like a serpent
And snap off, withered away from your shoulder,
Black satans will snatch up the bits of dust then ;
For you have no power to curse – bondwoman !

[...]

 Song VIII from "Journey to the Holy Land from Naples".

 Translated by Michael MIKOS

5. Sowinski in the Trenches of Wola
Juliusz Slowacki

In the old churchhouse of Wola
General Sowinski remained,
Old man with a wooden leg,
Defending himself with a sword;
All around him lie commanders
Of battalions with their soldiers,
Muskets scattered, broken cannons,
Everything is devastated!

The General will not surrender,
The old man defends himself
Leaning up against the altar
On the sacred linen white,
There he rests his weary elbow
Where they lay the holy missals
On the left side of the altar
Where the priest reads from the Gospel

Suddenly some soldiers enter,
Servants of the Russian Marshall
Paskiewicz, and beg him: "General,
Surrender now, for why should you
Die so miserably." On their knees
They plead, as with their own father,
"Hand us your sword now, General,
Or the Marshall himself will come."

"I'll not surrender to you, Sirs,"
The old man answered calmly,
"Nor to you nor to the Marshall
Will I give my sword away,
Though the Czar himself demand it
Though I'm old, I'll not surrender,
But with sword I'll fight the battle
While my heart yet beats within me.

Even were there not so much as
One last Pole upon this planet,
I will be compelled to perish
For the good of my dear country,
And the fathers who begot me
I must perish in the trenches,
Sword in hand ‘til death still fighting
‘Gainst . . . the enemies of Poland . . .
That ... this city might remember
And our little children, too
Who today are in their cradles
As the bombs play in their ears.
I will fight that these, our children
When they're grown, may well remember
That this day upon the ramparts
Died a General -- with leg of wood.

When I walked about the city,
The youth would often laugh at me
For walking on a stick of wood,
And stumbling, old man, constantly.
Let them now pronounce the verdict,
Does this wooden leg well serve me,
Will it direct me straight to God,
And will it take me there quickly?

My adjutants, stupid dandies,
On your healthy legs so agile,
When the battle cry was sounded
Made good use of such good legs,
Whereas I upon this altar
Lean and rest, a crippled man,
I can't go in search of death,
But it will come in search of me.

Do not kneel thus, Sirs, before me,
I am not a holy man.
But I am a Pole of honor
Struggling to defend ... my life ...
I forsooth am not a martyr,
But I'll hold on ‘til the end
And whom I can I'll slaughter,
I'll give blood ... but not my sword."

Thus spoke General Sowinski,
Old man with a wooden leg . . .
Then with flashing sword the General,
Held the bayonets at bay;
‘Til one of the older soldiers
Stabbed him mortally in the breast...
Leaning lifeless ‘gainst the altar
Standing on his leg ... of wood...
-translated by Walter Whipple

6. OUR SLAVIC POPE
Juliusz Slowacki


God’s bell the Conclave's petty strife has stilled :
            Its mighty tone
Brings news of Slavic hope fulfilled –
            The Papal Throne !
Pope who will not – Italian-like – take fright
            At sabre-thrust
But, brave as God himself, stand and give fight :
            His world – but dust !

Made radiant by the Word, the Pontiff's face –
            A torch that guides
The faithful swarming towards that lighted place
            Where God resides.
Obedient to his prayer and his command,
            Not only men,
But, if he wills, the sun itself will stand :
            Power beyond ken !

Now he approaches, he whose hand constrains
            Globe – spanning forces –
He whose word turns back along our veins
            The blood that courses.
Divine enlightenment, a mounting spate
            Informs mankind ;
To think a thought therein is to create –
            Power of the mind !

To bear our load – this world by God designed –
            That power we need :
Our Slavic Pope, brother to all mankind,
            Is there to lead !

With balm from all the world, our souls’ torment
            Is soothed by him ;
About his flower-decked throne a regiment
            Of cherubim.
Love he dispenses as great powers today
            Distribute arms ;
With sacramental power, his sole array,
            The world he charms !

His word, like dove set free, takes instant flight,
            The news proclaims :
That yet the Holy Spirit sheds its light,
            Devotion claims !
The heavens above him open wide their gates,
            While he, alone,
Sits on his throne and humbly re-creates
            Both Earth and Throne !

Among the nations, with a brother’s love,
            He spreads the word :
Man must, to reach his final goal above,
            Brave fire and sword.
The sacramental power of realms untold
            His willing slave ;
Power that the soul of man may yet behold
            Before the grave !

From the world’s wounds he laves corruption’s blight,
            The maggots teeming ;
Health he restores, fanning our love alight,
            The world redeeming.
Sweeps out our churches, makes the portals gleam –
            So that each one
May see his God within Creation’s scheme,
            Bright as the sun !

Written in 1848.

English translation by Noel Clark.

7. Lech Walesa – Acceptance Speech

As the Laureate was unable to be present on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1983, the acceptance was read by Mrs Danuta Walesa

(Translation)

Your Majesty, Honourable Representatives of the Norwegian people,

You are aware of the reasons why I could not come to your Capital city and receive personally this distinguished prize. On that solemn day my place is among those with whom I have grown and to whom I belong - the workers of Gdansk.

Let my words convey to you the joy and the never extinguished hope of the millions of my brothers - the millions of working people in factories and offices, associated in the union whose very name expresses one of the noblest aspirations of humanity. Today all of them, like myself, feel greatly honoured by the prize.

With deep sorrow I think of those who paid with their lives for the loyalty to "Solidarity"; of those who are behind prison bars and who are victims of repressions. I think of all those with whom I have travelled the same road and with whom I shared the trials and tribulations of our time.

For the first time a Pole has been awarded a prize which Alfred Nobel founded for activities towards bringing the nations of the world closer together. The most ardent hopes of my compatriots are linked with this idea - in spite of the violence, cruelty and brutality which characterise the conflicts splitting the present-day world.

We desire peace - and that is why we have never resorted to physical force. We crave for justice - and that is why we are so persistent in the struggle for our rights, We seek freedom of convictions - and that is why we have never attempted to enslave man's conscience nor shall we ever attempt to do so.

We are fighting for the right of the working people to association and for the dignity of human labour. We respect the dignity and the rights of every man and every nation. The path to a brighter future of the world leads through honest reconciliation of the conflicting interests and not through hatred and bloodshed. To follow that path means to enhance the moral power of the all-embracing idea of human solidarity.

I feel happy and proud that over the past few years this idea has been so closely connected with the name of my homeland.

In 1905, when Poland did not appear on the map of Europe, Henryk Sienkiewicz said when receiving the Nobel prize for literature: "She was pronounced dead - yet here is a proof that She lives on; She was declared incapable to think and to work - and here is proof to the contrary; She was pronounced defeated - and here is proof that She is victorious".

Today nobody claims that Poland is dead. But the words have acquired a new meaning.

May I express to you - the illustrious representatives of the Norwegian people - my most profound gratitude for confirming the vitality and strength of our idea by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the chairman of "Solidarity".

8. Lech Walesa – Nobel Lecture

Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1983

(Translation)

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

Addressing you, as the winner of the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize, is a Polish worker from the Gdansk Shipyard, one of the founders of the independent trade union movement in Poland. It would be the simplest thing for me to say that I am not worthy of that great distinction. Yet, when I recall the hour when the news of the prize has spread throughout my country, the hour of rising emotions and universal joy of the people who felt that they have a moral and spiritual share in the award, I am obligated to say that I regard it as a sign of recognition that the movement to which I gave all my strength has served well the community of men.

I accept the award with my deepest respects for its meaning and significance, and, at the same time, I am conscious that the honor is bestowed not on me personally, but upon "Solidarity", upon the people and the ideas for which we have fought and shall continue to do so in the spirit of peace and justice. And there is nothing I desire more than that the granting of the award should help the cause of peace and justice in my country and the world over.

My first words which I address to you, and through you to all people, are those which I have known since my childhood days: Peace to men of goodwill - all and everywhere, in the North and South, East and West.

I belong to a nation which over the past centuries has experienced many hardships and reverses. The world reacted with silence or with mere sympathy when Polish frontiers were crossed by invading armies and the sovereign state had to succumb to brutal force. Our national history has so often filled us with bitterness and the feeling of helplessness. But this was, above all, a great lesson in hope. Thanking you for the award I would like, first of all, to express my gratitude and my belief that it serves to enhance the Polish hope. The hope of the nation which throughout the nineteenth century had not for a moment reconciled itself with the loss of independence, and fighting for its own freedom, fought at the same time for the freedom of other nations. The hope whose elations and downfalls during the past forty years - i.e. the span of my own life - have been marked by the memorable and dramatic dates: 1944, 1956, 1970, 1976, 1980.

And if I permit myself at this juncture and on this occasion to mention my own life, it is because I believe that the prize has been granted to me as to one of many.

My youth passed at the time of the country's reconstruction from the ruins and ashes of the war in which my nation never bowed to the enemy paying the highest price in the struggle. I belong to the generation of workers who, born in the villages and hamlets of rural Poland, had the opportunity to acquire education and find employment in industry, becoming in the course conscious of their rights and importance in society. Those were the years of awakening aspirations of workers and peasants, but also years of many wrongs, degradations and lost illusions. I was barely 13 years old when, in June 1956, the desperate struggle of the workers of Poznan for bread and freedom was suppressed in blood. Thirteen also was the boy - Romek Strzalkowski - who was killed in the struggle. It was the "Solidarity" union which 25 years later demanded that tribute be paid to his memory. In December 1970 when workers' protest demonstrations engulfed the towns of the Baltic coast, I was a worker in the Gdansk Shipyard and one of the organizers of the strikes. The memory of my fellow workers who then lost their lives, the bitter memory of violence and despair has become for me a lesson never to be forgotten.

Few years later, in June 1976, the strike of the workers at Ursus and Radom was a new experience which not only strengthened my belief in the justness of the working people's demands and aspirations, but has also indicated the urgent need for their solidarity. This conviction brought me, in the summer of 1978, to the Free Trade Unions - formed by a group of courageous and dedicated people who came out in the defense of the workers' rights and dignity. In July and August of 1980 a wave of strikes swept throughout Poland. The issue at stake was then something much bigger than only material conditions of existence. My road of life has, at the time of the struggle, brought me back to the shipyard in Gdansk. The whole country has joined forces with the workers of Gdansk and Szczecin. The agreements of Gdansk, Szczecin and Jastrzebie were eventually signed and the "Solidarity" union has thus come into being.

The great Polish strikes, of which I have just spoken, were events of a special nature. Their character was determined on the one hand by the menacing circumstances in which they were held and, on the other, by their objectives. The Polish workers who participated in the strike actions, in fact represented the nation.

When I recall my own path of life I cannot but speak of the violence, hatred and lies. A lesson drawn from such experiences, however, was that we can effectively oppose violence only if we ourselves do not resort to it.

In the brief history of those eventful years, the Gdansk Agreement stands out as a great charter of the rights of the working people which nothing can ever destroy. Lying at the root of the social agreements of 1980 are the courage, sense of responsibility, and the solidarity of the working people. Both sides have then recognized that an accord must be reached if bloodshed is to be prevented. The agreement then signed has been and shall remain the model and the only method to follow, the only one that gives a chance of finding a middle course between the use of force and a hopeless struggle. Our firm conviction that ours is a just cause and that we must find a peaceful way to attain our goals gave us the strength and the awareness of the limits beyond which we must not go. What until then seemed impossible to achieve has become a fact of life. We have won the right to association in trade unions independent from the authorities, founded and shaped by the working people themselves.

Our union - the "Solidarity" - has grown into a powerful movement for social and moral liberation. The people freed from the bondage of fear and apathy, called for reforms and improvements. We fought a difficult struggle for our existence. That was and still is a great opportunity for the whole country. I think that it marked also the road to be taken by the authorities, if they thought of a state governed in cooperation and participation of all citizens. "Solidarity", as a trade union movement, did not reach for power, nor did it turn against the established constitutional order. During the 15 months of "Solidarity's" legal existence nobody was killed or wounded as a result of its activities. Our movement expanded by leaps and bounds. But we were compelled to conduct an uninterrupted struggle for our rights and freedom of activity while at the same time imposing upon ourselves the unavoidable self-limitations. The program of our movement stems from the fundamental moral laws and order. The sole and basic source of our strength is the solidarity of workers, peasants and the intelligentsia, the solidarity of the nation, the solidarity of people who seek to live in dignity, truth, and in harmony with their conscience.

Let the veil of silence fall presently over what happened afterwards. Silence, too, can speak out.

One thing, however, must be said here and now on this solemn occasion: the Polish people have not been subjugated nor have they chosen the road of violence and fratricidal bloodshed.

We shall not yield to violence. We shall not be deprived of union freedoms. We shall never agree with sending people to prison for their convictions. The gates of prisons must be thrown open and persons sentenced for defending union and civic rights must be set free. The announced trials of eleven leading members of our movement must never be held. All those already sentenced or still awaiting trials for their union activities or their convictions - should return to their homes and be allowed to live and work in their country.

The defense of our rights and our dignity, as well as efforts never to let ourselves to be overcome by the feeling of hatred - this is the road we have chosen.

The Polish experience, which the Nobel Peace Prize has put into limelight, has been a difficult, a dramatic one. Yet, I believe that it looks to the future. The things that have taken place in human conscience and re-shaped human attitudes cannot be obliterated or destroyed. They exist and will remain.

We are the heirs of those national aspirations thanks to which our people could never be made into an inert mass with no will of their own. We want to live with the belief that law means law and justice means justice, that our toil has a meaning and is not wasted, that our culture grows and develops in freedom.

As a nation we have the right to decide our own affairs, to mould our own future. This does not pose any danger to anybody. Our nation is fully aware of the responsibility for its own fate in the complicated situation of the contemporary world.

Despite everything that has been going on in my country during the past two years, I am still convinced that we have no alternative but to come to an agreement, and that the difficult problems which Poland is now facing can be resolved only through a real dialogue between state authorities and the people.

During his latest visit to the land of his fathers, Pope John Paul II had this to say on this point:

"Why do the working people in Poland - and everywhere else for that matter - have the right to such a dialogue? It is because the working man is not a mere tool of production, but he is the subject which throughout the process of production takes precedence over the capital. By the fact of his labor, the man becomes the true master of his workshop, of the process of labor, of the fruits of his toil and of their distribution. He is also ready for sacrifices if he feels that he is a real partner and has a say in the just division of what has been produced by common effort".

It is, however, precisely this feeling that we lack. It is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness and a mood of helplessness prevail. He who once became aware of the power of solidarity and who breathed the air of freedom will not be crushed. The dialogue is possible and we have the right to it. The wall raised by the course of events must not become an insurmountable obstacle. My most ardent desire is that my country will recapture its historic opportunity for a peaceful evolution and that Poland will prove to the world that even the most complex situations can be solved by a dialogue and not by force.

We are ready for the dialogue. We are also prepared, at any time, to put our reasons and demands to the judgement of the people. We have no doubts as to what verdict would be returned.

I think that all nations of the world have the right to life in dignity. I believe that, sooner or later, the rights of individuals, of families, and of entire communities will be respected in every corner of the world. Respect for civic and human rights in Poland and for our national identity is in the best interest of all Europe. For, in the interest of Europe is a peaceful Poland, and the Polish aspirations to freedom will never be stifled. The dialogue in Poland is the only way to achieving internal peace and that is why it is also an indispensable element of peace in Europe.

I realize that the strivings of the Polish people gave rise, and still do so, to the feelings of understanding and solidarity all over the world. Allow me from this place to express my most profound thanks to all those who help Poland and the Poles. May I also voice my desire that our wish for the dialogue and for respect of human rights in Poland should be strengthened by a positive thought. My country is in the grips of a major economic crisis. This is causing dramatic consequences for the very existence of Polish families. A permanent economic crisis in Poland may also have serious repercussions for Europe. Thus, Poland ought to be helped and deserves help.

I am looking at the present-day world with the eyes of a worker - a worker who belongs to a nation so tragically experienced by the war. I most sincerely wish that the world in which we live be free from the threat of a nuclear holocaust and from the ruinous arms race. It is my cherished desire that peace be not separated from freedom which is the right of every nation. This I desire and for this I pray.

May I repeat that the fundamental necessity in Poland is now understanding and dialogue. I think that the same applies to the whole world: we should go on talking, we must not close any doors or do anything that would block the road to an understanding. And we must remember that only peace built on the foundations of justice and moral order can be a lasting one.

In many parts of the world the people are searching for a solution which would link the two basic values: peace and justice. The two are like bread and salt for mankind. Every nation and every community have the inalienable right to these values. No conflicts can be resolved without doing everything possible to follow that road. Our times require that these aspirations which exist the world over must be recognized.

Our efforts and harsh experiences have revealed to the world the value of human solidarity. Accepting this honorable distinction I am thinking of those with whom I am linked by the spirit of solidarity:

first of all, of those who in the struggle for the workers' and civic rights in my country paid the highest price - the price of life;

of my friends who paid for the defense of "Solidarity" with the loss of freedom, who were sentenced to prison terms or are awaiting trial;

of my countrymen who saw in the "Solidarity" movement the fulfillment of their aspirations as workers and citizens, who are subjected to humiliations and ready for sacrifices, who have learnt to link courage with wisdom and who persist in loyalty to the cause we have embarked upon;

of all those who are struggling throughout the world for the workers' and union rights, for the dignity of a working man, for human rights.

Inscribed on the monument erected at the entrance to the Gdansk Shipyard in memory of those who died in December 1970 are the words of the Psalm:

"The Lord will give power to His people;
The Lord will give His people the blessing of peace".

Let these words be our message of brotherhood and hope.

9. From Letters by an Anonymous Author by Hugo Kollataj (1750-1812)

We know full well that the labourer on the estates of the [Polish] nobility became a possession of the manor-house and by an incomprehensible violation of humanity ceased to be an individual, contrary to the obvious law of nature. Given over into the custody of the lord, left in his legal, if one may say so, bondage, regarded as no better than cattle, he experienced the kind of fate to which only a land-owner's prejudices, education, greed and passion could expose him....If by anything, then it is by the state of our servitude that we can judge what Polish freedom is....

Let us reflect for a moment that all of us, as many as are borne by the Polish earth, rich or poor, are the subjects of the Commonwealth. It is Poland which wields the supreme power over us, whose laws govern us, whose might curbs and punishes us. Through what prejudice can we remove the lowest beggar from this highest power? Through what presumption can we arrogate unto ourselves the sovereign and independent rule over the poor farmer, and how can the free man, contrary to his feelings, dare to be the despot over another and violate the law which he prizes in himself more than the pupil of his eye? If one human being cannot be the subject of both Peter and Paul, he can certainly not be the subject of both the Commonwealth and of a private citizen....

O truth! Most merciful gift from Heaven! ...[E]nter today into the hearts of free Poles, enlighten their minds and inspire them with a magnificent attachment to freedom! May this earth, which Providence allotted to human freedom, no longer suffer the meanest slave in its bosom! May the rich man and the great man do homage to all-seeing Providence, respecting humanity in the poorest peasant! May he come to realize that all his splendour and luxury are the gift of the peasant's miserable hand, that all his magnificence shines with the sweat of the poor!.... The third estate does not require great sacrifices of us....Let us return to it what we sacrilegiously took away from it, violating divine and human law, let us return to it the freedom of its person and of its hands. If we do this, this industrious folk -- the folk that feeds us and that gives fertility to our lands -- will raise the standard of living and will multiply our wealth; it will love the Fatherland and will consider it truly its own...

10. From the Polish Constitution of May 3 1791

...Valuing above life and personal happiness the political existence, external independence and internal freedom of the Nation, we have resolved upon the present Constitution....

Guided by justice, humanity and Christian duties, as well as by our own well conceived interests, we take the peasants, whose labour is the most abundant source of the national wealth, who constitute the most numerous population of the nation and therefore the country's greatest strength, under the protection of the law and of the national government....

In human society all authority originates from the will of the nation. In order therefore that the integrity of the country, civil liberties and the order of society may be foreover maintained, three powers should, and by virtue of the present law shall forever, constitute the government of the Polish nation: these are, the legislative power vested in the assembled estates; the supreme executive authority vested in the King and the [Council of Ministers], and the judicial power vested in the jurisdictions established or to be established for that purpose....

The nation must act in its own defense and for the preservation of its integrity. Therefore all citizens are defenders of the integrity and liberties of the nation....

11. From: Adam Mickiewicz, Books of the Polish Nation, 1832

Finally in idolatrous Europe there rose three rulers; the name of the first was Frederick the Second of Prussia, the name of the second was Catherine the Second of Russia, the name of the third was Maria Theresa of Austria.

And this was a satanic trinity, contrary to the Divine Trinity, and was in the manner of a mock and a derision of all that is holy....

And they martyred the Polish Nation and laid it in the grave, and the kings cried out: "We have slain and we have buried Freedom."

But they cried out foolishly, for in committing the last sin they filled up the measure of their iniquities, for their power was coming to an end....

For the Polish Nation did not die: its body lieth in the grave, but its spirit hath descended from the earth, that is from public life, to the abyss, that is to the private life of people who suffer slavery....

But on the third day the soul shall return to the body, and the Nation shall arise and free all the people of Europe from slavery....

And as after the resurrection of Christ blood offerings ceased in all the world, so after the resurrection of the Polish Nation wars shall cease in all Christendom.

12. On the Role of Historians in the Polish National Movement

Historians during the period of Poland's extinction in the late 18th and 19th centuries rose to meet the challenge of the partitioning powers pledged to erase Poland forever from the memory of Europe. Their role, comparable to that of historians everywhere in Eastern Europe, battling to create and/or preserve a national consciousness for their respective peoples in the absence of national states, is one of the bright threads in Polish history of this period....

Polish historiography from the time of the last king, Stanis»aw August, until the end of the partitions has been characterized as a pendulum swinging between the extremes of self-idealization and self-condemnation as the Poles sought to understand and explain their fate: to disappear as a state just as other nations were beginning to realize their goal of statehood.... Successive generations of historians, conscious of their responsibility for the articulation of the Polish idea, grappled with [the question of the causes of the loss of statehood]. What assessment should be made of the famous (or infamous) "Golden Freedom"? Was the Noble Democracy of the Republic of Poland-Lithuania, with its ideals of government by consent, liberty of the individual, and the right to resist, an early and worthy precursor of the democratic ideals which came to characterize 19th and 20th century liberal thought? Was Poland's fate, then, a tragic irony, the result of mere "geopolitics," the consequence of her unprotected position on the Northern European Plain between the two aggressive and unscrupulous empires of Russia and Prussia? Or, harder to contemplate and more ominous in some ways for future hope, was Poland herself to blame for her own fate? Some regarded it as the inexorable final act of a tragedy brought on by the hubris of the political elite, the unruly and defiant Polish szlachta (=nobility). And, finally, what, in the light of all this, was the Polish nation? Was it the nobility, with its mixture of Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and Polish bloodlines and traditions? Or did it include all those who resided in the former boundaries of the extinct Commonwealth (and which boundaries, when they had shifted so many times in Polish history)? Did it include the peasants? The Jews? The non-Polish speaking? Those who did not know, did not care about, or even despised the very idea of Polishness? That Poland was both more and less than a sum of its parts, all were agreed. But what, after the disappearance of the state, was it? To answer these questions became tha task of the next five generations of historians? Their task was pressing indeed in view of the infamous pledge of the three partitioning powers:

In view of the necessity to abolish everything which could revive the memory of the existence
of the Kingdom of Poland, now that the annulment of this body politic has been effected....the
high contracting parties are agreed to undertake never to include in their titles... the name or
designation of the Kingdom of Poland, which shall remain suppressed as from the present and forever. [...]

Of all the figures associated with the emergence of a modern historical discipline out of the partitions and the Polish Enlightenment, the most important was undoubtedly Adam Naruszewicz (1733-1786).... Like several of the other reformers, Naruszewicz too was a poet and a translator, but he was by self-description above all a historian. The Naruszewicz School was defined essentially by the first efforts to analyze systematically and critically the causes of Poland's downfall. Naruszewicz's central thesis, as it was developed in his History of the Polish Nation, published between 1780 and 1824, was that Poland, after the first election of a king in 1573, suffered from the lack of a strong centralized leadership on the one hand and from the complementary and increasing anarchy of the "Golden Freedom" on the other. [...]

[Joachim] Lelewel's (1786-1861) was a Romantic history filled with a sense of heroic urgency and driven by a moral need to rectify the great wrong of the partitions...."As long as our motherland -- he wrote -- lies in the coffin... let us combine our efforts to dig the earth away from the grave, let us clamber into the pit itself and raise up the ashes of our mother as if of the Phoenix.".... Lelewel sought to discover Poland's unique strengths, the core of her national being, the natural base upon which to rebuild. When Naruszewicz focused on the state and its structures, on the nobility, the magnates, and the monarchy, Lelewel emphasized the lud (the people) by which he meant above all, but not exclusively, the peasantry.... He sought to discover the individuality of the Polish nation and to restore it to its rightful place among the family of great....European nations.

Lelewel's conception of Polish history, as presented....in an enormous body of work representing nearly half a century of activity, but perhaps most clearly and completely in his nine volume History of the Polish Republic, 1843-1855, grew out of the conviction that each nation has its own true nature -- and the moral imperative to independent existence as an expression of that nature.... Lelewel found Poland's true nature to be embodied in the ancient institution of the Slavic commune, which to Lelewel meant "freedom, independence, brotherhood, citizenship, and public-spiritedness." [He maintained] that although the "Golden Freedom" of the nobility was a distortion, even a perversion, something of the original value remained in it. Moreover, he was deeply impressed by the patriotism of his szlachta [=nobility] contemporaries and always made a point of including the szlachta, especially the impoverished szlachta... in his definition of the people.... [H]e paid great attention to popular history, the most famous example being his Polish History Told in a Colloquial Style....

For all the differences between the historians of the Naruszewicz School and Lelewel, they had one very basic trait in common: their open and unapologetic linkage of history and politics.

A. K. Shelton, The Democratic Idea in Polish History and Historiography, 1989

13. From: Roman Dmowski, Thoughts of a Modern Pole, 1902.

A nation such as ours, which does not have its own state or government, being at the mercy of foreign governments which undermine its national traditions, exploit it economically, and maintain order through repressive or mechanical means, must work a hundred times as hard to foster within its political sphere a [complete] dedication to its survival as a nation. [...]

National politics for a nation in such circumstances as ours cannot imitate the politics of other nations, whether those that have independent statehood or those that have never achieved independent statehood and have only now began to develop their sense of national identity based on linguistic difference. The first kind does not have to concern itself with saving or recovering the bases of their nationhood, since the existence of an independent nation-state ensures their survival; the second kind constitutes a sociological category with which we have nothing in common: its moral foundations and aspirations are diffent from ours. Moreover, nationalities of the latter type are destined sooner or later to be assimilated and absorbed into the national organism of the dominant state and regime. [...]

The consequences of an overpowering foreign influence, resulting primarily from the Partitions and occupation by foreign powers, but also from the presence of alien elements in our midst.... and of allowing new generations to suffer continuing destruction of national tradition, thus rendering them morally degenerate, can only be a serious erosion of the national base on which we hope to rebuild our national politics....

[We] must recognize that our first priority must be the strengthening of our national foundations. This task involves the following main elements:

1) The strengtening and stabilization of our national ethics, which requires that we combat the tendency to apply standards of individual morality to national affairs;

2) The crystallization of a national identity that is firmly rooted in the idea of statehood. This means that we must not be satisfied with any kind of a shadowy existence that would result from the acceptance of a primarily linguistic and cultural definition [of our distinctiveness].

3) The inculcation of a proper understanding of the meaning and priorities of politics, which should above all be concerned with the maintenance of a stable social order, without which national politics is not possible.

*

National organism should attempt to ingest only that which it can assimilate and use for the growth and strength of the collective body. The Jews are not such an element. Their civilizational distinctiveness, shaped over tens of centuries, is too definite and crystallized to allow the Jews to be assimilated by a nation which is still young, still in the process of its formation, and it is rather they that would be able to assimilate the majority of us spiritually and in part physically…. The merging with a large part of that element would destroy us, as it would substitute destructive factors for the young, creative tendencies on which we are trying to build our future. We can, however, and must ingest a small segment of the Jewish element and process it without too much harm to ourselves….

Lately the numbers of Poles of Jewish origin have increased substantially, but these Poles have been increasingly shoddy. This new Polish-Jewish intelligentsia, precisely because of its numbers, almost mechanically has had no chance of entering the Polish milieu, as was the case before with a few assimilated individuals. It has created it own Jewish milieu, with it own soul, its own attitude to life and its issues. Moreover, it became increasingly conscious of its strength and quite naturally tried to impose on Polish society its own ideas and aspirations. The Polish-speaking intelligentsia of our country…falls quite clearly into two distinct milieus – Polish and Jewish. These milieus are not separated; there developed an intermediary, a Polish-Jewish layer….which has been characterized by mutual influence, the influence of Poles on the Jews and of the Jews on the Poles, producing as a result partly polonized Jews and to some extent Jewified Poles.

14. PBS Frontline Interview with Marian Marzynski

Are there any specific memories of Poland that Chopin’s music conjures up for you?

Every child in Poland in my generation is completely overcontaminated with Chopin’s “Funeral March” being played at every state funeral. In my day, you could walk the neighborhood in Poland and hear people listening to Chopin because the radio was continuously playing. Chopin is an obsession for Poland. So this music is part of me. When I say Chopin is woven into Polish culture and politics, it is something I tried to -- but didn’t fully -- explain in the film. He had a split personality, French by father, Polish by mother, born in Poland. And the French do not claim him. He was an immigrant in France. He spent most of his life in France. But he was also unhappy in France. So in Poland he became more than a great composer. He became a symbol for Polish nationalism. Poland does not want to be lost among the many countries of Europe and wants to have some cultural identity. This piano competition is the highest cultural event in Poland. It is like a Miss America. The winner goes around, travels the world, then five years later, someone else wins.

15. Statement Issued by the Temporary Polish Regency Council, 11 November 1918

In view of the threatening dangers from within and without, and in order to unify all military action and preserve order in the country, the Regency Council entrusts military authority over and the chief command of the Polish Armies to Brig. Gen. Josef Pilsudski.

After the National Government has been organized, the Regency Council will, in accordance with its former declaration, transfer to it the sovereign power of the State, and by countersigning the manifesto, General Pilsudski binds himself likewise to surrender to it his military powers, which are a part of the sovereignty of the State.

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. VII, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

16. Regency Council Decree, 14 November 1918

To General Josef Pilsudski, the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armies:

The temporary division of the sovereign power of the State created by the decree of November 11, 1918, cannot last without harm to the nascent Polish State.

This power should be indivisible.  In view of that and in the best interest of the country, we decree to dissolve the Regency Council, and from this moment we place in your hands, Sir, all our duties and responsibilities before the Polish Nation for the transference of them to the National Government.

(Signed) 
ALEXANDER KAKOWSKI 
ZDZISLAV LUBOMIRSKI 
 JOSEPH OSTROWSKI

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. VII, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

17. Statement by Josef Pilsudski on Accepting Military Command of Poland, 14 November 1918

Upon my return from German imprisonment I found the country in a most chaotic state in the face of exceedingly difficult tasks, for the performance of which the nation must reveal its best organizing abilities.

In my conversations with the representatives of almost all political parties in Poland, I found to my delight that the great majority share my opinion that the new Government should not only rest on democratic foundations, but be composed in a considerable proportion of representatives of the rural and urban masses.

The difficult life conditions of the people have not allowed very many among them to attain professional expertness, which is in such great demand throughout the country.  Realizing this, I have requested that in the interest of the highest efficiency the President of the Government appoint to the Cabinet recognized experts without any reference to their political affiliations.

By the nature of the situation, the character of the Government, pending the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, is purely provisional and precludes the enactment of any thoroughgoing social changes, which only the Representative Assembly can undertake.

Considering the peculiar legal position of the nation, I have requested the President of the Cabinet to submit to me the plan for the creation of the provisional supreme representative authority of the Polish Republic, embracing all three parts of Poland.

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. VII, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

18. French Newspaper Interview with Josef Pilsudski by Charles Bonnefon, February 1919

Warsaw

Poland has placed at the head of its government the man who suffered most for its cause - a man who was a prisoner in Siberia, who was immured by the Germans in the fortress of Magdeburg, who was arrested for conspiracy in 1887, 1900, and 1917.

Josef Pilsudski is a Socialist and a soldier.  In 1894 he founded The Workman, which was printed secretly in Vilna.  He organized the Polish Socialist party, and in 1904 started the uprising that drove the Cossacks from part of Warsaw.

But this Lithuanian and son of a great landed proprietor, has devoted himself first and foremost to arousing the national sentiment of the working classes, and no one knows whether his Socialism is a means or an end.

In 1914 Pilsudski fought Russia at the head of a Polish legion, but when the Germans began to win, he changed his camp.  His legion, which had already mutinied once, just before the Brusilov offensive, refused to take the oath of allegiance to Germany.

On July 21, 1917, Pilsudski was arrested with his faithful companion, Sosukovski, who is now Assistant Minister of War.  On November 10, 1918, after the civil population of Poland had disarmed thirty thousand German soldiers, Pilsudski re-entered Warsaw in triumph.

Since that date he has held the reins of power firmly with that pliable tenacity which is characteristic of him.  He likes to employ a sudden change of tactics to defeat his opponents, and even his most intimate friends cannot read his thoughts.

Two cavalrymen with drawn sabres guard the foot of the staircase leading to his apartments.  When he presents himself on public occasions, or before the assembled diplomatic corps, a herald precedes him, shouting: "Every one uncover and stand silent before the War Lord of the Most Serene Republic!"

Carefully chosen aides-de-camp throw into relief by their brilliant uniforms and glittering deco rations the sober grey garb of the head of the government.  His enemies murmur that he imitates Bonaparte.  His friends insist that he emulates Kosciuszko.

One of his boyhood companions said to me: "I place him in the same group with Clemenceau and Foch.  He will be the greatest man of reborn Poland."  Others mutter that he is an adventurer, an undetected conspirator, a demagogue supporting himself upon the mob.

But while he appears to some people a Louis XI, suspicious and cunning, always on the alert for defence and attack, and to others a charming conversationalist, a profound thinker, a brilliant genius, all agree that he is a man of the highest intellectual ability, with a will of iron.

You can well imagine that my curiosity was piqued by all these characterizations.  When I saw him my preconceptions were overthrown in an instant.

He is a large man, at first glance severe in aspect, with eyebrows that overhang his deep-set and piercing eyes like heavy moustaches.  His nose is long, and the nostrils are sensitive and mobile.  His general aspect inspires you with an impression of honesty and sincerity.

General Josef Pilsudski is the most genial and good-humoured head of a government that I ever met.  His conversation overflows with humour and is punctuated by great roars of laughter.

He said to me: "You have come, sir, at a moment unusually serious and decisive for Poland.  There are questions which, as the head of the government, I cannot answer just now.  For instance, I am unwilling to say what the attitude of Poland will be if the Entente decides either to make peace with the Bolsheviki or to continue the war."

"What I want to state first and most emphatically is that Poland needs to have the decision, whatever it may be, made immediately.  The great evil afflicting our country is the fact that the Allies have no clear and definite program.  We are left to face this big Eastern question all alone, because Europe does not know what it wants.  France and England can afford to wait and make combinations, and see what is going to happen.  Possibly that is to their advantage.  We Poles are next-door neighbours to Russia.  Our success or failure depends on our acting promptly.  We have got to decide 'yes' or 'no,' peace or war.  We cannot wait any longer."

"Do you think," I inquired, "that a protracted war would ruin Poland?"

Poland's master answered: "What weighs upon us even more heavily than a war is the suffering of the last five years and the accumulation of distress they have brought.  Our present military operations are not a serious drain upon us, as we have not been forced to mobilize as many men as would be required in a serious campaign.  Our factories and our farms have plenty of labour.  We have every confidence in our army.  Last winter we were able to test the morale of our soldiers.  Lacking equipment, munitions, and almost destitute of supplies for days at a time, they nevertheless fought admirably."

"We are facing a military organization very inferior to yours.  Modern equipment does not play a decisive role in our campaign.  We have accomplished all that was necessary up to the present by simple manoeuvring.  What we lack particularly is railway supplies, so as to concentrate and manoeuvre our troops more rapidly."

"My long experience with the Bolsheviki makes me confident of the future.  Their soldiers are poorly commanded, poorly led, and irresolute.  Some small advance parties will fight well. The great bulk of the troops behind them are hardly soldiers at all."

"I have studied carefully the tactics and strategy of the Bolsheviki.  This is the result of my experiences so far: When upon the defensive the Bolsheviki will fight until evening; when night comes they light out.  In attacking they will hold out only a few hours.  Then their morale is exhausted and they relax their efforts.  Their troops are very poor in manoeuvring.  So, in all honesty, I do not consider these forces formidable although German officers are instructing them and draw up the plans of their general staff."

"But how about Kolchak?" I objected.

A loud burst of laughter was my answer. "Kolchak was still worse.  His army was made up of officers without soldiers, or mercenaries without patriotism.  Over and above that, it was miserably organized.  His advance guard fought well, but the rank and file of his forces were even worse than the Bolsheviki."

"Neither do I fear the Germans just at present.  A little later they will be a terrible danger.  I was greatly disturbed over the German concentration in Courland.  I know that their troops were well armed, well organized, and provided with everything.  But these forces lacked confidence and enthusiasm."

"So we saw the Letts, poorly equipped, scantily provided with munitions, with no artillery except two little batteries, successfully resist and defeat these great warriors.  That is inexplicable, unless you assume that the Germans lack morale.  They have been defeated.  The oppression of defeat still weighs them down."

"And, with all due respect to Ludendorff and Hofmann, and all those gentlemen who hope to restore the monarchy in their own country by restoring the monarchy in Russia, I am convinced that the Germans will not fight the Bolsheviki.  They are thoroughly war weary.  They would lie down under the task."

"You have just come from Vilna, General.  Would you tell me your impression of the trip?"

The face of Poland's chief magistrate became fairly radiant: "Oh, as for me, I am a child of that country.  Every one has known me all his life, and is fond of me.  I am their local pride out there.  They received me at Vilna like the leading local citizen, who has been the honour of the city."

"Are there as many Jews in Vilna as they say?"

"Their number is greatly diminished.  Before the war Vilna contained 200,000 inhabitants.  Since then they have joined all the suburban districts to the city proper.  In spite of this extension it has not more than 120,000 people today.  Many Jews have gone away."

"What is your policy toward White Russia, Lithuania, and the Ukraine?"

"I am a practical man, without preconceived plans and theories.  I confine myself to figuring out the means at my disposal in advance, and applying them to the best of my ability to the purpose I seek.  The wishes of the people in the territories we have occupied are, in my mind, the only rule to go on."

"I would not for all the world encourage Poland's occupying great regions filled with people at heart hostile.  History has taught us Poles that in the long run such agglomerations of discordant elements are dangerous.  Look at western Russia!  When a country like Poland is in the process of restoration we must not load ourselves with costly embarrassments."

"We have carried liberty to these unhappy countries at the point of the bayonet.  It is a liberty without conditions.  I know perfectly well that many Poles do not agree with me.  They interpret the opposition which certain of our neighbours show to becoming Poles to their 'mental errors and their evil hearts.'"

"Some of our patriots say these people are Poles without knowing it.  That is just what the Russians and the Germans used to say about us.  They used to ascribe our Polish hatred of Russia and Germany to our 'stupid brains and our evil hearts.'"

"I shall esteem it my greatest honour as a statesman and a soldier to have brought liberty to the peoples who are our neighbours.  I know the historical ties that unite them with us.  I know these ties were broken in places by the partition of Poland; but it is my first wish to efface every trace of that partition by liberating these oppressed nations.  However, attach them to Poland by force?  Never in the world!  That would be to substitute the violence of today for the violence of yesterday."

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. VII, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

19. U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing's Recognition of the Paderewski Government, 29 January 1919

The President of the United States directs me to extend to you, as Foreign Minister and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Polish Government, its sincere wishes for your success in the high office which you have assumed and his earnest hope that the Government of which you are a part will bring prosperity to the Republic of Poland.

It is my privilege to extend to you at this time my personal greetings and officially to assure you that it will be a source of gratification to enter into official relations with you at the earliest opportunity.

To render to your country such aid as is possible at this time, as it enters upon a new cycle of independent life, will be in due accord with that spirit of friendliness which has in the past animated the American people in their relations with your countrymen.

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. VII, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

20. Address by Ignace Paderewski, May 1919

The Polish nation is today living through solemn moments.

I suppose that in its eventual history there was never a time more solemn, more fateful than the present.  The fate of our country is at stake; powerful people holding in their hands the destiny of the world, are building a framework for our independent existence, are deciding the frontiers of our State, and soon will pronounce a final sentence, from which, no doubt for long years, there will be no appeal, perhaps for many generations.

Violent bursts of hope and of joy and anxiety are strongly shaking our national spirit.  From every side, from every corner of our former commonwealth, people are coming here to Warsaw and going there to Paris, in frock coats and smock frocks, in old-fashioned country dress, in mountaineer costume, and they cry aloud and implore that their distant provinces should be united to the Polish state.  The Polish eagle does not seem to be a bird of prey, since people are gathering themselves under its wings.

What will Poland be like?  What will be her frontiers?  Will they give us everything we should have?

These are the questions that every Pole is asking.  I am here to answer, as far as I am able, all these questions.  I have taken part in the work of the Polish Delegation to the Peace Conference, and I am here to report on this work to the Seym, and I ask for attention.

I will begin with what has been done.  The Conference has only dealt as yet with one of their defeated adversaries, the Germans.  Conditions have been dictated to them, though they are not yet signed, which give us considerable advantages on the west frontier.

We are not all satisfied with our frontier.  I admit freely that I belong to the unsatisfied ones; but have we really a right to complain?  The Conference tried to decide justly according to the rule on ethnographical and national majority as regards all territorial questions.

They applied this rule to our territory, and we have obtained considerable advantages from it on the west.  But not everything was decided according to this principle.  Thus, for example, our Polish population in the Sycowski and Namyzlowski district and in some parts of the locality of Posen has distinctly been wronged.  The Polish Peace Delegation will do their best to have this remedied.

The press has already published the chief points of the Peace Treaty.  I will, however, remark in passing that by this Treaty we are to receive more than 5,000,000 of population.

This territory may yet be increased if the plebiscite in other districts formerly Polish has results favourable to us.  The Peace Conference has not yet given us Warmia, Prussian Masuria, part of the Malborg district, also the Stzumsan, Kwidzynsan, and Suski districts, through which passes the railway line from Gdansk (Danzig) to Warsaw by way of the Miava.

The Peace Conference has given us the Keszybski coast, the Silesian mines, and the unlimited use of the port of Gdansk, also complete control over our Vistula, and a protectorate over the town of Gdansk under almost the same conditions as we had it in the most glorious days of our Commonwealth.

These conditions are different only in so far as present-day life is different from the life of that time.  The area of the free town has been considerably increased.  In the course of 126 years of Prussian oppression and systematic Germanization many Poles have forgotten their native tongue, and there are many real Germans settled in Gdansk.

However, the former will soon remember Polish, and the others will soon learn it.  Gradually Gdansk will tend to become what we wish it to become, if we show seriousness and commonsense, enterprise, and political understanding.  All Polish State property is returned to Poland absolutely, without any burdens or expenses.

On the whole, I consider that Poland may be grateful for the verdict.  If we are not obliged to shed more of our blood, I say that this is a great and fine gift from God.

For about two weeks the affairs of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy have been under consideration.  Naturally, our affairs there are extremely important.

Already the matter has been eagerly discussed, and has been the subject of passionate and violent interpellations in this House, and of certain painful reproaches.  Fortunately, this affair has taken a good turn.  Our dispute with the Bohemians was not settled offhand.  Time has calmed passion, and today, without renouncing our rights, we are quietly considering these matters, and the Bohemians are doing the same.

The Peace Conference wishes that we should settle our quarrel with the Bohemians in a conciliatory manner among ourselves.  Mr. Lansing expressed this wish in the name of the American delegation.  I have had many conferences with Mr. Benes, the Bohemian Minister for Foreign Affairs, and with the most important representatives of Silesia, and I am glad to say that in my opinion the matter is on the right road.

If Parliament honours me with its confidence, I shall see President Masaryk in Prague tomorrow or the day after to settle the preliminaries of the agreement with him.  I want to have the conference on our territory in Silesia, with the co-operation of delegates of the Polish Government, representatives of the General Military Staff, members of the National Council, also specialists, engineers, and lawyers.

Yesterday I had the following reply to a question addressed to Mr. Masaryk, which I translate: "Thank you for your kind telegram.  I shall be very happy to welcome you on a day to be named by yourself, only please give me immediate information as to the day of your arrival.  I agree to the plan of a conference, and I expect we shall he able to lay a firm foundation for it.  With most sincere good feeling for you and your people." (Signed) "Masaryk."

I come to other affairs.  True to the national spirit we shall never wage a war of conquest or gain.  We sacrifice our lives in defence of the lives and property of our countrymen, and in the conviction that our great sacrifice will insure the preservation of order and will protect Europe from the threatened ruin of the world's civilization.

In defending the borders of our former Commonwealth, the life and property of the inhabitants, without discrimination between religion or language, we are at the same time protecting the west from the invasion of the east.  We are doing the same as our ancestors did 700 years ago.

We are not seeking new glory for the Polish arms.  We are not boasting of our victories; but we cannot shut our eyes to the chivalrous virtue and civic merits of our incomparable soldiers.

We express our admiration and gratitude to the commanding chief for the liberation of Lida, Swiencian, and Oilno from the Bolshevik hordes, for the liberation of Sambor, Drohobycz, Boryslav, Strye, Izolkiew, Brody, and Zloczow from the demoralized, merciless, and cruel Ukrainian troops.  We express our warmest thanks and highest recognition to our heroic, brave, and devoted army.

The foreign press and different political parties abroad sometimes accuse Poland of having an imperialistic policy.  One of our most prominent Deputies eloquently stated a few days ago that there is a general prejudice abroad against Poland, and, at the same time, said that the responsibility for this falls upon certain classes of our community.

I do not go so far.  I cannot blame any party for this.  I must, however, remark that this prejudice actually exists, and is even spreading.  The reproach of imperialism was made against us very long ago by the very three Empires that robbed us and divided us.

Today this reproach is made by just those people who are stretching out their greedy hands for Polish territory and its wealth.  Though it is much easier to break down a hundred fortresses and reduce a thousand towns to dust than to overcome one prejudice, I consider that the moment.is come for a great, powerful, and distinct voice, the voice of the Polish people, to make a declaration in this House which will confute all these unfounded foreign reproaches.

We never conducted a war of conquest, and we have no intention of doing so.  We do not want what belongs to others; we do not want to conquer anybody else's territory.  Poland does not deny the right of Lithuania and Ukrainia to be independent, nor the right of the White Ruthenian people to individual development, Poland is ready to help them heartily and effectively.

Food always follows the Polish soldier.  We are sharing with the border peoples the supplies we get from America.  In order to establish autonomy in these border countries, without prejudice to the future declarations of the Conference, we should immediately institute a plebiscite in these northeast territories.  Let all the local populations declare their will freely and boldly.  The result of the plebiscite will greatly facilitate the work of the Paris Conference.

I come to still more pressing matters.  As you know, we have recognized the authority and dignity of the Peace Conference, as all other civilized nations have done, and we wait for its verdict.

Up to the present its verdicts have been favourable to us.  We voted here an alliance with the Entente, that is, with France, England, and Italy, who are continually sending us the help which is absolutely necessary to us in present circumstances.

We have very much to be grateful for from America and its President.  Without the powerful support of President Wilson, whose heart the best friend of the Polish cause, Colonel House, was able to win for us, Poland would no doubt have remained an internal question for Germany and Russia, at best confined within those frontiers which were assigned to her by the Germans in the Act of November 5, 1916.

America is giving us food, America is giving us clothes, boots, linen, and munitions of war, and other supplies, on very easy terms, and with long credit.

Just before my departure from Paris, I received a letter from Mr. Hoover, promising Poland effective financial and economic help.  That is the beginning of a very important help for us.  Yesterday I learned that 2,000 tons of cotton would arrive at Gdansk in a few days, and that the Ministry of Finance in Washington were considering the question of granting Poland a considerable loan.

Gentlemen, the Peace Conference, and especially England and America, with President Wilson at the head, while recognizing the necessity of our defending ourselves against the Bolsheviki, does not wish for further war on any front.  Mr. Wilson expressed this wish repeatedly and very firmly.

Could a Polish Prime Minister, director of the Polish Government, a man upon whose shoulders falls the really dreadful responsibility for the fate of his people in the near future, could such a man wave aside such demands?  I did as my conscience prompted me.  I acted as my love for my country and my honour as a Pole demanded.  I said that I would do all I could to satisfy these demands, and I have kept my word.

An armistice was demanded.  I agreed in principle to that.  It was demanded that Haller's army should not fight against the Ukrainians.  It was withdrawn from the Ukraine front, and finally it was required that the offensive should be stopped.

Although the Ukrainians in their telegram of May 11th asked for the cessation of hostilities, on the 12th, at noon, they attacked us treacherously near Ustrzyk, bombarding the town of Sanok from aeroplanes.

In the face of this criminal attack no force could stop the elemental impulse of our young soldiers.  Like a whirlwind they threw themselves upon the enemy, and with lightning swiftness took Sambor, Drohobycz, Boryslav, Strye, Izolkiew, Sokl, Brody, and Zloczow, being joyfully greeted everywhere as saviours by the Polish and Ukrainian population.

Today our soldiers are probably approaching Stanislavow.  But from Podwoloczysk and from Husiatyn a strong Soviet army has entered unhappy Galicia, or rather, Ruthenia.  Haller's army will probably be obliged to fight on the Ukraine front, but not against the Ukrainians, only against the Bolsheviki, and perhaps it is fighting today.

On May 14th I broke off by telegraph all negotiations for an armistice as I considered that after the way the Ukrainians had behaved themselves an armistice was absolutely impossible.  The oppression, violence, cruelty, and crimes committed by them are without parallel.

Wounded soldiers were buried alive in a wood near Lwow.  Yesterday news came which brought mourning to our ministerial colleague, Linde.  His wife's sister was murdered in Kolomia.

Gentlemen, l am far from blaming the Ukrainian people for such crimes.  It was not they who made such an army.  Other people made it for them.

But speaking of the Ukrainians, I must state that people who do such monstrous deeds cannot be treated as an army.  Thus our Polish expedition into East Galicia is not a war, but a punitive expedition against bandits from whose oppression both the Polish and the Ruthenian population must be set free before law and order can be set up on this immemorially Polish territory.

Law and order will quickly be introduced there by every possible means.  We are, at least for the moment, strong there, but we shall not abuse this strength.  None of us think of retaliation or revenge, nor would Polish sentiment ever permit such a thing.

There should be liberty, equality, and justice for everybody.  And in this spirit and with this wish I ask the honourable Seym to vote in favour of autonomy for East Galicia, and at the same time I ask for powers for the Polish Government to open peace negotiations with any Government in Ukrainia that shows moral strength and inspires confidence.

I have finished.

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. VII, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

21. Statement by Paderewski on the League of Nations, 18 September 1919

From a Polish point of view, our one hope of future security as a State lies in the League of Nations.  Upon it, and I fear upon it alone, depend the liberty of the Polish people and the successful development of democratic and liberal government in Poland.

Standing, as we are, between Germany on one side and Russia on the other, we cannot hope to maintain our integrity during these years, while we build up the strength of our people, unless we have the protection of the League.

Poland at the present moment has 500,000 men under arms.  Our people are short of food supplies, short of clothing, short of many of the necessaries of life.  We are compelled to make every sacrifice to sustain the army, and this, with our population needing its resources for the up-building of the nation, in order that we may protect ourselves from encroachment.

Today we are defending 1,500 miles of front against Bolshevist forces, and in so doing, we stand as the front line in Europe against Bolshevist invasion from the east.

We are endeavouring to maintain this front line and at the same time to achieve an economic stability, to recuperate our people from the effects of repeated invasions of German and Russian armies.  The task is a terrible one.  The tax upon our strength will be too great unless we can have the assurance that there will be a body in the world to whom we can appeal for aid in the righting of our wrongs.

Poland has set up a democracy under the inspiration of the American people.  Had it not been for American intervention in Europe we might possibly have had some semblance of independent Government under an autocratic overrule, but with American intervention and American help we have sought to establish not only the independence of the State, but also the internal liberty of our people, through the difficult road of democracy.

The pressure is upon us on all sides through military action and through Bolshevist propaganda and an intense propaganda from Germany.  Unless we have a protective power in the world, under whose strength we can secure an opportunity for peaceful development and the solution of our internal problems, free from distracting and antagonistic influences, I fear for the safety of our democracy.

The great power and the support which it may furnish need not be military, its moral and economic force is all that we ask, and that power is the League of Nations.

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. VII, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

22. Statement by Herbert Hoover on Polish Infrastructure, 19 August 1919

As a result of seven invasions by different armies the country has largely been denuded of buildings.  The estates of the larger landowners have been destroyed, and while the peasants are cultivating approximately enough foodstuffs for their own supplies, these regions, which in normal times export large quantities of food, mostly from the large estates. are four-fifths uncultivated.

In normal times the town populations exist by exchanging manufactured goods to the peasants and landowners for food.

There has been virtually no import of manufactured goods for years, and the supplies of foodstuffs having vanished, the town populations are left entirely without support or employment.

As there have been no manufactured goods to exchange, and as the currency no longer has any purchasing value in goods and the peasants do not care to exchange foodstuffs for it, there has been a total breakdown of the economic cycle.

In addition to the destruction and robbery which accompanied the repeated invasion of rival armies, these areas have been, of course, through a cauldron of Bolshevist revolution and the intellectual classes either fled from the country or to a considerable extent were imprisoned.

Some were executed.  The Ruthenian peasants have been stirred up against the great landowners, which accounts for the destruction of the equipment of the large landed properties.

It appears to us that it will require years for this region to recover, for animals must be provided, agricultural implements imported and the whole agricultural production restarted.

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. VII, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

23. POLISH NATIONAL RADICAL'S INTERVIEW - 2004

Interview conducted by Folk and Faith

Greetings and Salutations Comrades! Thank you for agreeing to do an interview with Folk And Faith and for your continued support.

Q- First off , can you tell Folk And Faith readers a little about Phalanx? How you started, what your main goals are, the meaning behind your name and a few things of this nature?

A- Phalanx was founded in 2001 as the Internet magazine to promote politically incorrect, alternative and identity culture. We are not a political periodical and we do not represent any political groups. We promote an art, which is rooted in our system of values and national heritage. We are not dogmatic, and hence we write about issues that are inspiring although they partly represent our value system.

Phalanx is also a good quality magazine. At the moment we are working on the 4th issue. As for its name, it has nothing to do with my political fascinations nor is it connected with any political context (although it seems to be quite the opposite). The name "Phalanx" just came to my mind one day and I thought it could be a good name for a periodical of ours.

Q-You have described Phalanx as being a "European National Radical" group. Can you briefly explain for our readers what the National Radical philosophy is, and how or where you perceive it to be different from the European trend of National Revolutionary thought?

A- You cannot claim that Phalanx is an ENR group, because for us the ENR ideology is too narrow and it is not adequate with our viewpoints. The ideology of Polish National-Radicalism was coined in the 30s and 40s of the 20th century and it was a dynamic form of Polish nationalism. It is an absorbing and incredible heritage of polish political thought. The objectives of Polish NR were to build the strong country and geopolitical bloc of Central Europe countries. Its founders are: Stanislaw Piasecki, Wojciech Wasiutyñski, Joseph Maria Bochenski, Adam Doboszynski, Jan Mosdorf, Boleslaw Piasecki, Andrzej Trzebinski... and many others. You have probably never heard of them because their works are available only in Polish.

The ideological background of NR ideology was based on principles of Catholicism, social justice without socialism, and free market without capitalism. Their nationalism was against any form of racism. For instance, one of the founders of Polish nationalism, prof. Karol Stojanowski, was an anthropologist and the father of Polish Slavic antiracism. The members of NR circles were mostly Polish. Nevertheless, the ideas of purity of blood and other Nazi heresy were not practiced there, because to other members of the group belonged people of other than Polish origin.

In the time when most European movements of fascist tendency were fascinated with Hitlerism, Polish NR activists were warning against imperialism of Hitler and Stalin. After the German and Soviet invasion on Poland, which took place in 1939, most of NR ideologists were murdered in Auschwitz or Katyn [the place where Soviet communists killed over 20 thousand of Polish officers].

The NR ideologists are of great importance for us, however we are not dogmatists and we take inspiration from other thinkers outside this movement. That's why Phalanx cannot be called a "National-Radical" group. We are also a metapolitical and cultural periodical, thus identifying with the use of political terminology is oversimplified.

Q- You stand firmly against imperialism and globalism. Are you concerned that these issues are only usually addressed by left-wing groups? Do you think this is a trend starting to change and to break out of the left/right mold?

A- Yes, we are against any form of globalisation whether it is: political, cultural or economical. The leftists are not anti-globalist at all, but rather alter-globalist. What they aim at is economical globalisation based on Marxist heresy, and not on capitalism. In the political and cultural context their cosmopolitism makes them 1st rate globalists. Personally, I do not believe in the "antiglobalism" of leftists.

Q- What do you currently see as being the way forward for Polish Nationalists?

A- The contemporary situation of Polish people as a nation is far from being good. Unfortunately, any nationalist groups have no chance to improve the situation. Their stupidity, ignorance, and incompetence leaves Polish nationalism on the margin of the battle for the nation. I think, our country needs now a new generation of nationalist intelligence, who represent modern and realistic views. This new generation should be free of all the vices, that nowadays destroy Polish nationalism from inside.

Q- Do you see this as being the way forward for all Europeans and Euro- Americans even, or do you view them as separate from the Polish peoples struggle and therefore having to come up with their own ways to fight The System in their respective nations and situations?

A- Every nation should follow its own identity. There is no universal solution for the problems of all the nations. We have to keep in mind, that all nationalists all over the world should be free of ignorance and chauvinism. I love my nation, but I'm not so stupid to desire destruction or ignore sufferings of other nations, even in the name of the glory of my own nation.

Q- Do you currently work with any other European groups? Any imparticular?

A- We stay in touch with many international groups, but our contacts are based on mere exchange of our opinions rather than on concrete work. In the whole world there is large number of people sharing the same ideas, who fight on their own and not side-by-side. There is no coordination in their acts. We are especially interested in a close cooperation with our neighbours from Central Europe.

Q- How would you describe Phalanx's religious views?

A- Many people consider us as strictly Catholic magazine. In reality we are tolerant - in good meaning of these words. For instance we publish a lot of information about Christian artists and also about those, who have other inspirations. The only thing we do not tolerate are: primitive, antichristian propaganda and any pseudo-intellectual perversy. Phalanx is a magazine about culture. In our magazine there is as much Catholicism as there is in our culture.

Q- How do these views assist or reflect the political struggle? Or do you see them as being one and the same?

A- Polish nationalism has basically always been Catholic. Hence any political fight had religious aspect. Catholicism offers us moral order, on the basis of which we can create a healthy and strong nation. That's why Catholicism has always had a big influence on political life in our country.

Q- What are your thoughts, if any, on the growing National Anarchist type of broader based decentralist thoughts?

A- I do not know much about NA, because their works are not available in Polish. I think I could cooperate with creative representatives of these groups. Decentralisation has always been present in Polish nationalism. One of its authors, Roman Dmowski, wrote once that, "it is essential to destroy country, which is oppressing its own citizens with the use of bureaucratic administration." But I do not see any alternative to national countries.

Q- Being Catholic's, what are your views on the current Papacy, and/or do you follow a more "traditional" line of religious view?

A- We highly respect Pope John Paul II and his teachings. However, we feel free to have other than His viewpoints on political issues, such as joining Poland to EU. I'm not sure we can call ourselves traditionalists (for instance: we do not attend traditional masses in Latin), but I think we can be considered as a conservative group. We would like the Catholic Church to be faithful to its 2000 year old heritage which was given by Jesus Christ. We are also against any outrageous, modern changes, that are being introduced by some individuals to Church.

Q- Also being of the Catholic persuasion, what are your thoughts on the Mel Gibson, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST movie and the attention that has been focused on it? I notice that you all have a banner supporting the movie on the Phalanx website, do you believe this movie to be of some major importance?

A- I've seen The Passion of Christ twice. And in each case it was a strong experience - especially a religious one. I think it’s good that finally someone as Gibson decided to make a movie which shows quite substantially a martyrdom of Christ and a redemption of humanity which we owe to Him. I guess that before seeing the movie nobody had realized how cruel death the humanity prepared for our Saviour.

As for Gibson's work, I have been tracking movies, in which he played or directed. I must admit that I've found most of his movies quite interesting: I can see in them part of myself, my aims and ideals. Gibson is a rare example of an artist, who can be considered as an authority for many average people, because Gibson is known for being a person who acts according to his beliefs.

The great success of "The Passion of Christ" allows us to have hope that there will appear other artists, who will be brave enough speak their mind. There is also a big chance that in the nearest future pop-culture art will bring forth many works with a message.

Personally, I think that controversies around this movie helped promoting this film, and showed the true face of "antisemitism seekers".

Many words have been written in defense of Gibson and his work. I cannot add more than a short picture from cinema: every time there were no free seats, and after the show people were overwhelmed, leaving the cinema in silence. Some of them (including men) were wiping tears of their faces.

Q- Being of Polish Nationality, what if anything is your views on the National Bolshevik movement taking place against Putin in Russia by the likes of Alexandar Dugin and others? Poland and Russia have certainly had their moments in history before, are you worried or excited about this at all? Do you view it as healthy Russian nationalist spirit taking place, or neo-Bolshevik imperialism which the people of Poland, particularly, ought to be weary of?

A- In the past Dugin was declaring in his interviews for Polish newspapers directly, that NB anticipates liquidation of independent Poland and other countries in Central Europe. NB is an imperialist Russian way. Russia has always been trying to built its own strength irrespective of the suffering of other nations. It is total absurd, that members and followers of NB movement are treated by some ignorants from the so called, „West” as people who fight for freedom. NB is a pure product of Russian imperialism, it's a way to enslave nations; it's globalisation, totalitarism and slavery. Of course it differs from the New World Order, but it is not better in any way! NB is that kind of alternative for the USA as in the past was Hitler for Stalin... Don't be ignorant and naive!

The conflict between Putin and NB movement is totally unimportant. Putin has the same aims as NB, but he wants to reach them using more quiet method, without NB's boorishness. Putin loudly speaks about his aims to put his potential victims on their guard. That's why Putin wants to make them quiet. I hate any form of chauvinism!

Q- What do you make of the Eurasian movement?

A- Let Europe remain Europe! The idea of Euroasia is promoted by Russians, who have complexes. They are conscious of their Asiatic backgrounds, they are real Euro-Asians, a civilisation hybrid. They want the rest Europe to become Euroasiatic, too. It can be compared to somebody suffering from incurable illness - he wants other people to suffer with him together. „"Euroasians" don't understand Europe and its heritage. Before you say "yes to Euroasia", move to Russian estate in NYC. After week I will ask you again what you think about Euroasia...

For many centuries European countries have been fighting with enemies flowing from Asia, such as Arabs, Mongols, Turks, Bolsheviks...

This fight built our civilisation. Euroasians (as for instance NB) tend to forget about it and create multicultural hybrid. Besides NB's Eurasianism there are also other variants of this ideology, which are created and supported by pro-Russian ignorants from the West. I cannot treat them seriously.

Q- A less serious question, What kind of music do you all listen to? Is there Polish Nationalist music? What does it sound like if so, and is it known about by Polish youth?

A- Personally, I like to listen to many kinds of rock and folk music, especially when lyrics is about things, which are important to me. Fortunately, there are many valuable bands, which do not accept The System and create beautiful art. Just look at Identity Rock, Christian Metal, Neo-Folk, Viking Rock...

There are some nationalist and Catholic bands and singers in Poland, who I like and recommend. Among them are: Szwadron 97 (alternative rock), Irydion (metal), Andrzej Ko³akowski (ballads / folk), Przemyslaw Gintrowski (apocaliptic neo-classic music), Illuminandi (symphonic christian metal) ...

I think that Polish scene has many talented bands that you and your friends can find interesting. Unfortunately this scene is poorly organised, and that is very sad for me.

Q- There is a current trend of music taking place that likes to call itself "Neo-Folk" although some are more folk-centered then are others. Bands like Death In June, Blood Axis, and others are all part of this genre'. Do you view any of this as being of importance to European people's?

Neofolk is one of these current art phenomena, which we pay much attention to. It is great that many artists from this circle are inspired by heritage and culture of their countries. Fortunately, they didn't fall into ghetto, which often is folk music, where people are interested in playing the same old songs and melodies. The thing which make us sad in neofolk is, that many artists connected with this movement reject Christianity and promote some kind of eclectic neopaganism or even satanism. There are of course exceptions from this rule such as "Von Thronstahl" or "The days of the trumpet call" which present on their records Christian values. I think that neofolk movement has a big chance to appear in wide consciousness of the masses, and thus can be treated as sign of rebirth of European culture. But without Christianity it will remain dark and decadent.

Q- You are highly critical of the Skinhead movement. Is there any large amount of such there in Poland, and are there any healthy non-Nazi oriented ones over there? Are there good and intelligent ones as well as the typical nazi hooligans, or do you view them as all the same and paint them all with the same brush.

A- I’m fed up with this matter. I am not interested in this subculture. Please give me next question.

Q- What if any, groups, organisations, or websites does Phalanx take note of or pay attention to? Have you seen much of the Folk And Faith site and what are your thoughts on what you have seen if so? ;0)

A- I like the idea of F&F site, which is far from being dogmatic. If your site was in Polish, I would probably often visit it. I cannot recommend any Polish political groups, because I do not identify with any of them and I have many objections to their politics. Personally, I think that there are many interesting Polish sites in the Internet. We have many links to interesting pages on our site.
Especially, I would recommend you those in English:

http://www.complete-review.com/authors/herbertz.htm

http://www.polisharmies.ds4a.com

http://www.geocities.com/hallersarmy

http://www.king.art.pl/

http://www.szukalski.com

http://www.electronicmuseum.ca/

http://www.pinakoteka.zascianek.pl/

Q: Any final comments, plugs or promos or things of worth that you feel you should mention? Once again, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions and conduct an interview. It is much appreciated and hopefully it will generate some movement towards your direction as well as back here.

Thanks again, and keep up the fight against Big Brother's Iron Heeled system and the powers that oppress us all. Tomorrow belongs to us!

A- Thank you very much for the conversation. I am happy I could share with your readers about our initiative. I would like also to invite everyone interested in Phalanx to visit our web site: www.phalanx.pl. Best wishes to you and fans of F&F. Smash The System! Long live Freedom!

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