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Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland, the Polish state was created in 1918, in the aftermath of World War I. It continued to exist until 1939, despite both internal and external pressures, when Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany. -
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Polish-Ukranian War
The Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of the Second Polish Republic and Ukrainian forces (both West Ukrainian People's Republic and Ukrainian People's Republic). The war ensued over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and spilled over into Chelm Land and Volhynia - parts of the Russian Empire before the World War I, claimed by the Hetmanate and the Ukrainian People's Republic. -
Poland Regains Independence
Warsaw is free from German troops of the Ober Ost. -
Picture: National Independence Day in Warsaw, Poland. -
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Greater Poland uprising
The Greater Poland uprising of 1918–1919, or Posnanian War was a military insurrection of Poles in the Greater Poland region against German rule. The uprising had a significant effect on the Treaty of Versailles, which granted a reconstituted Second Polish Republic the area won by the Polish insurrectionists. The region was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 when it was taken over the German Kingdom of Prussia. -
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Polish–Czechoslovak War
This war was also known as the Seven-Day war, which was a military confrontation between Czechoslovakia and Poland over the territory of Cieszyn Silesia in 1919. -
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Polish-Soviet War
One of the most easily overlooked, yet momentous short wars of the 20th century was the swift-moving clash between the post-World War I Polish Republic and Russia's brand-new Bolshevik regime of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Reaching a climax during the summer of 1920, the Russo-Polish War is often regarded as the final episode of the Russian Civil War. -
Treaty of Versailles
Articles 87-93 of the Treaty of Versailles and the Little Treaty ratify Poland as a sovereign state internationally -
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First Silesian Uprising
On 15 August 1919, German border guards massacred ten Silesian civilians in a labour dispute at the Mysłowice mine. The massacre sparked protests from the Silesian Polish miners, including a general strike of about 140,000 workers, and caused the First Silesian Uprising against German control of Upper Silesia. The miners demanded the local government and police become ethnically mixed to include both Germans and Poles. -
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Polish Lithuanian War
The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius, and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny. The conflict was largely shaped by the progress in the Polish–Soviet War and international efforts to mediate at the Conference of Ambassadors and later the League of Nations. -
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Second Silesian Uprising
In February 1920, an Allied Plebiscite Commission was sent to Upper Silesia. It was composed of the representatives of the Allied forces, mostly from France, with smaller contingents from United Kingdom and Italy. Soon, however, it became apparent that the Allied forces were too few to maintain order; further, the Commission was torn apart by lack of consensus: the British and Italians favoured the Germans, while the French supported the Poles. Those forces failed to prevent continuing unrest -
Treaty of Warsaw
The Treaty of Warsaw of April 1920 was a military-economical alliance between the Second Polish Republic, represented by Józef Piłsudski, and the Ukrainian People's Republic, represented by Symon Petlura, against Bolshevik Russia. The treaty was signed on 21 April 1920, with a military addendum on 24 April. -
March Constitution of Poland
The Second Polish Republic adopted the March Constitution on 17 March 1921, after ousting the occupation of the German/Prussian forces in the 1918 Greater Poland Uprising, and avoiding conquest by the Soviets in the 1920 Polish-Soviet War. The Constitution, based on the French one, was regarded as very democratic. Among others, it expressly ruled out discrimination on racial or religious grounds. It also abolished all royal titles and state privileges, and banned the use of blazons. -
Peace of Riga
The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga; Polish: Traktat Ryski was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, between Poland, Soviet Russia, and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet War. -
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Third Silesian Uprising
The Third Silesian Uprising was the last, largest and longest of the three uprisings. It began in the aftermath of a plebiscite that yielded mixed results. The British and French governments could not reach a consensus on the interpretation of the plebiscite. The primary problem was the disposition of the "Industrial Triangle" east of the Oder river, whose triangle ends were marked by the cities of Beuthen, Gleiwitz, and Kattowitz, all three of which were mostly inhabited by ethnic Germans. -
German Polish Non Agression Pact
An international treaty between Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic signed on January 26, 1934. According to the Pact, both countries pledged to resolve their problems through bilateral negotiations and to forgo armed conflict for a period of ten years. It effectively normalized relations between Poland and Germany, which were previously strained by border disputes arising from the territorial settlement in the Treaty of Versailles. -
April Constitution of Poland
The April Constitution of Poland was the general law passed by the act of the Polish Sejm on 23 April 1935. It introduced in Poland a presidential system with certain elements of authoritarianism. -
German Invasion of Poland
To Hitler, the conquest of Poland would bring Lebensraum, or "living space," for the German people. According to his plan, the "racially superior" would colonize the territory and the native Slavs would be enslaved. German expansion had begun in 1938 with the annexation of Austria and then continued with the occupation of the Sudetenland and then all of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Both had been accomplished without igniting hostilities with the major powers, and Hitler hoped that his invasion.
