The Article printed below is a resource text
designed to expose you to all the difficulties that the Poles
faced from September 1, 1939 until 1945 and beyond.
The betrayal trail is long and the Polish suffering is even more
intense than all of the scholars of WWII have determined.
Hopefully these dimensions will become obvious to you!
PART II
POLISH HISTORY
11. First Two Dates in Polish History Recorded Polish history began
with two dates:
963,
when German hordes, under Margrave Gero, invaded Poland:
Germany's first attempt to get "Lebensraum" by aggression;
966,
when Mieszko 1, together with his people, adopted
Christianity.
12. Poland-Defender of Christianity
At Lignica in 1241, Polish troops under Duke Henry the Pious
stopped the invasion of Western Europe by Tartar hordes.
Henry the Pious was killed. In this battle the Tartars used
choking vapors that had the same effect as poison gas.
13. Grunwald
In 1410 the united armies of Poland and Lithuania defeated
the Teutonic Order of the Knights of the Cross in the Battle of
Grunwald. Victory was so complete that the "Drang nach Osten"
was stopped and Poland had four hundred years of peace.
The lesson should not be forgotten: partial or unexploited victories
over the Germans, give only short-lived and precarious peace.
14. Polish-Lithuanian Union and the Polish Commonwealth
In 1413, at Horodlo, Poland united with her eastern neighbor,
Lithuania.
The Act of Union concluded at Horodlo, proclaimed:
"Let those be united to us by love and made equal, who are bound
to us by common faith and identical laws and privileges.
We pledge our immutable and solemn word never to desert them."
In 1569 the complete union of Poland and Lithuania was achieved
by the Act of Lublin, and the Commonwealth of Poland came into being.
In this Act the union of Poland with Ukraine, Ruthenia, Podolia and
Volynia was also achieved.
The principles of this union were virtually those of the United States.
Under an elected King and one Parliament, local state government existed.
Moreover, Poland and Lithuania kept separate armies under separate
Commanders-in-Chief.
Other provinces of the Polish Commonwealth were East
Prussia, Livonia, Courland. They enjoyed wide autonomy.
The Ruthenian and Lithuanian upper classes had the same rights as the
Polish gentry.
15. Cracow University
Cracow University was founded in 1364 and became the great
intellectual center of Central-Eastern Europe.
It opened the Golden Age of Polish culture and Polish literature,
an era made famous by the father of modern astronomy, Mikolaj Kopernik,
by the poet Jan Kochanowski, by the educator Gornicki, the brilliant
orator Skarga, and many other great men.
16. Polish "Habeas Corpus"
200 years before the English "Habeas Corpus" Act,
Poland guaranteed liberty of the person by the "Neminem Captivabimus"
Act of 1430, as well as personal property rights.
No one could be arrested without a warrant from legal authority.
17. The Confederation of Warsaw
In 1573, by the Confederation of Warsaw, Poland established
freedom of conscience and worship at a time when religious
persecution was rife.
Ever since, Poland has been the refuge
in Europe of oppressed religious minorities.
Already in 1264 the Statute of Kalisz had been granted to the
Jews in Poland by Boleslaus the Pious.
The only document of its kind in all Europe giving
them cultural autonomy and their own coinage.
From t he 15th Century onward, Jewish religious schools
flourished and won world-wide recognition.
Rabinical publications in Wilno and Cracow were eagerly
read by Jews in the United States.
18. Poland Saves Europe from Islam
In 1683, the Polish King, Jan Sobieski, ran the risk of
Russian aggression to go to the assistance of Vienna, besieged
by the Turks. By his victory, one of the world's decisive battles,
Poland saved Europe for Christianity.
A "Te Deum" was sung in the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna,
and these words were uttered from the pulpit: "There was a man
sent from God whose name was John."
Later, Poland signed a pact of perpetual friendship with Turkey,
the only State that never recognized the partitions of Poland,
keeping an empty seat at all diplomatic receptions for the
"temporarily absent" Polish ambassador.
This absence lasted for 122 years.
19. Partitions of Poland
In 1772 occurred the first partition of Poland, by her three
neighbors, Russia, Prussia and Austria: absolute monarchies
unwilling to have on their frontiers a free and Democratic Poland.
In 1793, Russia and Prussia carried out a second, and in 1795,
together with Austria, a third partition of Poland, which for
122 years disappeared from the map of Europe.
Jefferson called the partitions of Poland "a crime"; Wilson,
one of the great crimes of history.
It was also condemned spontaneously by the "Peoples Commissars"
of the communist regime in 1919 in Moscow. They termed it:
"contemptible imperialism."
20. Constitution of the Third of may
On the Third of May, 1791, after the first partition, the
Polish Parliament passed a Constitution inspired by the
ideals of the American Declaration of Independence and
the French Declaration of the Rights of Men.
It was the first written democratic Constitution in Europe
establishing the rights of the middle classes and of the
peasants had also established the first Ministry of Education
in Europe.
The absolute rulers of Prussia, Austria and Russia
regarded this Constitution as a threat to their Divine Right
to rule, and hastened to stifle Poland's new born democracy.
The partitions of 1793 and 1795 resulted.
Thaddeus Kosciuszko, on his return from America in 1794,
led the first Polish insurrection which preceded the third partition.
He was wounded and captured. Thanks to the rights granted by the
Third of May Constitution to Polish peasants, they formed a
large proportion of the insurgents.
21. 122-Year Struggle for Freedom
Poland had 12 million inhabitants at the time of the third
partition. The country was devastated, the people terrorized
by armies of occupation' representing three empires with
a total population of 85 million.
Despite this enormous
disproportion of strength, the Poles time and again rose
in arms against their oppressors. Risings took place in
1794, 1830, 1848, 1863, 1905.
Through all the 122 years
of partition, Poles fought on the battlefront of Liberty
all over the world for the freedom of other peoples.
In the United States, in Belgium, Italy, Greece, Hungary,
Latvia, the Argentine, Bolivia, Peru Poles fought for the
cause of human freedom under their war cry "For Your Freedom
and For Ours."
When Polish patriots put "your" liberty before
"ours," it was no mere gesture, but a forceful expression of
their conviction that the only guarantee of freedom for any
nation is the freedom of all nations.
22. Restoration of Independent Poland in 1918
After the First World War Poland's independence was restored by
the Treaty of Versailles, which defined only the western and
southern boundaries of Poland.
23. "Eighteenth Decisive Battle of the World"
In 1920, Russian Red armies attacked Poland and marched as
far as the suburbs of Warsaw. Polish armies, without any
assistance from the western powers, defeated the Red armies
and single handed saved Western En' rope from communism.
The importance of that victory was emphasized by Lord D'Abernon,
who called the battle of Warsaw "The Eighteenth Decisive Battle
of the World." The Polish-Russian war was ended by the Treaty
of Riga, signed on March 17, 1921.
This treaty definitely established Poland's eastern boundaries.
The Treaty of Riga was a compromise between Poland's past and
her present. Offered even more territory by Lenin, Poland
exercised a statesmanlike restraint and Lenin, the dictator
of Russia, called the Treaty of Riga "a voluntary and just
agreement to stand for all time."
Victorious Poland gave up
to Russia nearly two thirds of the pre-partition territories
in the east.
The frontier included the cities of Wilno
(94% of Poles) and Lwow (87.8 % of Poles) but nowhere did
it extend to the frontiers of the 18th Century, not to speak
of the 14th or 16th Centuries.
1,500,000 Poles were left in
Russia and 135,000 Russians were left in Poland.
Poland's eastern frontiers are the boundary of Western
civilization, as witnessed by architectural styles, peasant
costumes, folklore, music, dances, decorative art and literary taste.
24. What Is the Curzon Line?
Some of Poland's enemies claim that ethnographically the so-called
"Curzon line" really constitutes Poland's eastern frontier.
This line was proposed in 1920 by Lord Curzon, British Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs, as an armistice line in the war
with the Russians. When in 1939, the Germans and Russians
divided Poland, the frontier established by the two invaders"
followed the Curzon line, more or less.
The claim that ethnographically this line is Poland's eastern frontier
is absurd.
The territories between the so-called "Curzon line"
and the eastern frontier of Poland are inhabited by 6,396,000
Poles, 4,530,000 Ukrainians, 1,122,000 White Ruthenians,
135,000 Russians, 89,000 Germans and 84,000 Lithuanians.
POLAND'S ECONOMIC PROGRESS
25. After the First World War
Poland was devastated during the First World War.
The total number of buildings destroyed in Poland by all
sorts of invaders was 1,785,305, including 6,586 schools,
1,969 churches, 40% of all the railway bridges and stations
were destroyed.
After the war Poland received very little
financial assistance from abroad.
(About 15 cts. per inhabitant p.a., Germany received $1.10
per inhabitant p.a.) yet during the twenty years between
the two wars, she achieved significant progress.
Take the soil, a basic factor:
11,362,000 acres of fallow
land were brought under cultivation, and 8,027,500 acres of
large estates were parcelled into small farms.
In 1918,
Poland had 1,750 locomotives, 3,043 passenger cars and 30,000
freight cars.
In 1939 she had well over 5,500 locomotives,
11,350 passenger cars and 164,000 freight cars.
1,250 miles
of new railroad track had been laid.
In the same time the
length of Polish highways had been increased by 30%.
In 1918 Poland did not possess a single ship, in 1939
she had more than 500 merchant and passenger vessels
sailing the seven seas.
26. Education in Poland
Between 1918 and 1937 there were opened in Poland 23,604
new primary schools for children from seven to fourteen
years of age.
All these schools had libraries as well
as assembly rooms, lecture and recreation halls.
In 1938-9, 5,402,300 children-ninety-one out of every
hundred-attended school. Universal and compulsory
education had brought illiteracy in the lower age
brackets down to a fraction of one per cent. just
before the war, Poland had 27 Universities and other
academic institutions, 74 teachers training colleges,
2,230 High Schools, 103 technical training schools,
28,722 primary schools and 1,651 kindergartens.
THE TRUTH ABOUT POLAND
27. Poland, a Land of Small Holdings
A. Ownership of land in Poland.
According to the census of 1931 the entire area
of cultivated land, orchards and gardens, meadows
and pastures was 63,232,145 acres, of which 11,411,281
acres or 18.04% were larger holdings of 123.6 acres
(50 hectares ) each and more, and 48,198,207 fares or
76.22% were small holdings of less than 123.6 acres;
the remaining 3,585,238 acres or 5.74% were owned by
state and local government.
Peasant ownership of farm
land in 1931 constituted three-fourths of the whole
utilized area. However between 1931 and 1938, 1,799,095
acres of large holdings were parcelled, thus increasing
the peasant holdings to 50,007,303 acres, or 79.07% of
all utilized land in Poland, and decreasing large
holdings to 15.21%.
In other words five-sixths of
all agricultural holdings in Poland are in the hands
of peasants and only one sixth in the hands of large
landowners.
So Poland is predominantly a land of
small and not of large holdings. In Great Britain,
for instance, large estates of more than 123.6 acres
(50ha.) constitute about 68%, and small estates of
less than 123.6 acres only about 31% of the utilized land.
By 1948 all large estates would have been parcelled.
B. Ownership of livestock by large and small holdings (1937)
in thousands of heads:
Sheep and Horses:
- Large holdings: 396 ( 10.69%),
- Small holdings: 3,309 ( 89.31%),
- Total:
3,705 (100.00%).
Cattle:
- Large holdings: 736 ( 7.20%),
- Small holdings: 9,491 ( 92.80%),
- Total:
10,277 (100.00%).
Pigs:
- Large holdings: 436 ( 5.96%),
- Small holdings: 6,983 ( 94.04%),
- Total:
7,419 (100.00%).
Goats:
- Large holdings: 435 ( 12.49%),
- Small holdings: 3,048 ( 87.51%),
- Total:
3,483 (100.00%).
28. Poland's Share in World Agricultural Production
Rye and wheat Potatoes Sugar
(millions (millions (thousands Cattle of tons) of tons) of tons) (millions)
Great Britain 1.5 5 550 8.6
United States 21.5 9.5 1.174 60.8
Poland 815 319 500 10.2
Germany 12,5 45 1,500 20
France 91 15 800 15.7
29. Poland's Industrial Progress
Despite the world economic crisis Poland's industrial
progress was far from negligible.
Between 1925 and 1938 the number of electric plants
increased almost threefold; the installed power was doubled.
Poland occupied 7th place in world coal output
and 4th place in world coal exports.
In zinc Poland held the 5th
place in the world.
For her 2,638,000 spindles and 69,000
looms Poland imported 128,000,000 lbs. of cotton and
68,000,000 lbs. of wool yearly.
She exported textiles to more than 30 countries.
Among Poland's main industrial exports were:
weaving and spinning machinery, woolen, linen,
cotton textiles, plywood, wood articles, furniture,
pianos, glass and china, leather and leather goods,
gloves, electric appliances, chemicals, drugs, perfumery,
canned meats, seed, medical herbs, liquors, etc.
Some of these articles were exported to 42 countries.
30. Labor and Health in Poland
Assuming per capita production in 1928 as 100, the output
rose to 129 in 1937.
Polish labor was organized in 298
trade unions which in 1937 concluded 727 collective working
agreements with employers.
Polish labor managed to maintain the real value of
wages, despite the economic crisis.
Although in 1937 nominal wages dropped 34 % from 1933 levels,
the same period saw a decrease in industrial wholesale
prices of 39%, and in agricultural prices of 46%.
The general purchasing power of wages rose 6%.
The Polish system of social security was based upon
compulsory insurance of all working people.
Health insurance covered 2,171,000 persons; accident
insurance 2,183,000 persons; disability and old age
pensions 2,523,000 persons; unemployment insurance
1,690,000 persons.
Social insurance provided hospitals,
child care, rest-maternity anti-tubercular centers
in every city, health control centers, etc.
Social legislation restricted the employment of women
and minors, and controlled the prevention of accidents,
provided paid holidays for workers, etc.
This social security legislation was one of the first
steps taken by reborn Poland and labor unions were
recognized by act of Parliament in 1919.
Some of the social measures adopted by the First
Polish Parliament in 1921, were voted by the French
Parliament in 1935 during the period of social reconstruction
under the Premiership of Leon Blum.
Finally the Polish
death-rate was steadily decreasing, from 16.7 per
1,000 inhabitants in 1925, it fell to 15.5 in 1930,
and to 14.0 in 1937.
31. Poland's Occupational Structure
Manual and skilled wage earners constitute 28.6% and white
collar workers 4.3% of the total population.
In the various occupation groups the percentage of
non-salaried "independents" is as follows:
agriculture
85.2%;
industry 32.7%;
commerce 72.8%;
communications 15%;
other occupations 8.3%.
This proves that Poland was
a land of small and medium individual enterprise, an essential
characteristic of liberal economy.
32. Poland's Cooperative System
Poland had 11,720 cooperative societies with more than
3,000,000 members, divided into Agricultural,
Consumers and Credit Unions.
During the 20 years of Poland's independent existence
the number of cooperatives trebled.
In 1928 for instance 24% of cheese exports was handled
through cooperatives, in 1938 this percentage had risen to 99.4%.
33. Polish Access to Sea
Poland's most striking achievement was the construction and development
of the port of Gdynia on the Baltic Sea.
In 1924, the number of incoming and outgoing vessels was 58
with a total tonnage of 10,167.
In 1938, it was 12,990 with a total tonnage of 9,174,000 tons.
Together with Danzig, which was smaller, the total tonnage
exceeded 17,800,000, constituting the 5th port in Europe and
the largest on the Baltic.
The shift of exports and imports by land to exports and imports
by Sea is most significant. The value of Polish imports by sea
increased from 27.4% in 1928 to 65.5% in 1937;
similarly the value of Polish exports by sea rose from 25.2% in
1928 to 66.2% in 1937.
This was due to the establishment of maritime connections
with more than forty countries. Polish merchant vessels called
at more than 200 ports.
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