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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 7, No. 7 July 26, 1944

Question Before Poland

page 6

Question Before Poland

The rapid advance of the Soviet Armies, as we go to press, emphasises the importance of the Polish question. The war started by Nazi Armies attacking Poland. The end of the war draws appreciably nearer with the advance of the Red Army on Warsaw, East Prussia—and incidentally Berlin. What is this country like ? is it a multinational state, a product of fanciful dreamers or a real national entity having its own culture? How deep are the roots of her history and how important her liberation to the Allies? Why did the Allies allow the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, in which Poland herself participated, and yet go to war when Poland was invaded? What is the attitude of Poland's big eastern neighbour, the U.S.S.R.? To answer these and similar questions we have an article by our special correspondent.

The Polish State first came into existence in the tenth century, and the fifteenth century saw her greatest strength, wealth and territory. Polish barons colonised extensively, cutting out for themselves vast feudal estates to east and south till Poland stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and included half European Russia. Real power rested in the hands of sixteen or seventeen great landowners. About the time of the French Revolution came three successive partitions of Poland, connived at by the aristocracy, who feared the growing liberalism in Sweden and "contagion of democratic ideas" exemplified in the 1791 Polish Constitution, which gave certain rights to the middle classes. Rather than see their power diminished the nobility took service with their new overlords. A great popular revolt in 1794, led by Koscuisko, was crushed, and there followed the final partition. In 1863 there was a great insurrection aimed at National Liberation, but it was suppressed with great brutality.

The first real chance for the Poles to regain their freedom came with the Great War. The two main Polish parties were the National Democratic and Socialist Parties. The former was composed of industrialists from Russian Poland, and despite the Russian oppression and terrorism the wealthier class was strongly pro-Russian, enjoying the protected position of their industry. The Socialist Party stood for socialism and national independence. Big landowners, men like Pilsudski, joined the Socialist Party; how deep their "socialist" convictions may be seen by Pilsudski's remark on leaving it. "Gentlemen, we have travelled together in the same train for a long time. I got out at the station 'Polish Independence,' and now I wish you luck for your journey to Utopia."

Conforming with the idea of self-determination of nations the young Soviet State of 1917 gave Poland her independence. Not content with this, men of Pilsudski's ilk, who had vast estates in the Czarist empire, went to war against the new Soviet Republics, to regain their property. In this they were supported by the interventionist powers until the Treaty of Riga in 1921.

Pilsudski met opposition from the industrialists of the National Democratic Party. But clever political activity on Pilsudski's part and blind foolishness on the part of the socialists who supported him, enabled him to seize power in the 1926 coup d'etat. This was the beginning of a dictatorship.

Feudalist in essence, the new regime deliberately retarded the much-needed industrial development. By 1930 power grew shaky. Peasant leader Witos and ninety prominent citizens, including deputies, were jailed. What of the Polish people? "It is a notorious fact that the Polish peasantry are living in great poverty owing to the operation of the worst feudal system in Europe."1 There was racial discrimination against Jews and Ukranians. (In the Universities it was common to have a "ghetto-bench" at the back for Jewish students to stand.) Education was not general—the attitude was "Ten educated citizens give more trouble than a thousand illiterates." Industry declined steadily—in 1931 it was 37% below pre-war standards. Two thousand landlords held 20% of the arable land. Medical service was inadequate (doctors 3.7 per 10,000 population) social security non-existent. Bread and potato consumption was high, sugar and salt were inadequate. It was a terrible indictment of the government. Democracy in Poland was dead. In 1935 the new "Constitution" came into effect—the President, responsible only to God and history; the Senate, a third nominated by the President, the rest elected by special country electoral colleges which were in turn elected on a limited franchise (of less than one person in a hundred). The Lower House had the number of deputies halved and these nominated by a committee presided over by a government commissioner with representatives of industry, commerce and the landowners.

Who should they trust in their foreign policy? "The elimination of the State of Poland was one of the postulates of Greater Germany,"2 or the country which gave Poland her freedom in the first place. In 1934 a Polish-German non-aggression pact was signed. Internal unrest led to fearful "pacification" which gave rise to protests to the League by sixty-two British M.P.'s.

"Poland, who was to be jointly guaranteed by Great Britain, France and the U.S.S.R., rejected military assistance on the part of the S.U."3

Germany marched in on September 1st. The army was ill-equipped, ill-trained, badly organised. The Cabinet and general staff (with one exception) fled to Hungary. Polish resistance, with a few notable exceptions (as in the gallant defence of Warsaw), collapsed by September 10th. On the 17th the Red Army moved into Eastern Poland. As a Catholic periodical at the time remarked, "they were greeted as saviours," and a correspondent added "the Germans sent bombs to Lwow, the Russians bread."4 Saved from the horror of air and land blitz by the Russians, it is not surprising that the Polish guerillas have contributed materially to the Allied cause, despite the attitude of the emigre government in London. When this government struck at Allied unity by appearing to believe the Goebbel story of Russian atrocities the Polish underground remained loyal to our cause. Many heroic chapters have been written, not least of them the rising of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto.

Poland must rise again, but as a democratic nation, government for and by the people for the first time in her history.

1 Lloyd Georg, 28/9/39.

2 Rosenberg, official Nazi historian.

3 Molotov, on 30/8/39.

4 William Forrest in the News Chronicle.