Jozef Pilsudski is a descendant of the ancient gentry, who was destined to become the founder of the Polish state, reviving it after 123 years of oblivion. Pilsudski’s cherished dream was the creation under the auspices of Poland of the federal state “Intermarium,” united from Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian lands, but this was not possible.
The origin and childhood of Pilsudski
Pilsudski Jozef Clemens was born in the town of Zuluv near Vilna, in the family of an impoverished Lithuanian gentry. The roots of his ancient family date back to the 15th century, when his ancestor Dovsprung ruled Lithuania, his other relative, the Lithuanian boyar Ginet, was a supporter of the pro-German party, which opposed Polish rule. He later moved to Prussia.
Such an origin was very vigorously discussed and interpreted by supporters and opponents during his rise to public office in Poland. His adherents even 2 times offered him to get the Polish crown, and the enemies - proved the groundlessness of such a step.
In the family, Jozef Pilsudski was the fifth child of 12, received the name Jozef Clemens at baptism, in his childhood he was called Zyuk.
In his youth, he managed to study for 1 year at the medical faculty of Kharkov University, but was expelled for participating in anti-government unrest of students, because from childhood he was a supporter of nationalist ideas.
Participation in the revolutionary movement
In 1887, while transporting a package containing the details of an explosive device, which Brother Bronislaw, a student at St. Petersburg University, asked him to hand over, he was arrested and charged with preparing for the assassination of the Russian emperor Alexander the 3rd. The brother was also detained for participating in the organization of the terrorist attack together with A. Ulyanov and sentenced to death, which was later replaced by 15 years of hard labor.
Józef’s guilt was not proved and he was sent to Siberia, where he spent 4 years. During the exile he was inspired by the ideas of the revolution. After liberation in 1892, a revolutionary biography of Jozef Pilsudski began: he joined the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), and later became the leader of its nationalist wing.
The purpose of his work, he proclaimed the revival of the Polish state. For the party to function, financial injections were needed, which the PPS-tsev group obtained using methods of terrorism, conducting expropriations and attacking postal trains and banks with weapons.
In 1904, after the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Jozef Pilsudski went on a visit to Tokyo to establish contacts with Japanese intelligence in order to work against them against the Russian Empire. For this, he even receives material compensation from the Japanese, but the government of this eastern country refused to support his liberation plans with the aim of creating an independent state in Poland.
The revolution of 1905 in Russia and the First World War
In 1905, a revolution began in Russia, to which the Polish regions joined. Pilsudski did not support these events, his interests were directed to the west - to Austria and Germany, with the help of whose support he was engaged in the creation and equipping of the Polish army.
Y. Pilsudsky also during these years created the Sagittarius terrorist society in Galicia, which conducted reconnaissance in favor of Germany and prepared to support German troops in the event of a conflict with Russia. About 800 militants fought actively against the Russian authorities in Poland, destroying 336 representatives in 1906.
During these years, a split occurred in the teaching staff, after which Pilsudski became the head of its revolutionary fraction, exclusively engaged in the training and activities of armed militants.
Since the beginning of World War I, Pilsudski has become a commander, under whose leadership the 1st brigade of Polish legions, consisting of 14 thousand people, successfully fights on the side of Austria-Hungary. In 1916, he was appointed head of the military department in the "independent Polish state" created by the forces of the Austro-Hungarian occupiers.
However, his goal was not so much participation in the war against Russia as the use of a suitable situation for the good of Poland. When he forbade his soldiers to take the oath of allegiance to Austria-Hungary, the German authorities in response disbanded his army, and Pilsudski himself was arrested in July 1917 and imprisoned in the fortress of Magdeburg. This fact only contributed to its popularity among the Polish population. After assurances of activities against the Bolsheviks in Russia, Jozef Pilsudski was released and returned to Warsaw.
In 1918, after the defeat in the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire ceased to exist.
The creation of the Polish state
In November 1918, a revolution took place in Germany, which influenced the liberation of the future head of Poland.
Upon his return to Poland, the Regency Council, with the support of right-wing leaders of the leadership of the Socialist Party, transferred to Pilsudski all civil and military power, appointing him on November 16, 1918, as "interim chief" of the Polish state and commander in chief of the troops. In this position he remained until 1922.
His first step was the creation of armed legions of patriotic fellow citizens, with weapons provided by the French government.
The military capabilities of the legions were first tested during cross-border disputes between neighboring countries. Pilsudski’s further plans for the coming years were to unite Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian territories under the auspices of Poland into the federal state Intermarium.
Polish-Ukrainian war
Having come in exchange for the Russian Empire on the lands of Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania, the Soviet regime did not like Yu. Pilsudsky at all. He categorically rejected the proposals for establishing diplomatic relations.
In May 1919, Pilsudski established relations with S. Petliura for a joint struggle with the Soviet army, and in April 1920 - concluded a Warsaw agreement with him, in which Ukraine became dependent on the Polish state. Thus, Pilsudski tried to carry out his plans to lay the foundation of the future East European Federation, which in the future gave him permission to legally occupy the lands of Western Ukraine.
At his invitation, B.V.Savinkov arrived in Poland, to whom they began to assist in the formation of paramilitary groups in the Polish troops. All these steps were taken to prepare for war with Soviet Russia. The military plans were developed already in April, in accordance with them the North-Eastern Front was to be headed by General Stanislav Sheptitsky, and the South-Eastern Front - Marshal Pilsudsky, Commander-in-Chief of the troops.
In February 1919, the Polish-Ukrainian war was declared, while the Poles at that time had a 5-fold superiority in the number of troops and weapons. The outbreak of hostilities was successful for the Polish army: already in April it occupied Vilnius, in August - Minsk and Belarus, and by May 1920 it took control of Kiev.
On May 9, General Rydz-Smigly led the parade of winners on Khreshchatyk, which many Ukrainians took without enthusiasm as the next occupation of the city, which probably influenced the subsequent course of events.
By the end of May there was a sharp change in the balance of power: the Red Army, after the offensive in Belarus, managed to reach the Polish capital in the summer of 1920. And only by the efforts of Pilsudski after the announced additional mobilization was a powerful army gathered that could prevent the occupation of the city. The Warsaw battle of 1920 later received the name "miracle on the Vistula", as a result of which Poland avoided "Sovietization".
Some historians believe that the victory in this battle was not so much ensured by Pilsudsky himself as by his generals Rozvadovsky, Sosnovsky and Haller, who developed a military plan, as well as 150 thousand volunteers who, in a fit of patriotic aspirations, defended their capital. However, without Pilsudski, most likely, the battle of Warsaw in 1920 itself would not have happened at all, because many representatives of the country's leadership were in favor of leaving the city without a fight and retreating to the west with troops.
In gratitude for the success in defending the state, it was announced that from November 14, 1920, Jozef Pilsudski was Marshal of Poland, elevated to this rank by the decision of the Polish people.
On March 18, 1921, the governments of Poland and the RSFSR signed a peace treaty in Riga, according to which the borders were established between the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania, and commitments were made not to conduct hostile activities with each other.
Dictator and ruler
In March 1921, the Constitution was adopted, according to which Poland became a parliamentary republic. Marshal Pilsudsky, not wanting to be subordinate to the Sejm, resigned as president and temporarily retired from the political life of the country, but for all subsequent years he has always been at the center of most events.
The year 1925 was marked by an economic and political crisis in Poland, against which prices rose, unemployment increased, and the government was unable to cope with this.
In May 1926, with the help of military units loyal to the “Polish leader”, a three-day “May coup” takes place, as a result of which Jozef Pilsudski returns to politics and becomes prime minister and military leader at the same time. The following years passed under the flag of the authoritarian Pilsudski regime, which received the rights of a dictator, significantly limiting the actions and possibilities of the parliament and pursuing the opposition. According to him, he established a regime of "reorganization" to improve the economic and political situation in the country.
During these years, his goal was to strengthen the position of the state and increase its security. Pilsudski retains not only posts, but full control over Poland’s foreign policy.
In 1932, a nonaggression pact was signed with the Soviet Union, and in 1934 a similar Pact was signed with Hitler Germany.
The last years of Pilsudski’s life
During the coup in 1926, Pilsudski showed himself to be a real dictator and ruler of Poland. There was a brutal reprisal against the incumbent generals, 17 governors were removed from their posts. As Prime Minister, he had the right to dissolve the Sejm and Senate at any time.
A lot of political activity and tension led him to a serious illness: in April 1932 he had a stroke, and then the doctors diagnosed “atherosclerosis”. In this state, he continues to rule the state, often making mistakes in managing the economy. It will suffice to say that during the years of Pilsudski’s rule, Poland was not able to return to the high level of industrial production that existed in 1913.
He subjects many of his opponents to arrest and even torture in Brest prison. That is how the opposition was dispersed and many of its political dictatorial ambitions were approved.
In recent years, Jozef Pilsudski has become almost an invalid. Against the background of the oncological disease, his state of health was greatly shaken, frequent colds and high fever contributed to poor health and constant fatigue.
One of the manifestations of the disease was an exacerbation of suspicion, the marshal was very afraid of poisoning and the possible presence of spies. According to his adjutant, Pilsudski resembled a mighty before titan, suffering from loss of strength and anxiety for the future of Poland. Until his last days, he did not want to deal with doctors. Only in April 1935, after examination by the famous Viennese therapist and cardiologist, Professor Wenkenbach, was diagnosed with liver cancer. However, there was no talk of any treatment, and on May 12, Jozef Pilsudski died.
His funeral turned into a manifestation of the Polish people and became a symbol of national unity, a nationwide mourning was declared in the state. His body was solemnly buried in the crypt of the cathedral of St. Stanislaus and Wenceslas in Krakow Wawel, and his relatives took his heart to Vilna and put him in his mother’s grave in the Ross cemetery.
Pilsudski Awards
During his long life, filled with revolutionary and military events, Pilsudski Jozef received awards more than once from different countries:
- Order of Virtuti Military - June 25, 1921 after victory in the Battle of Warsaw and signing of the Riga Peace Treaty;
- White Eagle - the highest state award in Poland;
- 4 times received the Independence Cross with swords and the Cross of the brave;
- the award for the Renaissance of Poland is an order that is awarded for services in the military and civilian spheres.
Foreign awards:
- during cooperation with the government of Austria-Hungary - the Order of the Iron Crown;
- The Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold from Belgium, the Order of the Legion of Honor from the French government, the Rising Sun from the Japanese and many others.
Personal life and children
Pilsudski met his first wife, the beautiful Maria Yushkevich, back in the years of revolutionary youth. To become husband and wife, they had to go to Protestantism and get married in another church. Later, both of them were arrested in 1900 for creating an underground printing press and put in the Warsaw Citadel. Later, Jozef managed to escape from there, pretending to be mentally ill.
Then, in 1906, he met with the party associate of the teaching staff, Alexandra Shcherbinina, with whom he began a stormy romance. However, they could not get married due to the fact that the first wife of Jozef refused to give him a divorce. Only after her death in 1921 did they formalize their relationship.
When Pilsudski was in the Magdeburg Fortress, his first daughter Wanda was born, and then in February 1920, Jadwiga. The children of Jozef Pilsudski lived with his family in the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw, and in 1923-1926. - in the villa Sulejuevek.
Their fate has developed in different ways. The eldest Wanda became a psychiatrist and worked in England, but in 1990 she arrived in Poland, where she was able to regain a family cottage in Sulejuevek with the aim of creating a museum there dedicated to her father. She died in 2001 after a long illness.
Jadwiga became famous during the Second World War, as the famous pilot in the British Air Force. Subsequently, she married captain A. Yarachevsky, they lived for many years in England, where they founded a company for the production of furniture and lamps. They had two children, both (son Krzysztof and daughter Joanna) chose the profession of architects.
Jadwiga Yarachevskaya returned with her family to Poland in 1990, participated in social activities, worked at the Pilsudski Family Foundation, in 2012 - attended the opening of the Y. Pilsudski Museum in the Belvedere Palace. Died at the age of 94 in 2014 in Warsaw.
The role of Pilsudski in the formation of the Polish state
Almost everything created by Pilsudski in Poland was destroyed by the outbreak of World War II in 1939. However, the years of fascist occupation and the subsequent 45 years of dependence on the Soviet Union did not undermine the Polish people's conviction of the importance of creating their own independent state, which was revived and famous for by Jozef Pilsudski.