World War I: Poland--Domestic Situation

Polish World War I refugees
Figure 1.--Large numbers of civilians were displaced by the fighting on the Eastern Front during World War I. Much of it occurred in Poland. This is A Polish family attempting to survive in a makeshipt shelter, probnly in 1915. Source: Bain News Service/Library of Congress

Much of the fighting on the Eastern Front occurred in Poland. The Russians launched an offensive from Poland into East Prussia. The Austro-Hungarians launched an attack from their area of Poland (Galicia). The After the defeat of the Russian offensive at Tannenberg, the fighting on the Eastern Front turned into a fight for Poland. Civilians suffered desperately in the intensive fighting that ocuurred. Inlike the Western Front , the fighting was not confined lrgely to the elatively narrow area of opposing trenches. and large numbers were displaced. Some 1 million Poles apparently followed the retreating Russian Army east. Some suffered forced removals. Relief agencies were overwealmed and the Germans controlled food supplies. And unlike Belgium there was no way of getting food aid from neutral America to the Poles. Only after the War was America about to get relief supplies to the Poles. Poland had been partioned by Austria, Germany, and Poland in the 18th century. Most of Poland including Warsaw was seized by the Russians, the rest went to Prussia and Austria to placate them. The Poles had generally seen the French as liberators during the Napoleoic Wars. This was not the same with the Central Powers. Polish attitudes varied and we have seen different assessments. Some sources suggest that the Poles sympathized with the Russians. There was some support for the Russians who were fellow Slavs. The Russians had been the primary mover in dismantling the indepndent Polish Kingdom (18th century) and brutally suppressed the Polish nationalist movement after the Napoleonic Wars (19th century). And Tsar Alexander III has begun a Russification effort. This had changed with a liberalization effort began after 1905 Revolution. German policy toward the Poles was one of relentless Germanization and there was no liberalization effort. Instead the Września school strike, severe restrictions on Polish education in Pomerania (Poznań), and the Destruction of Kalisz all inspired anti-German feelings. Even Pilsuski who was oriented towad the Austrians was disturbed by German policies. The Poles did not harassment retreating Russian soldiers. Some attempted to care for the wounded. Russian behavior, however, especially the behavior of undisciplined Russian troops and the scorched earth policies of retreating Russian forces began to change attitudes toward the Germans. The Germans a new kingdom in Poland in an effort to win over the Poles. There was widespread destruction throughout Poland. Some cities were badly damged. The Central Powers exploited Eastern European Region for its resources. We are not sure just what resources occupied Poland provided the Germans. Food was certainly one of these resorces. Until late in the War, the primary area occupied in the East was Poland and the Baltics. Jews were among the people most affected. The area of the Russian Empire occupied had nearly half the Empire's Jews--the heartland of Eastern European Jewey.

Sympathies

Poland had been partioned by Austria, Germany, and Poland in the 18th century. Most of Poland including Warsaw was seized by the Russians, the rest went to Prussia and Austria to placate them. The Poles had generally seen the French as liberators during the Napoleoic Wars. This was not the same with the Central Powers. Polish attitudes varied and we have seen different assessments. Some sources suggest that the Poles sympathized with the Russians. There was some support for the Russians who were fellow Slavs. The Russians had been the primary mover in dismantling the indepndent Polish Kingdom (18th century) and brutally suppressed the Polish nationalist movement after the Napoleonic Wars (19th century). And Tsar Alexander III has begun a Russification effort. This had changed with a liberalization effort began after 1905 Revolution. German policy toward the Poles was one of relentless Germanization and there was no liberalization effort. Instead the Września school strike, severe restrictions on Polish education in Pomerania (Poznań), and the Destruction of Kalisz all inspired anti-German feelings. Even Pilsuski who was oriented towad the Austrians was disturbed by German policies. The Poles did not harassment retreating Russian soldiers. Some attempted to care for the wounded. Russian behavior, however, especially the behavior of undisciplined Russian troops and the scorched earth policies of retreating Russian forces began to change attitudes toward the Germans. The Germans a new kingdom in Poland in an effort to win over the Poles.

Fighting

Much of the fighting on the Eastern Front occurred in Poland. The Russians launched an offensive from Poland into East Prussia. The Austro-Hungarians launched an attack from their area of Poland (Galicia). The After the defeat of the Russian offensive at Tannenberg, the fighting on the Eastern Front turned into a fight for Poland. Civilians suffered desperately in the intensive fighting that ocuurred. Inlike the Western Front , the fighting was not confined lrgely to the elatively narrow area of opposing trenches.

Refugees

Views of the War are strongly influences by one's country. Americans generlly think of Belgians when the issue of refugees comes up. But other countries were overun creating large numbers of refugees. In the Balkans this was the Serbs. On the eastern front it was the Poles. Much of the war on the Eastern Front was fought in Poland, meaning primarily the area of Poland seized by the Tsarist Empire. This was the great bulk of pre-partition Poland. Most of the heaviest fighting on the Eastern Front took place in Poland. This included the first year of the War. German forces drove on warsaw. ussian forces nearly reached Kraków before being forced to retreat (1914). In the Spring, heavy fighting occurred near Gorlice and Przemyśl, to the east of Kraków in Galicia (1915). The Germans advanced and finally seized Warsaw. By the end of the year almost all of Poland was in German hands. The battered and retreating Russian forces looted and destoyed what they could not carry away. The idea was to repeat the scorched earth policy employed on Npoleon'd Grand army in 1812. All of this would have been bad enough on the Polish people. The Russians suspected the Poles of siding with the Germans. Hundreds of thousands of Poles were evicted from theur homes and deported. [Horne and Kramer, p. 83.] The Russians struck back with another offensive in Galicia, the Bruselav Offensive. This dealt a serious blow to the Austrians. The Germans had to intervene to dave the situation. Some 1.1 milliom civilans and soldiers are believed to have perished. [Gawryszewski] The situtiom for the civilans was desperate. Some 1 million Polish refugees are believed to have fled eastward to escape the fightging during the fighting in Poland. The Germans transported several hundred thousand Polish civilians west to labor camps in Germany. [Gawryszewski] Tsarist authorities deported some 0.8 million Poles to the East. [Bideleux and Jeffries, p. 186.]

POWs


Relief

The intense figting and the scorched-earth retreat tactics employed by the Russians as well as the Germans and Austrians meant that large ares of Poland were basically uninhabitable. Even when facilitie were not destroyed, the economy was secerely affected. The lack of raw materials and evacutions mean that factories could not function. As a result unemploymnt was a serious problem. The situation throughout Poland was a tragedy, malnutrition, the black market, high prices, inflation, seizures abd forced contributions of food, lack of fuel, and infectious diseases. As the war continued, violent protests, demonstrations, strikes, and riots boke out. In some cases Jews were targeted, such as Cracow (April 1918). [Polsakiewicz] Polish welfare groups tried to organize relief efforts. Citizen and relief committees were set up in major cities conduct fundraising activities to aid wounded soldiers, widows, orphans, and refugees. The Catholic Church and other religious denominations played a central role in the effort. Cracow Archbishop Adam Stefan Sapieha (1867-1951) played an especially important role in setting up an especially effective committees with the support of landowners and university professors. The situation was, however, beyond the capability of Poland to deal with on its own as aesult of the level of need, especoally food shortages. Efforts to reach a Belgian like sollution to get in american foof failed during the war. Some limited help cane from fund raising efforts in Switzerland. Nobel Prize winner for literature Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) led the effort and money was transferred to relief organizations in Poland. [Płygawko] American Relief efforts began in Belgium soon after the war erupted (August 1914). Belgium was a relatively easy country to get to as it was close to Britain and bordered on France. Soring out arrangements so the food would not fall in German hands was complicated, but worked out. Other countries were much more difficult to reach and this included Poland which was not yet a country when the war began. Poland was a major battleground on the Eastern Front (1914-15). Relief agencies in Poland were overwealmed and the Germans controlled food supplies. Polish grops in America collected relief supplies and money. The problem was that Germany stood between Poland and ports the United States could use to deliver the food. Hoover worked up a plan to use the Dutch port of Rotterdam. Monitoring food shipments to Belgium was one thing, doing it across Germany and into German-occupied Poland was quite a differnt matter and as a result the British opposed the Ameican plan. It would have required a staff monitiring the food to an extent that Germany would not permit. Hoover continued to press, convincing the British. His efforts failed, however, when the Germans demanded some of the food be used for their occupation forces. Hoover continued to press, but the effort had to be shelved when America entered the War (April 1917). As a result, it was not possible to aid Poland until after the War ended (November 1918). With the end of the war, American relief efforts were finally possible. The United States wouund down the USFA, but created a sucessor organization to deal with post-War relief--the American Relief Administration (ARA) (February 1919). USFA Director Herbert Hoover was put in charge. The ARA inherited the USFA staff with extenive relief experience. The ARA was funded by both the U,S, Congress and private donations. Poland wss a major relief priority because ofvhe desperate need. The ARA eventually provided food to 23 countries, but about 20 percent went to war-torn Poland which had been a major battle ground on the Eastern Front. At the end of the War, the Second Polish Republic was founded making Poland a nation again for the first time since the 18th century Polish partitions. And as result fighting resumed, the Germans withdrew except forsime birder areas, but the Bolsheviks were determined to quash an independent Poland--resulting in the Polish-Soviet war. ARA assistance in Polnd went primarily to children. And as in other areas was mostly distributed by the Red Cross. Some of the food got to Polish soldiers fighting the Bolsheviks. The desperately needed food saved millions of lives. Polish President Józef Piłsudski wrote to Hoover thanking him. A street in Warsaw was named after him. Hoover was awarded honorary degrees from Jagiellonian University, Warsaw University and Lviv University.

Distruction

There was widespread destruction throughout Poland. Some cities were badly damged.

Government General


Polish Kingdom


Exploitation

The Central Powers exploited Eastern European Region for its resources. We are not sure just what resources occupied Poland provided the Germans. Food was certainly one of these resorces. Until late in the War, the primary area occupied in the East was Poland and the Baltics.

Jews

Jews were among the people most affected by World War I. The area of the Russian Empire occupied by the Central Powers, mostly the Germans, had nearly half the Empire's Jews--the heartland of Eastern European Jewey. German authorities were generally distrustful of both the Poles and Ukranians. They tended to distrust the Jews more. Another dimension was added to thpolitical dynamic by the Russian Revolution, especially the Bolshevik Revolution as a result of the numbers of Jews whi\o had Marrxist leanings, including Bolsheviks. This fed into the anti-Semetic orientation of Polish and Ukranian nationlist groups who took over as the Germans and Austrians under the terms of the ARmistice pulled out (1918).

Sources

Bideleux, R. and I. Jeffries. A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change (Routledge: 1998).0

Gawryszewski, Andrzej. Ludnosc Polski w XX wieku (Warsaw: 2005).

Horne, John N. and Alan Kramer. German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial (Yale University Press: 2001).

Płygawko, Danuta. Sienkiewicz w Szwajcarii. Z dziejów akcji ratunkowej dla Polski w czasie pierwszej wojny światowej [Sienkiecz in Switzerland. Accounts from the history of the relief action for Poland during the First World War] (Poznań: 1986).

Polsakiewicz, Marta. "Spezifika deutscher Besatzung in Warschau", Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung Vol. 58, No. 4 (2009), pp. 501-37.







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Created: 5:14 AM 4/25/2013
Last updated: 1:24 AM 2/7/2017