Józef Pilsudski is a descendant of an ancient noble family, who was destined to become the founder of the Polish state, reviving it after 123 years of oblivion. Piłsudski's cherished dream was to create under the auspices of Poland a federal state "Intermarium", united from Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Belarusian lands, but this was not realized.
Origin and childhood of Piłsudski
Pilsudski Józef Klemens was born in the town of Zuluv near Vilna, the son of an impoverished Lithuanian gentry. The roots of his ancient family go 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 that opposed Polish rule. He later moved to Prussia.
This origin was very heatedly discussed and interpreted by supporters and opponents during his rise to public office in Poland. His adherents even offered him 2 times to getthe Polish crown, and the enemies proved the unreasonableness of such a step.
Józef Pilsudski was the fifth child out of 12 in the family, having received the name Jozef Klemens 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 student unrest, because. from childhood he was an adherent of nationalist ideas.
Participation in the revolutionary movement
In 1887, Jozef was arrested while transporting a package with parts of an explosive device, which his brother Bronislav, a student of St. The brother was also detained for participating in the organization of the terrorist act together with A. Ulyanov and was sentenced to death, which was later commuted to 15 years of hard labor.
Josef's guilt was not proven and he was sent to Siberia, where he stayed for 4 years. During his exile, he became imbued with the ideas of the revolution. After his release in 1892, the 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 activities, he proclaimed the revival of the Polish state. For the functioning of the party, financial injections were necessary, which a group of PPS-tsev obtained using the methods of terrorism, expropriating and attacking mail trains with weapons andbanks.
In 1904, after the outbreak of the Russian-Japanese war, Jozef Pilsudski went on a visit to Tokyo to establish contacts with Japanese intelligence in order to work for them against the Russian Empire. For this, he even receives material rewards from the Japanese, but the government of this eastern country refused to support his liberation plans in order to create an independent state in Poland.
The Russian Revolution of 1905 and the First World War
In 1905, a revolution began in Russia, which was joined by the Polish regions. Pilsudski did not support these events, his interests were directed to the West - to Austria and Germany, with the help of which he is engaged in the creation and equipment of the Polish army.
Yu. Piłsudski also during these years created in Galicia the terrorist society "Sagittarius", which conducted intelligence in favor of Germany and prepared to support German troops in the event of a conflict with Russia. About 800 militants were actively fighting the Russian authorities in Poland, destroying 336 of its representatives in 1906.
During these years, a split occurred in the teaching staff, after which Pilsudski became the head of her Revolutionary faction, being engaged exclusively in the training and activities of armed militants.
From the beginning of the First World War, Pilsudski became a commander, under whose command the 1st brigade of the Polish legions, consisting of 14 thousand people, successfully fought 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 invaders.
However, his goal was not so much to participate in the war against Russia, but to use the right situation for the good of Poland. When he forbade his soldiers to take an 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 directed 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.
Creation of the Polish state
In November 1918, a revolution took place in Germany, which influenced the release of the future head of Poland.
Upon returning to Poland, the Regency Council, with the support of right-wing leaders of the leadership of the Socialist Party, transferred Pilsudski all civil and military power, appointing him from November 16, 1918, the "temporary head" of the Polish state and commander in chief of the troops. He remained in this position until 1922
His first step was the creation of armed legions from patriotic fellow citizens, and the French government provided weapons.
The military capabilities of the legions were first tested during border disputes between neighboring countries. Piłsudski's more distant plans for the coming years were to unite under the auspices of Poland the Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Belarusianterritories into the federal state "Intermarium".
Polish-Ukrainian war
Yu. Pilsudsky did not like Soviet power, which came instead of the Russian Empire to the lands of Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania. He categorically rejected proposals to establish diplomatic relations.
In May 1919, Pilsudski established relations with S. Petliura to jointly fight the Soviet army, and in April 1920, he concluded the Warsaw Agreement with him, in which Ukraine became dependent on the Polish state. In this way, Piłsudski tried to carry out his plans to lay the foundation for a future Eastern European federation, which in the future gave him permission to legally occupy the lands of Western Ukraine.
At his invitation, B. V. Savinkov arrives in Poland, who began to be assisted in the formation of paramilitary detachments as part of the Polish troops. All these steps were taken to prepare for war with Soviet Russia. Military action plans were developed already in April, in accordance with them, the North-Eastern Front was to be headed by General Stanislav Sheptytsky, and the South-Eastern Front - by Marshal Pilsudski, Commander-in-Chief.
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 beginning of hostilities was successful for the Polish army: already in April it occupied Vilnius, in August - Minsk and Belarus, and by May 1920 - captured Kyiv.
May 9 General Rydz-Smiglyled the parade of winners on Khreshchatyk, which many Ukrainians perceived without enthusiasm, as another occupation of the city, this probably influenced the subsequent course of events.
Already by the end of May, there was a sharp change in the balance of power: the Red Army, after an offensive in Belarus, managed to reach the Polish capital in the summer of 1920. And only through the efforts of Pilsudski, after the announced additional mobilization, a powerful army was assembled, which was able to prevent the occupation of the city. The Battle of Warsaw in 1920 was later called the "Miracle on the Vistula", as a result of which Poland escaped "Sovietization".
Some historians believe that the victory in this battle was ensured not so much by Pilsudski himself, but by his generals Rozvadovsky, Sosnowski and Haller, who developed a plan of military operations, as well as 150,000 volunteers who, in a fit of patriotic aspirations, defended their capital. However, without Pilsudski, most likely, the Battle of Warsaw itself in 1920 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 with troops to the west.
In gratitude for the successes in protecting the state, it was announced that from November 14, 1920, Jozef Pilsudski was a 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 between the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania were established and obligations were taken 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 Pilsudski, not wanting to be subordinate to the Sejm, resigned from the presidency and temporarily retired from the political life of the country, but in all subsequent years he has always been at the center of most events.
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 it.
In May 1926, with the help of military formations loyal to the “chief of Poland”, a three-day “May coup” takes place, as a result of which Jozef Pilsudski returns to politics and becomes prime minister and military head at the same time. The following years passed under the flag of Piłsudski's authoritarian regime, which received the rights of a dictator, significantly limiting the actions and possibilities of the parliament and persecuting the opposition. According to him, he established a “rehabilitation” regime 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. Piłsudski retains not only his posts, but also complete control over Poland's foreign policy.
In 1932, a non-aggression pact was signed with the Soviet Union, and in 1934 a similar Pact was signed with Nazi Germany.
The last years of Piłsudski's life
During the coup in 1926, Piłsudski showed himself as a real dictator and rulerPoland. A brutal reprisal was committed against the acting generals, 17 governors were removed from office. As Prime Minister, he had the right to dissolve the Sejm and the Senate at any time.
Great political activity and tension led him to a serious illness: in April 1932 he had a stroke, and then the doctors diagnosed him with atherosclerosis. In this state, he continues to manage the state, often making mistakes in managing the economy. Suffice it to say that during the years of Piłsudski's rule, Poland was never able to return to the high level of industrial production that existed in 1913.
He arrests and even tortures many of his opponents in the Brest prison. This is how the opposition was dispersed and many of his political dictatorial ambitions were approved.
In recent years, Jozef Pilsudski has become almost an invalid. Against the backdrop of cancer, his he alth deteriorated greatly, frequent colds and high fever contributed to poor he alth and constant fatigue.
One of the manifestations of the disease was an aggravation of suspicion, the marshal was very afraid of poisoning and the possible presence of spies. According to his adjutant, Piłsudski resembled a previously mighty titan, suffering from loss of strength and worries about the future of Poland. Until his last days, he did not want to deal with doctors. Only in April 1935, after an examination by the famous Viennese physician and cardiologist, Professor Wenckenbach, was he diagnosed with liver cancer. Howeverthere 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 national 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 heart was taken by relatives to Vilna and placed in the grave of his mother at the Ross cemetery.
Pilsudski Awards
During his long life, filled with revolutionary and military events, Jozef Piłsudski received awards repeatedly and from different countries:
- Order of the Virtuti Military - June 25, 1921 after the victory in the Battle of Warsaw and the signing of the Riga peace treaty;
- White Eagle - Poland's highest state award;
- Received the Independence Cross with Swords and the Cross of the Braves 4 times;
- award for the Revival of Poland - an order that is awarded for merit in the military and civilian fields.
Foreign awards:
- during cooperation with the government of Austria-Hungary - Order of the Iron Crown;
- 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 government and many others.
Private life and children
With his first wife - the beautiful Maria Yushkevich - Pilsudski met in the years of revolutionary youth. To become husband and wife, they had to convert to Protestantism and get married in another church. Later theyboth were arrested in 1900 for setting up an underground printing press and imprisoned in the Warsaw Citadel. Jozef later managed to escape from there, pretending to be mentally ill.
Then, in 1906, he met Alexandra Shcherbinina, a party comrade-in-arms in the teaching staff, with whom a stormy romance ensued. However, they could not get married due to the fact that Jozef's first wife 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. - Villa Suleyweke.
Their fate was different. The eldest Wanda became a psychiatrist and worked in England, but in 1990 she came to Poland, where she was able to regain her family cottage in Sulejowek with the aim of creating a museum dedicated to her father there. Died in 2001 after a long illness.
Jadwiga became famous during the Second World War as a 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 Yaraczewska returned with her family to Poland in 1990, participated in social activities, worked at the Pilsudski Family Foundation, in 2012 she was present at the opening of the J. Pilsudski Museumat the Belvedere Palace. Passed away at the age of 94 in 2014 in Warsaw.
Pilsudski's role in the formation of the Polish state
Practically everything created by Pilsudski's hands 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 conviction of the Polish people in the importance of creating their own independent state, which he revived and how Jozef Pilsudski is famous.
