Polish Independence

This flag of Poland was adopted in 1919 

In Poland, 11 November is marked for a different reason to the UK. It is celebrated by the Polish as National Independence Day.

The cessation of hostilities of the First World War on 11 November 1918 coincides with Poland regaining independence after over 100 years of occupation by the Prussian, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian empires. 

In the 18th century, these three empires invaded Poland simultaneously on three separate occasions, and grabbed the land for themselves. At the end of the 1700s, partition of Poland was complete and the belligerents introduced their own administration and laws in their respective zones. The Polish language was banned from schools, offices, and public spaces. Several national uprisings followed, all brutally crushed, and even more restrictive policies were forced onto the nation as a punishment. This included total Germanisation and Russification aimed at the destruction of the national spirit and Polish culture and heritage.

In the First World War, Polish men were conscripted into the three different foreign armies and had to fight against each other. Over a million of them were wounded and about half a million died. It is difficult to find the exact number, as those soldiers were classed only as German, Austrian, or Russian in army records. For the same reason it is hard to say how many became prisoners of war. [Some of the men at Harperley prisoner of war camp were Polish]. Over a million civilians were moved to labour camps in Germany and Siberia.

The Bolshevik Revolution, execution of the Tsar, and the major upheaval that followed, eliminated Russia from the war. Defeated, Austria-Hungary and Prussia had to focus on their own internal affairs as well. The new international situation that emerged as the result of the war prepared the ground for Polish politicians to be heard and listened to. On 8 January 1918, US president Woodrow Wilson gave a speech to Congress, known as the Fourteen Points, putting forward America’s long term objectives in the war. Point 13 stated that ‘An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant.’ The Fourteen Points became the basis of the terms of the German surrender discussed at the Paris Peace Conference.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, photo by Grzegorz Petka (public domain) 

As a result, Poland returned to the political map of Europe, which is celebrated annually on 11 November as a national holiday. The focus of the celebrations is the guard of honour that permanently stands by the symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Saxon Palace, Warsaw, commemorating all those who lost their lives fighting for Polish independence.

The wreckage of the Saxon Palace, Warsaw, 1945, photo by Jan Bułhak (public domain)

It is interesting to note that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was amongst the first targets to be destroyed by the Germans during the Second World War, as it was nationally recognised as the symbol of Polish independence.