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The Presidents of the Second Republic of Poland

Belvedere
Source: Bartosz Morąg, licencja: CC BY-SA 4.0.

Link to the lesson

Before you start you should know
  • The President is the head of the Polish state.

  • The competences and responsibilities of the President of the Republic of Poland.

  • The Presidents of the Third Republic of Poland.

You will learn
  • You will be able to name all the presidents of the Second Republic of Poland.

  • You will know in what situation they were elected and how their time in office ended.

  • You will understand the turbulent history of interwar Poland.

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nagranie abstraktu

The dramatic fate of the Presidents of the Second Republic of Poland

According to the Polish Constitution of 1921, the President of the Republic was to be elected by senators and deputies in the National Assembly for seven years. Józef Piłsudski decided not to run in 1922, because the presidential competency was in his opinion too limited to influence the fate of the State. On 9, December 1922 the National Assembly finally electected Gabriel Narutowicz to be the first President. However, in the next few days, the far right (nationalists) parties and the press attacked the newly elected President. They claimed, he was elected mainly because of the support of the national minoritiesnational minoritiesnational minorities and leftist partiesleftist partiesleftist parties. As a result of the tense atmosphere, the President was killed – shot by an assassin – just a couple of days after taking an oath. In compliance with the constitution, the role of the head of state was taken over by the Marshal of the Sejm – Maciej Rataj. You can follow the short presidency of Gabriel Narutowicz on a timeline.

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Short presidency - oś czasu z czarno-białymi zdjęciami i i podpisami. December 9, 1922. Zdjęcie przedstawiające Gabriela Narutowicza siedzącego przy biurku. Podpis: The National Assembly elects the first President of the Second Republic of Poland. There are as many as five rounds of voting. Finally, an independent candidate wins, nominated by PSL “Wyzwolenie”. December 10, 1922. Zdjęcie przedstawiające prezydenta Narutowicza i marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego siedzących na fotelach przy niewielkim okrągłym stoliku. Podpis: President Narutowicz meets Marshal Józef Piłsudski in Belweder. December 11, 1922. Zdjęcie przedstawiające prezydenta Narutowicza wychodzącego z gmachu Sejmu. Podpis: The day the first President of an independent Poland is sworn in. On his way to the Sejm his opponents set up barricades, the President-elect is thrown snowballs at and called names. Narutowicz himself spoke of those events: “I try not to remember, who was with me, who was against me; who had a kind word for me, and who wanted to offend me. Reconciliation is necessary, fights need to be put to end end, because the State is in need.” December 14, 1922 Tekst: Gabriel Narutowicz arrives at Belweder, where the power is symbolically handed over to his hands from the Chief of State – Marshal Józef Piłsudski. During breakfast, which takes place after all the official ceremonies, Piłsudski raises a toast: “Mister President, as the only Polish officer who has never stood to attention to anyone, I hereby stand to attention to Poland, of which you are a representative, and raise a toast: long live the first President of the Republic!”. December 16, 1922. Zdjęcie przedstawiające okazały budynek w stylu włoskiego neorenesansu, będący siedzibą warszawskiego Towarzystwa Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych. Podpis: The assassination of President Narutowicz at the opening of an exhibition in the Society of Incentive for Fine Arts. The assassin – a fanatical right-winger Eligiusz Niewiadomski – shoots the President at close range. Narutowicz dies on the spot. December 17, 1922 - December 22, 1922. Zdjęcie przedstawiające uroczystość złożenia zwłok p.rezydenta Gabriela Narutowicza w podziemiach warszawskiej Katedry św. Jana Chrzciciela. Przed otwartą kryptą, na katafalku, trumna okryta sztandarem. Na niej leży wieniec. Wokół zgromadzeni żałobnicy. Wśród nich kapłan w sutannie i komży, z biretem na głowie. Podpis: The obsequies last a couple of days. The coffin with the President’s body is presented to the public in Belweder, and later transferred to the Royal Castle in Warsaw where the Polish society may pay their respects. Finally, the President is buried in the crypt of St. John’s Cathedral in Warsaw.

The assassinationassassinationassassination of President Narutowicz was a shock to the young Polish state. The National Assembly quickly elected another President – Stanisław Wojciechowski. He remained in office until 14, May 1926 – the May Coup d’État. Inspired by Marshal Józef Piłsudski the coup was backed by supporters of radical changes to the way Poland was being ruled. Negotiations with President Wojciechowski did not bring satisfactory results and to put an end to this dramatic situation the President decided to resign. The office was, once again, overtaken by the Marshal of the Sejm – Maciej Rataj.

On 31, May 1926 the National Assembly elected Józef Piłsudski for President, but he did not accept the office. Ignacy Mościcki became the third President of the Republic of Poland. The rule of the so‑called sanation (“healing”) began. Seven years later, in 1933, the National Assembly reelected Mościcki. In 1935 a new constitution was passed, which granted the President with much greater competence. Unfortunately, the story of Mościcki’s presidency is also a dramatic one – just a couple years later the second world war begins, and the Polish authorities need to flee the country. On 30, September 1939 Ignacy Mościcki passed the presidency over to Władysław Raczkiewicz – the first Polish President in exilePresident in exilePresident in exile.

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Exercise 1
Ćwiczenie alternatywne: Prepare summary of the lesson. Try to include every important information.
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Exercise 2
How was the first President of the Second Republic of Poland elected? Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. in general election, 2. he was nominated by Marshal Józef Piłsudski, 3. he was elected by the National Assembly
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Exercise 3
How did the presidency of each of the Presidents end? Match the events to the names of Presidents. Gabriel Narutowicz Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. assassinated by a political opponent, 2. his presidency was cut short because of the outbreak of the second world war, 3. lost his office because of a coup d’état Stanisław Wojciechowski Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. assassinated by a political opponent, 2. his presidency was cut short because of the outbreak of the second world war, 3. lost his office because of a coup d’état Ignacy Mościcki Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. assassinated by a political opponent, 2. his presidency was cut short because of the outbreak of the second world war, 3. lost his office because of a coup d’état
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Exercise 4
Ćwiczenie alternatywne: Read three short biographies. Match the names of presidents of the Second Republic of Poland with them. Presidents: Gabriel Narutowicz, Ignacy Mościcki, Stanisław Wojciechowski, Maciej Rataj. Biographies: 1. He was a professor at the Technical University in Zurich, a designer of railways and hydroelectric power stations. He has lived in Switzerland for over 30 years, became rich and famous, but missed the Polish sky… This great expert, known and respected Europe-wide, came back to Poland, when it gained independence. 2. When he was young, together with his wife he constructed bombs to assassinate the Russian general-governor. In 1926 he took the most important office in the state, 7 years later, he was reelected. On the day of Russian aggression , 17, September, 1939, he left Poland, never to come back again. 3. He was the third head of the Polish state after it regained independence. He became president in very dramatic circumstances.His term of office was cut short by a military coup d'état prepared by Marshal Józef Piłsudski. On 14, May 1926, he resigned, and later left the political scene completely.
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Exercise 5
Who is this description about?
He had the most important function in the new reborn Polish state. In 1926 he entered Warsaw with his troops, and took power. The National Assembly elected him President, but he did not accept the office. The next couple of years were a struggle to strengthen the political position of Poland, and fighting his ever weakening health. The latter battle was lost on 12, May 1935. “Let my heart (...) be buried in Vilnius, where my soldiers are” – were his last words. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. marshal Józef Piłsudski, 2. Roman Dmowski, 3. general Władysław Sikorski
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Exercise 6
Ćwiczenie alternatywne: Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Explain the meaning of following words: national minorities; President in exile; leftist parties; assassination. If it's too difficult, use lesson's glossary.

Keywords

the National Assembly, assassination, coup d’état, sanation, President in exile

Glossary

national minorities
national minorities
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Nagranie słówka: national minorities

mniejszości narodowe

President in exile
President in exile
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Nagranie słówka: President in exile

prezydent na uchodźstwie

leftist parties
leftist parties
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Nagranie słówka: leftist parties

partie lewicowe

assassination
assassination
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Nagranie słówka: assassination

zabójstwo