Read carefully the texts, listen to descriptions of the Second Republic of Poland and its neighbours and think about the following questions: Which neighbours were not hostile towards Poland? Which lands did the Poles have to fight for militarily and how did this fight end? 1. Cieszyn In November 1918, Polish and Czech local authorities agreed to divide Cieszyn Silesia, Spiš and Oraca according to the nationality of its residents. Authorities of Czechoslovakia did not approve this decision and in January 1919 a war started. Finally, the division of disputable lands was decided by the Western great powers, adopting solutions favorable to the Czechs. Cieszyn itself was divided between the two countries, marking the border on the Olza river. A lot of Poles stayed in the western part of Cieszyn Silesia, which belonged to Czech, in the so-called Zaolzie. Colour photo of the Olza River in Cieszyn. 2. Vilnius It was the former capital of Lithuania, however, at the beginning of the 20th century the majority of the population of the city and its surrounding were Poles. Armed fights started there in 1919. Western countries were inclined to give Vilnius to Lithuania, Poles however did not want to accept this decision. Thus, they simulated a rebellion of one of the divisions of their army, Żeligowski’s division, which occupied the Vilnius region and created an independent state there – the Republic of Central Lithuania. In 1922, the parliament of the Republic of Central Lithuania decided to join Poland, and the Polish Sejm approved it. Colour photo presenting the postage stamps of the Republic of Central Lithuania from 1920, 3. Warsaw In mid-August 1920, the Polish capital was threatened with being conquered by the attacking Russian (Bolshevik) army. At that time, the existence of the Polish state hung by a thread. However, between August 13th and 16th the Polish army managed to fight off the attack and start the counter-attack. The battle fought in Warsaw at that time is sometimes called a Miracle at the Vistula. The debates on whether the victory was decided by the genius of the Commander-in-Chief Józef Piłsudski, the help from France, or whether it was an act of Providence are still ongoing. Black and white photo of Polish soldiers with Bolshevik’s banners, 4. Poznań Before the Western great powers started to deal with the issue of the Polish western border, in the last days of December 1918, the population of Wielkopolska spontaneously took up the fight against the Germans. Wielkopolska uprising, as the only one Polish armed uprising in the history, ended with a victory. Western diplomats approved the fact that the territory covered by the uprising (including Poznań) belonged to Poland. Colour photo of insurgents from Wielkopolska, 5. Lviv The fights with Ukrainians for Lviv took place at the beginning of November 1918. On the Polish side, young boys called "eaglets" (1/4 of the volunteers were under 17 years of age) became famous. The Western great powers recognized the victory of Poles. Wojciech Kossak’s painting titled the Eaglets – the defense of the cemetery dated 1926, 6. Gdańsk In his famous formal speech addressed to the Congress at the beginning of 1918, the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, mentioned Poland's access to the sea as one of the conditions for future peace in Europe. General Haller's army fought for these lands in 1920, but final decisions of the Western great powers were made at a conference in Paris. Poland was granted only 140-meter coastline. Gdańsk became a free city, so it did not belong to either Poland or Germany. Black and white photo of the seat of Volkstag, i.e. the parliament of the Free City of Gdańsk, 7. Olsztyn The residents of Warmia (where Olsztyn is located), Mazury as well as Powiśle often did not have a formed national consciousness. They did not feel like Germans nor Poles. They were connected with their small homeland. Pursuant to the decisions of the great powers, they were to vote which country (Poland or Germany) they wanted to belong to. The majority of them chose Germany. Black and white photo. Reporting the results of voting of the region at the District Building in Olsztyn on August 16, 1920, 8. Katowice and Opole. Katowice and Opole are located in Silesia. The decision concerning the belonging of these lands to Poland or Germany was to be made through a plebiscite, i.e. voting of residents. As a result of this, and also as a result of three Silesia uprising, Katowice become a part of Poland (as a capital city of Silesia voivodeship), and Opole - Oppeln in Germany. Black and white photo. Awaiting the results of the plebiscite in Opole.

Miracle at the Vistula 1. Polish banner White with a red Knight's cross and a slogan - "God, Honor, Homeland” - in the central field. Raised upwards by a Polish soldier. It symbolizes a victory. Polish banner, 2. Red banner of the Bolshevik army Declining and pierced through with a bayonet of the Polish soldier. In this symbolism one can find a reference to the Jan Matejko’s painting "Battle of Grunwald", on which the Grand Master of the Order is punctured with a spear of St. Maurycy. fragment of the painting “Battle of Grunwald”, 3. Rev. Ignacy Skorupka Military chaplain. Presented with a cross in his right hand, leading the Polish Army to the attack. As a volunteer, he joined the people fighting and offered ministry service to Polish soldiers. His presence has a symbolic dimension, because in reality Rev. Skorupka could not take part in the battle of August 15, 1920. He died the day before during the fights for the Ossów, leading the attacking Polish division. Rev. Ignacy Skorupko., 4. The Mother of God The Battle of Warsaw took place on 15 August 1920, i.e. on the day of the Catholic holiday of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is to symbolize the divine help given by Providence to the fighting Poles. Both Polish soldiers and Bolsheviks taken into captivity recalled that during the battle they saw the figure of the Mother of God. image of the Mother of God., 5. Polish hussars Polish hussars emerging from the clouds is a reference to the great victory of Jan III Sobieski at Vienna in 1683. Here, it is supposed to symbolise the prevention of the danger in the form of communism flooding Europe. Just as almost 250 years earlier Polish troops saved Europe from the Turkish army, Poles did it in 1920 by stopping the attack of the Red Army. Polish hussars., 6. A figure of a scout and a woman Until the time of the breakthrough battle on the outskirts of Warsaw, the Bolshevik army was moving forward continuously. The widespread mobilization of society resulted in the fact that not only men defended the country, but also women and youth. Voluntary Legion of Women Members of the Voluntary Legion of Women with the Maxim machine gun, 7. 3rd i 4th Polish Army In the distance you can see Marshal Józef Piłsudski leading the approaching cavalry. This is probably the 3rd and 4th Polish Army, the counter-attack of which took place on the next day, breaking down the divisions of the Red Army retreating after the defeat completely. Interestingly, the Battle of Warsaw itself did not take place at the Vistula riverside, but in the fields near Radzymin, a dozen or so kilometres away. Pilsudski and haller Józef Piłsudski and Józef Haller during the army review after the victorious Battle of Warsaw., 8. Aviation For the Polish aviation, participation in the Polish-Soviet war was the greatest test in the history. Squadrons of Army 1 attacked the enemy with bombs and fire of machine guns, but they also conducted an air reconnaissance providing valuable information about the positions and movements of the opponent. SPAD VII type fighter SPAD VII fighter, used by the 19th Fighter Squadron, 9. Defeat of the Red Army Soviet attack not only lost its initiative, but also was unable to regain it until the end of the war. The losses of the Bolshevik army are not completely known, it is estimated that nearly 25 thousand soldiers died and more than 60 thousand were taken prisoner by the Poles. Victory of the Polish Army was complete, and the battle itself is considered one of the most important in the history of the world. Polish soldiers with Bolshevik banners Polish soldiers with Bolshevik banners