Topic: The Presidents of the Second Republic of Poland

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

8th‑grade primary school student.

Core curriculum:

XI. Democracy in the Republic of Poland.

The student:

5) explains the principle of the republican form of government; presents the election method and fundamental competences of the President of the Republic of Poland; finds information about the political life of former presidents elected in the general election, and about the activities of the incumbent President of the Republic of Poland.

The general aim of education:

The student presents the main organs of public authorities.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• recognises all the presidents of the Second Republic of Poland.

• presents in what situation they were elected and how their time in office ended.

• analyzes the turbulent history of interwar Poland in terms of political system changes,

• compares the political position of the president in the constitutions of the interwar period and the current constitution.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods:

• teaching conversation using interactive exercises,

• source material analysis (comparative),

• metaplan.

Forms of work:

• work in pairs,

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access, headphones,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• copies of question lists for each pair of students – material A,

• copies of text of fragments of the March and April constitutions for each group – material B (attachment),

• copies of instructions for individual groups – material C (attachment),

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk..

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will learn the dramatic fate of the presidents of the Second Republic of Poland and analyze the political position of the head of state in two constitutions of the interwar period – March and April ones.

2. The teacher displays Exercise 1 from the abstract on the interactive whiteboard. He explains to the students that their task is to complete the text about the turbulent fate of Poland's way to independence. Willing/selected students fill in the gaps.

Implementation:

1. The teacher asks the students to pair up and gives each couple a question paper. He informs the students that their task will be to find answers to the questions in the abstract „The Presidents of the Second Republic of Poland”, using the content of the appropriate chapter and the timeline presenting the presidency of Gabriel Narutowicz. He also says that the first five pairs that correctly answer all the questions will be rewarded with a positive grade for activeness.

Sample list of questions (material A):

• Who chose the president under the constitution of 1921?

• How long did the presidential term of office last?

• Why did Józef Piłsudski not decide to run for president in 1922?

• Who took over the function of the murdered President Gabriel Narutowicz (function, name and surname)?

• In how many rounds did the vote for President Gabriel Narutowicz take place?

• Which group submitted the candidacy of Gabriel Narutowicz?

• What group did Gabriel Narutowicz come from?

• Where did President Narutowicz meet with Marshal Piłsudski for the symbolic transfer of power?

• What was the name of the assassin who shot President Narutowicz?

• Where is President Narutowicz buried?

• When did the presidency of Stanisław Wojciechowski end?

• How many times has Ignacy Mościcki become the president of Poland?

• Who became the president of Poland after Ignacy Mościcki?

2. After the first five couples correctly complete the task, the teacher interrupts the work of the other students and together with the whole class determines the correct answers to all questions.

3. The teacher asks the students to split into six groups. He informs the students that they will work with source materials – texts of the Constitutions of the Second Republic of Poland. The problem that will be analyzed is the political position of the head of state under the constitutions of March and April. Each of the six groups will deal with the comparison of other aspects of the President's exercise of power:

• the president's competences with respect to the legislative authority,

• the role of the president in the legislative process,

• the president's competences towards the Council of Ministers,

• division of power,

• the president's election,

• conditions for candidates,

• emptying the office,

• president's responsibility,

• legal acts issued by the president,

• nomination rights,

• the role of the president in the defense of the country,

• the role of the president in foreign policy,

• the president's powers in emergency states,

• prerogative of mercy.

The teacher prepares a table on the board:

In the first column the teacher lists all of the above‑mentioned aspects. The teacher explains to the students that thanks to group work they will fill in the table and solve the problem of the political position of the head of state in these two constitutions.

Then the teacher assigns selected aspects to each group (along with hints – material C) and informs about the time the task is to be completed. He distributes fragments of the March and April constitutions (material B) and sheets of paper to each group.

4. After the expiration of the appointed time, selected members of the groups present the results of their work and place posters in the right place of the table (board).

The students will not find all the differences and similarities, even those suggested in brackets. This is not the purpose of the exercise. The aim is to strengthen the ability to work with source material, comparative analysis and finding some of the similarities and differences characterizing the position of the head of state in the March and April constitutions.

Summary:

1. The teacher informs the students that in order to review the knowledge and skills acquired during the lesson they will do exercises 2, 3, 4 and 5 from the abstract „The Presidents of the Second Republic of Poland”. Then, together with the teacher, they discuss the correct answers.

2. The teacher asks a willing student to summarize the lesson from his point of view. He asks other students if they would like to add something to their colleague's statements.

3. Homework proposal:

a. And what is the position of the current President of the Republic of Poland? Make a table in which you compare the power of the head of state based on the current Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the March or April Constitution. Find five differences or similarities.

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

Notes for the teacher:

It is worth to deviate from the routine selection of students in pairs, i.e. to connect students sitting together on a bench. The teacher should enable students to choose their partners for cooperation and sometimes to pair the more and less talented students. In this case, however, it should be noted that the student with greater opportunities does not solve the tasks alone.

Fragments of the March and April constitutions (material B)

Instructions for groups (material C)

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

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 minorities and leftist 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.

The assassination 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 exile.