Kingdom of Poland (1917–1918)

Kingdom of Poland Królestwo Polskie (Polish) Königreich Polen (German)
1917–1918
Flag Coat of arms
Status	Austro-German puppet state
Capital	Warsaw
Common languages	Polish German
Demonym(s)	Polish, Pole
Government	Unitary constitutional monarchy under a directorial regency
King
• 1917–1918	Vacant
Head of State
• 1917	State Councila
• 1917–1918	Regency Councila
Prime Minister
• 1917–1918	Jan Kucharzewski
• 1918	Antoni Ponikowski
• 1918	Jan Kanty Steczkowski
• 1918	Józef Świeżyński
• 1918	Władysław Wróblewski
Historical era	Armistice	11 November 1918
Currency	Polish marka Imperial ruble Austro-Hungarian krone
Preceded by Succeeded by Government General of Warsaw Military Government of Lublin Supreme National Committee Second Polish Republic
Ruled as collective heads of state.

The Kingdom of Poland (Polish: Królestwo Polskie, German: Königreich Polen), also known informally as the Regency Kingdom of Poland (Polish: Królestwo Regencyjne), was a short-lived polity that was proclaimed during World War I by the German Empire and Austria-Hungary on 5 November 1916 on the territories of formerly Russian-ruled Congress Poland held by the Central Powers as the Government General of Warsaw and which became active on 14 January 1917. It was subsequently transformed between 7 October 1918 and 22 November 1918 into the independent Second Polish Republic, the customary ceremonial founding date of the latter being later set at 11 November 1918.

In spite of the initial total dependence of this

The decision to propose the restoration of Poland after a century of partitions was taken up by the German policymakers in an attempt to legitimize further imperial presence in the occupied territories and create a buffer state to prevent future wars with Russia. The plan was followed by the German propaganda pamphlet campaign delivered to the Poles in 1915, claiming that the German soldiers were arriving as liberators to free Poland from subjugation by the Russian Empire.^[2] However, the German High Command under Erich Ludendorff also wanted to annex around 30,000 square kilometers of the territory of former Congress Poland, and planned to evict up to 3 million Poles and Jews to make room for German colonists in the so-called Polish Border Strip plan.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} The German government used punitive threats to force Polish landowners living in the German-occupied Baltic states to relocate and sell their Baltic property to the Germans in exchange for entry to Poland. Parallel efforts were made to remove Poles from Polish territories of the Prussian Partition.^[8]

Early plans

Germany

With the onset of the war in 1914, for the purposes of securing Germany's eastern border against the

In several memoranda sent during 1915 and 1916, Hans Hartwig von Beseler, the Governor-General of the Polish areas under German control, proposed the establishment of an independent Polish state. Under the influence of General Erich Ludendorff, then in effect the director of Germany's eastern European operations, this proposal included the annexation of considerable amounts of land by Germany, Lithuania, and Austria-Hungary. Gerhard von Mutius, the cousin of Chancellor von Bethmann Hollweg and the foreign office's representative at Beseler's headquarters, disputed the use of annexation, insisting that "if the military interests allow for it, divisions and secessions should be avoided", as such a policy would secure an "anti-Russian inclination [toward] the new Poland".^[1]

Similar plans were advanced by influential German intellectuals in the early years of the war. Among them were Hans Delbrück, Friedrich Naumann, and Paul Rohrbach. They generally argued that because Polish nationalism and Polish society were so highly developed, Germany would encounter severe resistance if they attempted to annex large territories in Poland. They concluded that Germany could only effectively project power into Poland by establishing an autonomous Polish state as a German protectorate.^[11]

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The borders of this "autonomous" Poland were to be changed in favour of Germany with the annexation of the so-called "Polish Border Strip" which would lead to the annexation of considerable parts of Polish territory that had been part of the Russian partition of Poland. By the end of 1916, Germany wanted to annex almost 30,000 square kilometres of Polish territory. These lands were to be settled by ethnic Germans, while the Polish and Jewish population was to be removed.^[12]

After the expected victory the Polish economy was to be dominated by Germany and preparations were made for German control over the Polish railway system, shipping in the

Such plans were also proposed by members of the German minority in Poland in the Łódź area, who protested the Act of 5th November, and in a letter to the German government demanded the annexation of western Poland by Germany and settlement of ethnic Germans in those areas.^[14][15]

German candidates for the throne were disputed between the royal houses of

By early 1916, the "Austro-Polish Solution" had become hypothetical. Erich von Falkenhayn, the German Chief of the General Staff, had rejected the idea in January, followed by von Bethmann Hollweg in February. Von Bethmann Hollweg had been willing to see an Austrian candidate on the new Polish throne, so long as Germany retained control over the Polish economy, resources and army.^[23]

During the first year of the war, German and Austrian troops quickly conquered Russian Vistula Land, former Congress Poland, and in 1915 divided its administration between a German Governor General in Warsaw and an Austrian counterpart in Lublin.^[1] During the German military campaign in the ethnically Polish territory, Poles were subjected to forced labour and confiscation of food and private property.^[24]

Preparations for Polish statehood

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Proclamation of two Emperors promising a Polish state

After the German offensive failed in the Battle of Verdun and Austria suffered military setbacks against Italy, Generals von Hindenburg and Ludendorff, now supreme commanders of the German military and increasingly the dominant force over the politics of both Germany and Austria, changed their positions on Poland: having previously considered Poland as a bargaining card in the event of a separate peace with Russia, they now postulated the establishment of a German dependency, hoping that the creation of a Polish army could replace the Central Powers' losses. In October 1916, at joint deliberations at Pszczyna, the German and Austrian leadership agreed to accelerate the proclamation promising the creation of a Polish state in the future. Although early plans called for an Austro-Polish solution, they were abandoned by the German Chancellor in February 1916 in the face of growing dependence of Austria-Hungary on Germany.^[25] Both control over Polish economy and raw resources was to be in Germany's hands and Germany would also be in total control over the Polish army.^[1]

In the meantime, General von Beseler had managed to gain support among pro-Austrian Poles and the followers of

On 14 January 1917, a Provisional Council of State (Polish: Tymczasowa Rada Stanu) was established as a provisional government, consisting of 15 members chosen by the German and ten by the Austrian authorities. The magnate Waclaw Niemojowski was appointed Crown Marshal, with Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski acting as his deputy. Franciszek Pius Radziwiłł and Józef Piłsudski were put in charge of the Military Commission. The Council's first proclamation espoused monarchical government, Poland's expansion towards the east and supported an army of volunteers. A National Council served as a provisional parliament. The Councillors insisted on actual Polish autonomy and, on 21 April, were given authority over education, law courts, and propaganda. Still, students were dissatisfied with the extent of autonomy and organised a strike on 3 May, resulting in the temporary closing of all universities.

The state authorities within the Provisional Council of State (14 January – 15 August 1917) included Waclaw Niemojowski, Crown Marshall (14 January – 6 August 1917); Deputy Marshall Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski.

Meanwhile, the Supreme National Committee continued since 1914 as the limited Polish authority in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria.

"Regency" constitution

Both abovementioned bodies were dissolved after creation of the

The Regency Council was ceremonially installed on 15 October, the anniversary of Tadeusz Kościuszko's death, and on 26 November, appointed Jan Kucharzewski, a lawyer who had been working in the government since June, as Prime Minister. Administration, however, strictly remained in the hands of German authorities, now headed by Otto von Steinmeister. In March 1918, a resolution of the German Reichstag called for the establishment of a native civil administration in Poland, Kurland and Lithuania. However, the German authorities refused to transfer administration to Polish authorities and merely considered Poles as candidates to be trained under German supervision.

In August 1918,

Meanwhile,

In their proclamation of 5 November 1916, the Central Powers refused to^{[citation needed]} determine the Polish borders.

West and North

However, Poland's unspecified borders were threatened in the West as well: Late in 1917, the German supreme command had proposed annexing a "border strip" to Germany,^[12] a policy earlier suggested by a letter to the German government by members of Poland's German minority, settled around Łódź. Such plans were agreed to in principle by the German government in March 1918 and in April gained support in the Prussian House of Lords, but were strongly opposed by General von Beseler in a report to Emperor Wilhelm.

In July, Ludendorff specified his plans in a memorandum, proposing annexing a greatly enlarged "border strip" of 20,000 square kilometers.^[25][12] In August, Emperor Charles of Austria insisted on the Austro-Polish option, forbidding Archduke Charles Stephen from accepting the crown and declaring his opposition to any German plans for annexation, but General Ludendorff reaffirmed the "border strip" plan, while Poles refused to yield any part of former Kingdom of Poland.

East and South

Ludendorff agreed in turn to leave Wilno (and possibly

The Regency Council sought admission to the negotiation regarding the future (Second) Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Bolshevik government during travels to Berlin and Vienna early in 1918 but only gained German Chancellor Georg von Hertling's promise to admit the Polish government in an advisory capacity. This, however, was refused by the Bolshevik representatives, who denied the Polish government any legitimacy.^[29]

Loss of control by Central Powers and transition to republic

After Germany's 1918

However, another Polish government based in Lublin arose to challenge the Regency's authority: on 6 November Ignacy Daszyński proclaimed the "Polish People's Republic" (Tymczasowy Rząd Ludowy Republiki Polskiej - literally: "Temporary People's Government of the Polish Republic"), with Daszyński himself (a Socialist politician and formerly a member of the Austrian parliament) as Prime Minister and Colonel Edward Rydz-Śmigły as a military commander. Moderates in Warsaw, who now hoped for a return of General Piłsudski, who was still held in custody at Magdeburg, repudiated Lublin's declaration of the deposition of the Regency to be deposed and its plans for radical social reforms. Already in October, the Regency Council had requested Piłsudski's release, and after negotiations through Harry Graf Kessler the General was allowed to return to Warsaw, where he arrived on 10 November. The following day Germany signed the armistice and German troops in Warsaw were disarmed as they refused to fire on Polish insurgents. On the same day Daszyński government ceded all authority to Piłsudski and resigned, while the Regency Council transferred to him its military authority. On 14 November the Council ceded also the remainder of its authority to Józef Piłsudski and voted itself out of existence.^[31] Already on the same day, Piłsudski issued in turn decree reappointing the [Daszyński] Government of the Polish Republic,^[32] in spite of the continued existence of Wróblewski provisional government of the Kingdom. On 16th November 1918, Piłsudski sent a radio telegram to "Mr President of the United States, the Royal English Government, the Government of the French Republic, the Royal Italian Government, the Imperial Japanese Government, the Government of the German Republic, as well as the governments of all the warring or neutral states”, notifying them about the establishment of an independent Polish State, named in the telegram as the Polish Republic.^[33]

On 17th November, both the newly designated prime minister Daszyński and the provisional government of Wróblewski resigned in favour of the new Moraczewski government, finally ending the governmental diarchy. Therefore, either 14th November or 17th November may both be considered the final day of kingdom’s existence. The transition to republican government was formally completed through the decree of 22 November 1918 on the supreme representational authority of the Polish Republic, which stipulated assumption by Piłsudski of the interim office of chief of state.^[34]

See also

• History of Poland (1795–1918)
• Diplomatic history of World War I

Notes