Polish culture in the Interbellum

illiteracy, affecting 33.1% of Poland's citizens in 1921, with the worst situation existing in the former Russian Empire.^[1] The territories of the Prussian Partition were most developed, although Poles were also subjected to the Germanization policies of Kulturkampf and Hakata.^[3] Meanwhile, the eastern and southern territories – parts of the former Russian Partition and Austrian Partition – were among the least developed regions in Europe.^[1] Even though the level of economic, cultural and political development between the three former zones of occupation differed substantially, over time, the cultural hubs of Warsaw, Kraków, Wilno (modern Vilnius) and Lwów (modern Lviv) raised themselves to the level of vital European cities.^[1]

national census, the Catholic Poles constituted 69.2% of the population, the Ukrainians 14.3%, the Jews 7.8%, the Belarusians 3.9% and the Germans 3.9%. The minorities amounted to 30.8% of the total. The rise of new intelligentsia resulted in the development of a record number of political parties, lobbies and societies. In a dozen or so years the newspaper readership doubled. In 1919, new universities opened in Poznań, Wilno, and Lublin. Universities in Kraków and Lwów were polonized already five years earlier. The Elementary School Teachers Union was formed in 1919.^[1] In the first ten years of Poland's redevelopment, the total number of schools increased by almost 10,000 thanks to the official decree on public education. By the time of the Nazi-Soviet invasion of 1939, some 90% of children were in schools across the country, the number limited only by the shortage of qualified staff and lack of adequate locales especially in the villages.^[1]

Targi Wschodnie (as it was known in Polish) by 1928 could boast some 1,600 exhibitors, 400 of them being foreign firms. The fair attracted 150,000 visitors that year, with tram connections to the city, customs office and telephone exchange on site.^[4] Also in 1928, a similar trade fair was launched in Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania) to drum up business in northeastern Poland, reaching out to Lithuania and Latvia. The Northern Trade Fair (Targi Północne) was visited by the staggering 180,000 guests in the first year. It was the biggest annual event locally showcasting textiles, furniture, farm animals, furs, tourist equipment, production machinery and many other commercial products.^[5]

Maison du Peuple,^[6] was completed in 1931 thanks to the generous sponsorship by Prince and Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha. Throughout the interwar period, the Kraków Philharmonic maintained also the Polish Professional Musicians Trade Union set up to protect the welfare of its members as well as the artistic level of their performances.^[7]

Polish Radio began its regular broadcasts from Warsaw. The number of publicly owned stations increased to 10 prior to the 1939 invasion.^[1]

anti-Polonism, and implemented on the fifth anniversary of his death. The Academy awarded two highest national honors for contribution to the development of Polish literature: the Gold and the Silver Laurel (Złoty, and Srebrny Wawrzyn).^[11] The main objective was to raise the quality level of Poland's book publishing.^[12] The honorary members included the Academy's main promoters: President of Poland Ignacy Mościcki and Marshal Józef Piłsudski.^[12]

Warsaw University the seminars on Ukrainian history were held by renowned scholar, prof. Myron Korduba who taught Jerzy Giedroyc among others. However, the Ukrainian attempts at forming a Ukrainian-language-only university did not succeed, attesting to the lack of perspective on the part of various political entities, before the Nazi-Soviet invasion.^[13][14][15] The plentiful collection of German press included notable anti-Fascist daily Neue Lodzer Zeitung.^[16]

Auschwitz, and numerous others.^[19] Jewish children were mainly enrolled in religious schools. During the school year of 1937–1938 there were 226 elementary schools and twelve high schools as well as fourteen vocational schools with either Yiddish or Hebrew as the instructional language.^[20][21] A network of 219 secular Yiddish language schools was run by TSYSHO (Central Yiddish School Organization) with 24,000 students in 1929. The Realgymnazye run in Wilno by TSBK (branch of TSYSHO) was the first modern high school in history in which Yiddish was the language of instruction.^[22][23]