The history of the areas (incorporated to the Belarusian SSR in 1939), which in the Belarusian and Russian historiography adopted the geopolitical term “Western Belarus,” in Polish historiography is seen as an integral part of the overall history of the multinational Polish State. Regardless of the form of the state, which have evolved in the course of historical development (i.e. as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, founded in the 16th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – which from the late 18th to the early 20th century was under Russian domination; finally revived in 1918 as the Second Polish Republic of interwar era, which has become a victim of Nazi on the one hand and on the other hand, the Stalinist aggression in September 1939) the history of “Eastern Borderlands”, including areas inhabited mostly by Belarusian peasants, is recognized in Polish literature in the paradigm of “our common and only homeland”, to which the love, affection, compassion are inseparable from the whole Polish patriotism. The distinction between methodological principles of Polish and Russian-Belarusian (tsarist, Soviet and post-Soviet times) lies in the fact that in the last so-called “Western Belarus” occurs as an entity independent of the fate of Poland, subject of research and legal entity (on the basis of which, among others, it was incorporated in the Belarusian SSR), while in Polish studies and assessments of all aspects of the history and culture of the people of this country and its political transition are presented through the prism of Polish historical issues. This applies to threads, causing debates (for example, about the borders approved by the Treaty of Riga in 1921), grief, accusations of treason by a certain group of Belarusian activists of inter war era, a sad irony in relation to the so-called national enthusiasm with which Belarusians erected “welcome gates” for the Red Army. The first part of the article concerns texts by Józef Mackiewicz, Kazimierz Podlaski, Sokrat Janowicz and other authors who in Poland and in exile dealt with the history of “Western Belarus” until 1939.

Problemem podjętym w artykule jest sposób przekazu przez system edukacji szkolnej Republiki Białoruś wiedzy dotyczącej znajdowania się części ziem Białorusi w granicach II Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Głównym uzasadnieniem wyboru tematu jest to, iż odpowiednio sformułowany program nauczania może wpływać na kształtowanie świadomości narodowej. Praca oparta jest na oryginalnych wynikach badań materiałów szkolnych używanych w systemie szkolnictwa Republiki Białoruś. W ramach rozprawy został opracowany model teoretyczny przedstawienia kresów w okresie międzywojennym w literaturze szkolnej Białorusi. Znaczącym elementem w badaniu jest uwzględnienie autorskich intencji zawartych w tekście oraz celowo stworzonego przez białoruskich historyków wizerunku Polaków oraz Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej. W wyniku przeprowadzonego opracowania został wyszczególniony charakterystyczny sposób postrzegania przez system białoruskiej edukacji II Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, a także procesów odbywających się w tym okresie na ziemiach Zachodniej Białorusi. W rozprawie przyjęto tezę, zgodnie z którą Republika Białoruś w podręcznikach dla uczniów stwarza obraz wroga zewnętrznego, którego rolę w jej przypadku pełni Polska oraz Polacy.

Social significance of the military settlers in the Eastern parts of the Second Polish Republic

The article is devoted to the theme of military settlers (pol. osadnicy) in Eastern parts of Poland, which are called “Kresy”, in the first half of the twentieth century. The authors focus on the historical background of military precipitating caused by Polish government, as well as descriptions of the life of military colonialists in the eastern territories. Considerable attention is paid to the study of the social significance of the settlers, which is manifested mainly in the economic and cultural sphere. The topic of military settlers in the West of Ukraine has been poorly studied. Modern sources describe a small amount of information about history that caused the agrarian reform in Poland and their impact on life in Western Ukraine. The paper is focused on the problems of military colonization in the Eastern Poland in the first half of the twentieth century. The research methodology is based on the analysis of available facts, as well as the statistical evaluation of archival data. As a result, an assessment was made of the positive influence of the military colonization to economy in the West of Ukraine.

The image of peasant culture in the political thought of selected people’s parties of the Second Polish Republic

Culture formed a significant element of political thought of every major political movement, both during the final years of partition of Poland, and after it regained its independence. The scope of interest of people’s parties covered almost everything that had a rural context, relating to the many millions of peasants. The present article analyzes the program assumptions of the Polish People’s Party “Piast” [Pol. Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe “Piast”], Polish People’s Party “Wyzwolenie” [Pol. Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe “Wyzwolenie”], Peasant’s Party [Pol. Stronnictwo Chłopskie] and the People’s Party [Pol. Stronnictwo Ludowe] relating to the aforesaid category of political sciences. These parties played a significant role in the history of people’s movement, influencing the shape of the recreated Polish state during the interwar bi-decade. The political thought of people’s parties aimed at bestowing the peasant’s culture with both autonomous, and nationwide value. These ideological assumptions were included in the political programs of people’s parties.

“May the Polish Sejm be Tranquil, may the Polish Sejm be Quiet”. Building and Phasing out the Legal State in the Second Polish Republic

The inter-war period played the key role in the process of realizing the idea of the legal state in Poland. It brought the uninhibited opportunity to establish a new the form of government based on solid democratic standards and the rule of law for the first time since the country had lost its independence in the late 18th century. It was expressed in the legal instruments of the March Constitution of 1921. Practical enforcement of the legal state concept in the Second Polish Republic was far from ideal though. It resulted from various political, social, economic and international challenges. The March Constitution, not always clearly worded, was subject to widespread criticism and its cumbersome regulations were ignored. Moving gradually away from the rule of law, marked by the Sanacja elites becoming more authoritarian after 1926, was expressed on three levels: creating law, including subsequent constitutional regulations, it’s interpretations and enforcement. Gradual transformation of the parliamentary-cabinet system of the March Constitution into authoritarian state was the result of these processes. The article attempts to analyze the inter-war experience from the point of view of growing degradation of the rule of law and the reasons for its instability in the Second Polish Republic.

The last slaves in modern Europe – relics of serfdom in Spisz and their abolition in the 1930s

In Polish Spiš, incorporated on 28 July 1920 into the Second Polish Republic, there were three villages (Niedzica, Falsztyn and Niżne Łapsze) which belonged to two related families (the Salamons and the Jungenfelds). These villages were relics of feudalism in the form of serfdom of one of the categories of local peasants referred to as “żelarze”. This problem, solved in two stages in Hungary in 1848 and 1896, in Polish Spiš was not eliminated until 20 March 1931 when a legal act led to enfranchisement of “żelarze” by way of purchase over the next three years.

French economic mission in Poland in 1929

The French economic mission that came to Poland in 1929, has two aims: to visit the General National Exhibition in Poznań and to check how the interests of French companies in Poland were going. At the same time the two countries signed economic contract.

The main purpose of this article is to attempt to show the collective biography of Polish women parliamentarians of the interwar period through an insight into their emotions and feelings, to show the “emotional communities” presented by Barbara Rosenwein. In this text I will focus on the main problems of the political activity of Polish women parliamentarians in the interwar period. Source materials produced by women, mainly ego-documents and public documents created by them, will be used to develop this topic. The study will analyze the individual experiences of women parliamentarians. Their emotions, opinions and reflections on parliamentary work will be taken into account. The paper will also discuss selected biographical aspects of the women parliamentarians, such as their age, education and political views, which undoubtedly had an impact on their opinions and emotions. Polish women parliamentarians of that time had to struggle with many problems. Reluctance to place women on candidate lists was a common occurrence. Moreover, women had to meet numerous social expectations. First of all, they were required to be mothers and wives who were responsible for family life, that is, the private sphere. Furthermore, women were seen more as social activists than as politicians. At the same time, men considered women’s issues less important, which was evident in parliamentary discussions. The main research questions were: How did women perceive their own political activity? political activity? What problems did politically active women face?

The active and direct participation of the state in the process of education was a very important and significant element that put the position of the main ideological-political formations in the interwar period in opposition to concepts constructed at the turn of the twentieth century. At the time of regaining independence, the state could be considered as one of the main subjects that were import_ant for rebuilding the awareness and collective identity of Polish people’s citizenship. Therefore, this text deals with the school and the army – institutions of educational influence during the Second Polish Republic – as the subjects of educational influence.

Legislation on Family Fideicommissa in the Second Polish Republic

The article describes the creation and content of legal regulations in the Second Polish Republic regarding a special institution, which were family fideicommissa (entails), called in Poland ordynacje rodowe – indivisible estates in the hands of aristocratic families, excluded from the general principles of inheritance, with restrictions in the field of, i.a., disposition and charging. The author proves that the legislation in this respect was influenced by the then agrarian policy and attempts to regulate the land reform. Family laws were perceived in particular as a relic of feudalism contrary to the constitutional order and a policy aimed at basing the agricultural structure on middle and small property and thus raising the social and economic status of the poor masses of Polish peasants. The author describes political postulates in this regard, successive legal acts created by the legislature and the accompanying parliamentary discussions.

The disobedient women – leaders of the National Organization for Women. A sketch for a group portrait of the National Democracy women activists 1919–1929)

The significance and scale of Endek influence in the nineteenth and twentieth century were not the outcome of stricly party organizations. A social movement, which had been built up since the partition era, reflected the strength of the nationalist camp. Vigorous associations – both secret and conspiratorial – united both men and women of various social backgrounds, economic positions, and professionial affiliations. This included the National Organization of Women (NOK) – founded in 1919 – which was one of the largest and most influential women’s groups in the Second Polish Republic. The following article is an attempt to present selected aspects of the biographies of NOK leaders, which collectively make up a collective portrait of Natinal Democratic women of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The analysis includes such elements as: the intellectual climate of the era, the significance of the partitions in female political activism in indepent Poland, and the role of the Catholic faith (both in its individual and social dimensions). It is also indispensable to discuss the circumstances of the NOK’s founding and the motives propelling Polish women toward activism in the public sphere: first, in the electoral campaign to the Constituent Diet (1919) on behalf of the National Democratic movement, and, secondly, through involvement in the association’s actitivities. In this context, it is wortwhile to pose a question about the roles of men and women in the ranks of the National Democratic movement. This is an issue that deserves to be investigated since the members of NOK, in response to the needs of a newly-independent Polish state, rejected the notion of gender conflict, aiming instead to build a community in which the activism of men and women could be mutually complementary.

Some features of economic development of village in the Eastern Galicia in 20–30 years of the 20th century

The article deals with the agrarian policy of the Polish government of the interwar period, which was intended to reform the agricultural system to increase productivity of agricultural production, the development of commodity-money relations and the activation of cooperative movement. The governmental policy has led to the formation of a land market, creating conditions for the origin of independent farms of different types and sizes, which were based on a private property of land. The main component of the agricultural policy of the government was colonization, which was intended to strengthen the eastern borders of the Second Polish Republic by creating economies of the colonists. They have become a social and political support for the government on the “Eastern lands.” This state policy influenced hostilely on millions of the local Ukrainian population. In despite the understanding of a significant number of Polish politicians and scientists such activities harm to the interests of the state, during the interwar period colonization of the land remained the main direction of agricultural policy. The Polish government has openly ignored the problems of the Ukrainian village, which led to a tangle of economic, national and social troubles that impacted on the Polish-Ukrainian aggravation of interethnic relations.

The Current Legal Status of the Communities of Old Believers in Poland

The paper discusses the legal status of two communities of ‘old believers’ currently existing in Poland – Eastern Old Believers Church and Old Orthodox Church of Old Believers. The first part of the paper focuses on the controversy surrounding the Presidential Decree regulating the Eastern Old Believers Church of 1928. The widespread opinion concerning the expiry of the norms of the said decree is being challenged in this part. The second part focuses on the characteristics of the Old Orthodox Church of Old Believers, including a discussion of the case underlying the separation of the Old Orthodox Church of Old Believers from the structures of the Eastern Old Believers Church. In the last part, the position taken by the state regarding the dispute between the two mentioned religious denominations will be assessed in the perspective of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.