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What do Polish think of Gen. Pilsudski?


ylzmichal 3 | 13
9 Mar 2013 #1
When Pilsudski is mentioned in Chinese books, Pilsudski is a reactionary dictator, a military fascist leader, who ruled Poland without granting people freedom...
But Pilsudski also fought for Polish independence?
What do Polish people really think of him, do you hate him for his dictatorship or praise him for his patriotic efforts?
Gregrog 4 | 99
9 Mar 2013 #2
Pilsudski is considered as national hero in Poland by most of the people. He is beloved by most of right wing and hated by leftists.

Pilsudski(and some other ppl of that time) was creator of independent Poland and great patriot. When it comes to dictatorship - he was supported by most of the society. He wasn't like Hitler or Stalin. He didn't enslave people except far left politicians and Ukrainian nationalists.

What Chinese is writing in their books looks like communist propaganda. He is perceived totally different here.

Hitler considered Pilsudski as a great lider and he even attended the funeral: Hitler at Pilsudski funeral in Poland

and funeral itself: Funeral 2 of Pilsudski
grubas 12 | 1,384
9 Mar 2013 #3
Hitler considered Pilsudski as a great lider and he even attended the funeral:

I don't think Hitler attended funeral.As far as I remember Ribbentrop was sent to Warsaw.
Gregrog 4 | 99
9 Mar 2013 #4
ehh Indeed. Hitler attended mass for the Marshall in Berlin

"Hitler uczestniczył również we mszy świętej na cześć Marszałka, jaką odprawiono 18 maja 1935 r. w Katedrze św. Jadwigi w Berlinie przy symbolicznej trumnie Józefa Piłsudskiego"
jon357 74 | 22,060
10 Mar 2013 #5
He is beloved by most of right wing and hated by leftists

Far from it, not least because he had been a socialist organiser himself. Although he disdained the term Comrade later in life in order to remain above party politics he was very much a man of the left - indeed the murderer Eligiusz Niewiadomski had originally planned to kill him rather than Narutowicz.
OP ylzmichal 3 | 13
10 Mar 2013 #6
Thanks for your reply with photos~ Oh and also he is Lithuvanian, did the Polish ever think of reuniting Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuvania like they did so in the medieval commonwealth?
Paulina 16 | 4,390
10 Mar 2013 #7
When Pilsudski is mentioned in Chinese books, Pilsudski is a reactionary dictator, a military fascist leader, who ruled Poland without granting people freedom...
But Pilsudski also fought for Polish independence?
What do Polish people really think of him, do you hate him for his dictatorship or praise him for his patriotic efforts?

He is not hated for sure (at least by the majority of Poles, I think) but also the assessment of Piłsudski isn't unambiguous.

I think the article in Wikipedia sums it up well:

For a decade after World War II, Piłsudski was either ignored or condemned by Poland's communist government, along with the entire interwar Second Polish Republic. This began to change, however, particularly after de-Stalinization and the Polish October (1956), and historiography in Poland gradually moved away from a purely negative view of Piłsudski toward a more balanced and neutral assessment.[177]

After the fall of communism and the 1991 disintegration of the Soviet Union, Piłsudski once again came to be publicly acknowledged as a Polish national hero.[12] On the sixtieth anniversary of his death, on 12 May 1995, Poland's Sejm adopted a resolution: "Józef Piłsudski will remain, in our nation's memory, the founder of its independence and the victorious leader who fended off a foreign assault that threatened the whole of Europe and its civilization. Józef Piłsudski served his country well and has entered our history forever."[178]

While some of Piłsudski's political moves remain controversial — particularly the May 1926 Coup d'état, the Brest trials (1931–32), the 1934 establishment of the Bereza Kartuska detention camp, and successive Polish governments' failure to formulate consistent, constructive policies toward the national minorities[179] — Piłsudski continues to be viewed by most Poles as a providential figure in the country's 20th-century history.

In Poland Piłsudski is also:

Widely recognized for his opposition to the National Democrats antisemitic policies,[131][132][133][134][135][136] he extended his policy of "state-assimilation" to Polish Jews.[129][130][137][138] The years 1926–35, and Piłsudski himself, were favorably viewed by many Polish Jews whose situation improved especially under Piłsudski-appointed Prime Minister Kazimierz Bartel.[139][140] Many Jews saw Piłsudski as their only hope for restraining antisemitic currents in Poland and for maintaining public order; he was seen as a guarantor of stability and a friend of the Jewish people, who voted for him and actively participated in his political bloc.[141] Piłsudski's death in 1935 brought a deterioration in the quality of life of Poland's Jews.[136]

Quotes from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Pi%C5%82sudski

Hitler considered Pilsudski as a great lider

That's definitely not the best recommendation in the world lol

Far from it

Really? He is rather infamous for the prison for political prisoners at Bereza Kartuska and his authoritarian methods.

did the Polish ever think of reuniting Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuvania like they did so in the medieval commonwealth?

I think probably during at least one of the uprisings (during the partitions) and you could also read about:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish-Soviet_War
jon357 74 | 22,060
10 Mar 2013 #8
Really? He is rather infamous for the prison for political prisoners at Bereza Kartuska and his authoritarian methods.

A complex figure - but certainly not on the right. Worth mentioning that he established equal rights for women as well as, in 1932, legalising homosexuality; both against the wishes of the right-wing.
gumishu 13 | 6,138
10 Mar 2013 #9
Worth mentioning that he established equal rights for women as well as, in 1932

women in Poland had voting rights right from the begining in 1919 (March constitution)
jon357 74 | 22,060
10 Mar 2013 #10
Gumishu, check where the commas are before commenting on a post you've misread.

BTW, I did know that information and as I said - both were done against the wishes of the so-called 'conservative' element in society.
Paulina 16 | 4,390
10 Mar 2013 #11
women in Poland had voting rights right from the begining in 1919 (March constitution)

1918 to be more precise, by Piłsudski's decree, which was confirmed by the March Constitution of 1921.

Poland in its first days after regaining independence (1918) following the 123 year period of the Partition of Poland (before 1795 tax-paying females were allowed to take part in political life), allowed voting rights to women, as well as rights to be elected, without any restrictions.

From: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage#Poland
BrytyjskiPolak 1 | 8
11 Jan 2016 #12
Merged: Piłsudski-what would you do?

Out of all leaders Poland ever had, as most people agree, the greatest was Józef Piłsudski (my great-grandfathers friend). He was the best economical and military leader, that had either Krakow or Waraw had ever seen. Now imagine that a person of his intelligence and character was in the parliament opposition today (I cannot imagine him talking such mad ideas as PiS does)-what do you think he'd do, or plan?


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