History / Poland-Turkey relations WW2? [14]

@pawian

Oh, well I didn't think my questions were the kind that could be interpreted negatively, I don't think Turkey is a very controversial topic for WW2 history...

Anyway thank you for offering to look in to my questions later.

History / Poland-Turkey relations WW2? [14]


I'm asking out of historical interest, what's your problem with my question? Turkey was one of the few neutral countries in the war, and I already know how most of the others reacted, so I'd like to know what Turkey's response was to Poland's situation during WW2, since I don't know.

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@pawian
After that I think the Regency Council took over from September 1917 until the end of the war, which was also staffed by Poles (but of course, still a puppet). If wikipedia is to be believed, they were the ones who first declared Polish independence in 1918.

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@Ziemowit

Sorry, I think you mean 5 November 1916? Or was there another proclamation in November 1917?

Anyway, it seems they did set up some form of puppet government in 1917:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Council_of_State

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_Council_(Poland)

By the way, if anyone is interested, I just came across this book which looks like it might have good information on the topic of this thread:

amazon.co.uk/Elusive-Alliance-German-Occupation-Poland/dp/0674286014/

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@Ziemowit

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the proclamation was in 1916, but the actual state/government wasn't established until 1917.
Thank you for the book recommendation.

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@pawian

Yes, plenty of postwar struggles between Germans (like the Freikorps) and Poles to rebuild Poland. And of course Russian Bolsheviks coming from the east, but that's another story...

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@pawian

Yes, I've heard of the oath crisis. Still though, it does seem that a Polish government and armed forces existed under German rule during WW1:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polska_Si%C5%82a_Zbrojna

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Council_of_State

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_Council_(Poland)

I guess some Poles were willing to take a chance on Germany, but probably only for as long as Russia was a problem. In fact, I think Piłsudki's original plan had been to support the Central Powers until Russia was defeated, and then support the Entente until the Central Powers were defeated, so that's probably why he refused the German oath in 1917.

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@pawian

Well, small victories I guess. Plus the creation of the puppet Kingdom of Poland in 1917, which seems like the first time Poland reappeared on the map since the partitions. I'm sure if Germany won it would have just become a dependant vassal, but at least it was a step in the right direction...

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@pawian

Yes, it looks lovely. Just have to wait for this dratted virus to go away...

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@pawian
Yes, perhaps we may never know about those soldiers. But if I get a chance to visit Kalisz, it is something I might try to find out.

Hm, I wonder if there are German records somewhere which could indicate how the German command reacted to Kalisz. Maybe I can ask a German acquaintance to help me research a bit...

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@pawian
@gumishu

The wikipedia article that pawian posted claims that some German troops in Kalisz refused to follow the repression orders from their officers. If it's true, I wonder if they were Poles from the German partition, or just Germans who thought their leaders (like Preusker) were going too far...

Do we know if Preusker received any reprimand/punishment from the German command for his role in the massacre? Or did they turn a blind eye?

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@pawian I wasn't aware of that, thank you for telling me, very sad indeed. Did this kind of thing continue against Poles from the Russian-partition during the rest of the war? Or was it a one-off atrocity?

@gumishu Interesting, thank you.

History / German treatment of Poles (Russian partition) during WW1? [25]

@gumishu Thank you. Do you know what their attitude was toward civilians there? For example was there large use of slave-labour from that part of Poland during WW1, or did they mostly leave Polish civilians alone (as long as they gave up those supplies you mentioned)?

History / American volunteers in Polish-Soviet War [6]

Well, it is important to me if I want to learn about the topic, I thought maybe it was from a book or article that I could look up. I know the Blue Army, but I didn't know it included Polish-Americans who went on to fight in the Polish-Soviet War.

History / American volunteers in Polish-Soviet War [6]

Thanks pawian, can I ask your source for this?