Biography of Joseph Pilsudski
by Joseph Klemens Pilsudski would eventually become the most important military and political leader in Poland from the regaining of national independence in late 1918 through to his death in May 1935.
Joseph Pilsudski was born as a subject of the Russian Tzar in the vicinity of Vilna on the 5th December 1867. Vilna was at that point part of the Polish territories ruled by Russia whilst the rest of Poland was divided between Austria – Hungary and Prussia (Germany after 1871). Polish nationalists were keen to reunite the former state of Poland yet had to do so by removing the occupying forces yet had failed to do so despite uprisings in 1830 and 1848. The Russians, Prussians, and Austrians had indeed co – operated in suppressing Polish nationalism. That would change after the start of the First World War.
As a young man Joseph Pilsudski became a supporter of Polish independence, after attending studies at Kharkov University. He was a founding member and became the leader of the Polish Socialist Party. The Russian authorities soon regarded Pilsudski as a threat to the security of their Polish territories. Indeed he was exiled and imprisoned on several occasions prior to the outbreak of the First World War. Some Poles fought for the Russians, whilst others such as Pilsudski chose to fight for the Austrians or indeed the Germans. The collapse of the Russian empire, the military disintegration of Austria, and Germany’s weakness allowed Pilsudski to declare Polish independence and be the country’s first President.
During his presidency the Poles not only repulsed an attempted invasion from the Soviet Union, they inflicted heavy defeats upon the Red Army. The war with the Soviet Union was ample demonstration of the marshal’s skill, as he outfought not to mention outthought his Soviet counterpart Leon Trotsky. Before leaving the presidential office in 1922 Pilsudski had doubled Polish territory at the expense of the Ukraine and Belarus.
Pilsudski spent the next four years in the political wilderness although he remained Poland’s most important military leader. The Polish coup of 1926 returned him to political office as Minister of War as he refused to become President again. Pilsudski remained a highly important figure in Poland up to his death in 1935 by, which time there were increasing concerns about the threat that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union posed to national security. The Nazi – Soviet Pact of 1939 meant that they divided Poland between them, and Polish independence only outlived its founder by four years.
Bibliography
Crystal, D (2003) The Penguin Concise Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, London
Lenman B, (2004) Chambers Dictionary of World History, Edinburgh
Palmowski J (2008) Dictionary of Contemporary World History, Oxford
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