MISCELLANEA Political Radicalism as a Threat to the Reborn Republic of Poland Adam Hołub ORCID: 0000-0002-8865-6543 Police Academy in Szczytno, Poland Abstract. Political radicalism as a threat to the reborn Republic of Poland. The interwar period in Poland was characterised by the occurrence of real threats to the internal security of the state, the source of which was radicalism and political extremism. It was both left-wing and right-wing radicalism. We should mention here communism supported by Bolshevik Russia, Ukrainian nationalism supported by unfavourable countries such as Germany or Czechoslovakia, and Polish right-wing radicals who sought to change the political system of the country but not to annihilate it. All these political trends may have contributed to the destabilization of the Second Republic, but reborn Poland managed to create an appropriate internal security system, which included the Political Police, and on the other hand, the Polish society, as the history of the Second Republic shows, was not seduced by the political extremes. DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0014.3199 http://dx.doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0014.3199 Keywords: internal security, radicalism, extremism, communism, nationalism Introduction In reborn Poland, there were already political trends which had their roots in the 19th century, i.e. in the years of Partitions, as well as new ones which constituted the original intellectual achievements of free Poland. In addition to moderate ideologies, there were also radical left-wing and right-wing factions. Representa- tives of national minorities, who also preached radical slogans, even propagating political extremism and related violence were also present on the Polish territory. Among the radical left-wing groups, one should point out communist programmes and organisations, both Polish (Communist Party of Workers’ Poland — KPRP, Com- munist Party of Poland — KPP) and those which gathered representatives of other nationalities (Common Jewish Workers’ Union in Lithuania, BUND in Poland and Russia, Communist Party of Western Ukraine — KPZU, Communist Party of Western Belarus — KPZB) but there were also representatives of the extreme right-wing and supporters of the increasingly popular totalitarian movement in Europe (National- Radical Camp, ONR Falanga, ONR ABC). It should also be mentioned about radical national activists among the Ukrainian or German minorities on the Polish territory of the Second Republic. Internal Security, January–June 225 Adam Hołub Main Part The Polish state was an obstacle to the implementation of communist slogans to establish a global communist system. It was also an obstacle to the creation of an independent Ukrainian state. Thus, it was the goal of both organized extreme left-wing and Ukrainian nationalists. Moreover, it is worth remembering the Polish- Lithuanian and Polish-German antagonism (Poland as a seasonal state). For Soviet Russia (since 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) it was also a ‘bastard of Versailles’. It should, therefore, be liquidated in whole or in part. Hence, radical and extremist groups could expect support from neighbouring countries hostile to Poland. A separate problem was the position of the extreme Polish right-wing towards the state in which it was to function. For it, the aim was not to destroy the state but its democratic system. The Polish state and its security apparatus had to control all radical trends threatening its existence. That is why there was a special role for both counterintelligence and military intelligence as well as civil counterintelligence known as the Political Police. On the one hand, there were demands for the liquidation of the Polish state and on the other hand for its radical transformation. In both cases, state institutions had to take appropriate measures to eliminate threats from radicals and extremists operating on the territory of the Polish state. The greatest threat to the internal security of the country in the first years after its rebirth was the activity of extreme left-wing groups. The danger from this side was all the more dangerous because Polish communists (Ukrainian and Belarusian) could count on the support of not only the whole communist movement but also the Soviet state itself, for which capitalist Poland was an obstacle on the way to establish a communist system in Europe and all over the world. Therefore, the creation of Poland did not meet with the favour of the organization of the extreme left abroad and at home. It could be expected that organizations loyal to global communism could undertake not only propaganda but also sabotage and spying activities for the benefit of the neighbouring communist state.1 On December 16, 1918, as a result of the union of two parties: the Social Democ- racy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL) and the Polish Socialist Party-Left (PPS-Left), the Communist Workers’ Party of Poland (KPRP, since 1925 as the Communist Party of Poland, KPP) was created, whose aim was to create a communist system in Poland within the framework of global communism, which in practice meant the liquidation of Polish statehood. It should be stressed that from 1919, after the creation of the Communist International (Komintern), this party became part of it. At the same time, the KPRP was closely connected with the Soviet power in Russia. It aimed to join Poland to the state in which the proletariat dicta- torship was to reign, i.e. to Soviet Russia. At the time of its creation, the KPRP in its program, mentioning the events in Russia and Germany, directly called for fighting against reborn Poland: ‘If we don’t want us to be handcuffed, we have to start our revolution in Poland, to destroy the rule of the bourgeoisie, to gain power for the Workers’ Delegates’ Councils’. (Program Manifesto). Poland became an independent, 1 Miodowski A, Dywersja polityczna KPRP przeciwko wojsku polskiemu na przełomie lat 1918/1919. Studia Podlaskie, 2015, Vol. XXIII. 226 Internal Security, January–June Political Radicalism as a Threat to the Reborn Republic of Poland democratic republic based on the principles of capitalism, therefore, according to the doctrine of communism, it had to be considered an enemy.2 Moreover, the KPRP, subordinated its interests to the Soviet state, seeking to weaken or overthrow Polish statehood. Such actions were taken primarily during the Polish-Soviet War. In 1932, at the 6th KPP congress, a negative stance towards Poland’s independ- ence and integrity was once again taken, stating ‘KPP fights for the right of every nation subjugated by Polish imperialism to total self-determination until it breaks away from the Polish state [...]. KPP mobilises the masses working in Upper Silesia, as well as in Pomerania [Gdańsk], to fight against the national oppression of the German population under the slogan of the right to self-determination until they break away from Poland [...]. Concerning Upper Silesia and the Pomeranian Corridor, the Polish proletariat will cross out the rulings of imperialist treaties and provide the population of these lands with the right to self-determination until they are separated from Poland. Concerning Gdańsk, the KPP fights the yoke of Poland and the League of Nations imposed on it, fights the annexationist policy of Polish impe- rialism and recognises the right of the Gdańsk population, separated from Germany by force, to reunite with Germany’.3 A big problem for the communists in Poland was to find an answer to the ques- tion regarding direct military actions, including individual terrorism. In the middle of the 1920s, a discussion was held in KPP on the creation of battle groups of this party. Separate standpoints appeared that such groups were to be used for terrorist attacks, to have only a protective character for rallies and demonstrations organised by this party or as a cadre to be launched in case of a revolution4. Despite differences of opinion on the purposefulness of individual terrorism, on 28 April 1924 in Łódź, a communist Samuel Engel murdered a police agent, and in July an attempt to blow up an ammunition depot in Lwów was thwarted. 5 Activities aimed at destabilising the Polish state were carried out by a separate structure within the framework of the KPRP (KPP) — the Military Department of the KPRP, commonly referred to as ‘the military’. The activities of this structure consisted of the use of terrorist methods, not to intimidate but first and foremost to harm the state institutions. The Department was supplied with weapons from the USSR, as it cooperated with the services of this country.6 Particular military activity of the KPRP (KPP) was noted in the eastern parts of Poland, where the communists tried to bring about conflicts between ethnic and national groups to destabilize the country. Numerous murders of Polish functionaries and officials, officers of the Polish Army and Border Protection Corps, policemen as well as landowners were carried out in this area. 2 Trembicka K, Środowisko komunistów wobec odzyskania niepodległości prze Polskę i wojny polsko-bolszewickiej, [in:] Kowalczyk E (Ed.), Komuniści w międzywojennej Warszawie. Warsaw, 2014, p. 44. 3 Electronic source: ipn.gov.pl, accessed: 12.09.2019. 4 Trembicka K, Między utopią a rzeczywistością. Myśl polityczna Komunistycznej Partii Polski (1918–1938). Lublin, 2007, p. 165–166. 5 Electronic source: ipn.gov.pl, accessed: 14.09.2019. 6 Poboży B, Nurt komunistyczny, [in:] Przybysz K (Ed.), Polskie partie i ruchy społeczno- polityczne pierwszej połowy XX wieku. Warsaw, 2010, p. 228. Internal Security, January–June 227 Adam Hołub The most important attack carried out by KPP was the blowing up of a part of the Warsaw Citadel on 13 October 1923.7 The assassins aimed to blow up the entire ammu- nition depot in the Citadel, but this intention did not succeed. 28 people died in the attack — soldiers and civilians and 90 people were wounded.8 Two officers linked to KPP (Walery Bagiński and Antoni Wieczorkiewicz) were charged in connection with the attack.