£.d~~ /7'3q ?.:i /,,:y/I"~ THE TRUTH ABOUT POLAND THE TRUTH A.BOUT POLAND THE TRUTH ABOUT POLAND General Sikorski to be Prime Minister · ning); the Rev. Zygmunt Kaczynski, tion; Minister of Justice Komarnicki, 6. Language and Religion in Poland son of a farmer, Professor of Law; and Commander-in-Chief. In Decem­ Minister of Education; Henryk Stras­ Language ber 1939, the Polish National Council, burger, Polish Minister in the Middle Minister of Polish Affairs in the Mid­ an advisory body acting in the absence East. dle-East Strasburger, Professor of Eco­ Polish . .. ... ...... .. .. 69.0r'o of an elected parliament, was appointed nomics, protagonist of parliamentary Ukrainian . .. .. ........ .. 13.8% The Peasant and Labor parties each Yiddish and Hebrew . ... ..... 8.2% and Ignacy Paderewski elected as its have one more member in this Gov­ union with Czechoslovakia. chairman. When France collapsed in White Ruthenian . ..... .. 3.2% ernment than they had in that of Gen­ Three Newspapermen: German . 2.3% 1940, the Polish Government was eral Sikorski. The Peasant Party is transferred from Angers to London. Minister of State Popiel, son of a Russian . 0.4% represented by three members: Miko­ Other' and not given .. ...... 2.5% The following year the Polish National lajczyk, Banaczyk and Kot; the Polish working man; Minister of State Seyda, Council was expanded to include repre­ son of a storekeeper, fought German Labor Party by three members: K wa­ Religion sentatives of all Polish political parties. pinski, Stanczyk and Grosfeld; the imperialism for forty years and was The Government submits its budget to National Liberal Party by two members: exiled by Germany before the last war; Roman Catholic .. .... .. .. 64.9% the National Council and consults it on Kaczynski and Popiel; the National Minister of Education, Rev. Kaczynski, Greek-Orthodox . .. .•.. 12.0% all Major policies. The Natiof).al Coun­ Democratic Party by two members: head of the Polish Catholic Press Greek-Catholic . ... .. .. 10.3% cil has the right to make representa­ Komarnicki and Seyda; three members Agency, very active in the Polish under­ Hebrew . 9.5 7'o tions to the Government on all matters belong to no party: Romer, Kukiel and ground movement in 1939-1940. Protestant . 2.7% affecting the welfare of the Polish Strasburger. Not given ... .. .... ... o.2ro nation. One Lawyer: Of the thirteen members of the Gov­ Minister of Finance Grosfeld, coun­ After 1918, in independent Poland," ernment, two are peasants, two are sel and financial adviser to Polish labor political and civil rights were granted 4. Composition of the Polish labor men, three are professors, three unions. to all national minorities. They had Go'Yernment are newspapermen; one is a lawyer, their own representatives in parliament orie is a soldier and one is a career One Soldier: and in local-government, their own After General Sikorski' s tragic death diplomat as follows: Minister of National Defense Gen­ educational system and full freedom of cultural and religious development. In on July 4th, 1943 President Raczkie­ Two Peasants: eral Kukiel, Professor of Military wicz called upon Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, History. 1939 there were in Poland 3,000 who had been acting as Prime Minister Prime Minister Mikolajczyk, the son Ukrainian schools maintained by the One Diplomat: in General Sikorski's absence, to form a of a small farmer, organizer of rural Government. Ukrainians in Poland dif_ Government. Prime Minister Mikolaj­ co-operatives and a prominent leader Minister of Foreign Affairs Romer, fer greatly as regards religion and lan­ czyk's cabinet consists of Jan Kwapin­ of agricultural labor; Minister of the career diplomat, former Ambassador to guage from the Ukrainians in Soviet ski, deputy Prime Minister and Minister Interior Banaczyk, a small farmer. Japan and Russia. Russia. Among the White Ruthenians, of Industry, Commerce and Shipping; Two Labor Men: national development is slow. Polish Tadeusz Romer, Minister of Foreign efforts to raise the national culture of Affairs; General Marian Kukiel, Minis­ Deputy Prime Minister Kwapinski, 5. Poland's Vitality White Ruthenians were successful oniy ter of National Defense; Wladyslaw Minister of Industry, Commerce and in part. For instance, a certain num­ Banaczyk, Minister of Home Affairs; Shipping, an agricultural laborer who From 1920 to 1937, the average ber of high schools, organized by Poles Stanislaw Kot, Minister of Information; fought the Czar and was exiled to increase of Poland's population was for White Ruthenians, had to be closed Ludwik Grosfeld, Minister of Finance; Siberia; Minister of Labor and Social 14.9 per thousand, the total increase for lack of pupils . Jan Stanczyk, Minister of Labor and Welfare Stanczyk, a miner and labor 26.9 per cent. During the same period leader. the population of Germany increased Social Welfare; Waclaw Komarnicki, 7. Population of Polish Cities Minister of Justice; Marian Seyda, by 13.0 per cent. But for the war the I Three Professors: Minister of State (Peace Conference population of Poland would have ex­ Warsaw ... .. 1,289,000 Planning); Karol Popiel, Minister of Minister of Information Kot, pro­ ceeded that of France before 1950 Lodz . 672,000 State (Polish Administrative Plan- fessor of the history of Polish civiliza- and equalled that of Germany by 1975. Lwow .. 318,000 [ 4] l ~ J THE TRUTH ABOUT ~OLAND TH E TRUTH ABOUT POLAND Poznan . 272,000 In France . 600,000 Krakow . 259,000 In Brazil (some two-thirds in POLISH HISTORY Wilno . 200,000 the State of Parana) . 300,000 Bydgoszcz . 141,000 In Lithuania (mostly around 11. First Two Dates in Polish 14. Polish-Lithuanian Union and Czestochowa . 138,000 Kovno) . 200,000 History the Polish Commonwealth Katowice . 134,000 In Canada . 150,000 Recorded Polish history began with In 1385 Poland entered into a union Sosnowiec . 130,000 with her northeastern neighbor, Lithu­ In Rumania . .... .. 80,000 two dates: Lublin . 122,000 ania. This union was strengthened by Gdynia . 120,000 In Latvia ....... .. .... 75,000 963, when German hordes, under the Act of Horodlo (1413) which Chorzow . 110,000 In Argentine . 70,000 Margrave Gero, invaded Poland:­ proclaimed: Germany's first attempt to get "Lebens­ Bialystok . 107,000 In Paraguay . ... ....... 18,000 "Let those be united to us by love raum" by aggression; and made equal, who are bound to us 966, when King Mieszko I, together 8. Density of Rural Population by common faith and identical laws 10. How the Poles Voted with his people, adopted Christianity. and privileges. We pledge our im­ In Poland the density of gainfully mutable and solemn word never to occupied rural population per 100 In Poland the number of voters had 12 • .Poland-Defender of desert them." acres of farmland compared as follows increased from 12,989,000 in 1922 to Christianity In 1569 the complete union of Po­ with other countries: 14,907,000 in 1925. Then it rose to land and Lithuania was achieved by 15,791,000 out of a population of At Lignica in 1241, Polish troops the Act of Lublin, and the Common­ Persons per 35,500,000. This represents an elector­ under Duke Henry the Pious stopped wealth of Poland came into being. On 1,000 acres of the invasion of Western Europe ·by Year Country farmland ate of 44.5%. In the United States the same occasion the constitutional with a population of 131,669,275 the Tartar hordes. Henry the Pious was 1931 Poland ........ ... 154 position of the Ruthenian provinces vote cast in the last presidential elec­ killed. In this battle the Tartars used including Volhynia and Ukraine, as 1931 Yugoslavia ..... .. 146 choking vapors that had an effect tion was 49,815,312 or 37.8% of the parts of the Commonwealth, was 1933 Germany ....... 132 similar to that of poison gas. 1930 Czechoslovakia .. ... 129 total population. The most striking definitely fixed. The principles of this union were virtually those of 1930 Hungary ....... , 120 thing about the Polish electorate was 1931 France ..... ...... ·. 89 the very small number of extremists. 13. Grunwald the United States. Under an elected King and one Parliament, local state 1931 Great Britain . 26 The extreme right and communists In 1410 the united armies of Poland combined, never amounted to more government existed. Moreover, Poland and Lithuania defeated the Teutonic and Lithuania kept separate armies than 4% of the total votes cast in Order of the Knights of the Cross in under separate Commanders-in-Chief. ariy election. Nearly half the votes 9. Poles Abroad the Battle of Grunwald. By that vic­ Other provinces of the Polish Common. ( 46.4%) were cast for liberal and tory the "Drang nach Osten" was wealth were East Prussia Livonia Some nine million Poles and people progressive candidates. The Center, stopped, but that great Polish success Courland. They enjoyed w'ide auton~ of Polish descent are living abroad: made _up of middle-class democrats, was unexploited and it was not be­ omy. The Ruthenian and Lithuanian In the United States (ap- polled 28.6% of the votes and the fore another war of 13 years, which upper classes had the same rights as proximately) ......... .4,500,000 minorities (Jews, Ukrainian, White Poland had to fight in the middle of the Polish gentry. the century, that she could enjoy three In Germany (mostly in Si- Ruthenians, etc.) 21 %. In the last hundred years of almost uninterrupted lesia and East Prussia) .. 1,450,000 election under Marshal Pilsudski's 15. Cracow University administration the opposition parties peace from the German side. The Cracow University was founded in In Soviet Russia (approxi­ lesson should not be forgotten: partial mately - not including polled 5 3 % of the votes, but were so 1364 and in the fifteenth century be­ or unexploited victories over the Ger­ 1,500,000 Polish citizens divided among themselves that they came the great intellectual center of mans, give only short-lived and pre­ deported to Russia m never had a working majority in the Central-Eastern Europe.