POLAND 100 Years P O L A N D 1 0 0 POLAND POLAND 100 Years 100 Years The Poland 100 Years album has been created on the occasion Authors of texts of the centenary of Poland’s independence. The concept of the publication was developed by the Program Council appointed Iwona Arabas through a social initiative. Among the creators of the album there Waldemar Baraniewski are distinguished authors representing different disciplines Marek Belka of science, economy and culture. Ryszard Bugaj Wojciech J. Burszta Program Council Andrzej Chwalba Jerzy Eisler Michał Kleiber – Chairman Andrzej Friszke Marcin Gmys Jerzy Bralczyk Grzegorz Gorzelak Waldemar Dąbrowski Ryszard M. Groński Andrzej Mencwel Michał Kleiber Wiesław Myśliwski Krzysztof Kłosiński Witold M. Orłowski Krzysztof Konarzewski Adam D. Rotfeld Andrzej Kruczyński Henryk Samsonowicz Tadeusz Lubelski Krystyna Skarżyńska Dorota Malec Bogdan Szymanik Andrzej Mencwel Dariusz Michalski Krzysztof Michalski Stanisław Michałowski Jan Miodek Władysław T. Miodunka Wojciech Morawski Bolesław Orłowski Witold M. Orłowski Andrzej Paczkowski Walery Pisarek Maria Anna Potocka Adam D. Rotfeld Joanna Schiller-Walicka Janusz H. Skalski Krystyna Skarżyńska Roch Sulima Stefan Szczepłek Adam Szostkiewicz Maciej Tymiński Jarosław Włodarczyk Leszek Zasztowt Nation and Society—the Poles and Others Mathematical and Physical Sciences— Wojciech J. Burszta Explaining the Universe Table of Contents 262 Jarosław Włodarczyk 111 National Identity—Tensions and Contradictions Andrzej Mencwel Natural and Medical Sciences—Nature and Man 276 Iwona Arabas 156 Society—Relationships and Values Krystyna Skarżyńska Technical Achievements—for Poland and the World 288 Bolesław Orłowski, Krzysztof Michalski 168 Religions and the Religious Structure Adam Szostkiewicz 298 V Preface II Michał Kleiber Education and Its Reforms Culture 21 Economy Krzysztof Konarzewski 311 Literature—Between Creative Freedom and Politics Economic Balance of the Second Republic of Poland: Krzysztof Kłosiński I Challenges, Opportunities, Dilemmas Media—From the Press and Radio to the Internet 180 Wojciech Morawski Walery Pisarek History and Politics 162 328 Classical Music—The Golden Age Marcin Gmys Between the East and the West? After the War—the Period of Concrete and Steel Healthcare—the Organization and 191 Adam D. Rotfeld Maciej Tymiński Operation of the System 28 176 Janusz H. Skalski Theater—Between Imitation and Originality 312 Andrzej Kruczyński From Collapse to Resurrection The 1970s—the Time of Shattered Hopes 506 Andrzej Chwalba Ryszard Bugaj Sport as a National Cement 16 190 Stefan Szczepłek Cinema—The Dizzying Career of the 10th Muse 356 Tadeusz Lubelski From First to Second World War Transformation—the Bright and the Dark Sides 521 Andrzej Paczkowski Marek Belka Emigration—in Search of Freedom, 60 202 Bread and Knowledge The Art of the Last Century—Individualism vs. History Władysław T. Miodunka Maria Anna Potocka From the September Disaster till the End of the War The Miracle of Entrepreneurship 378 531 Andrzej Friszke Witold M. Orłowski 71 216 Countryside—Transformations Architecture—Between Tradition and the Avant-Garde in Peasant Mentality and Awareness Waldemar Baraniewski From the Polish Committee of National Liberation The Path Towards the Center of Europe Roch Sulima 550 to the Fall of Communism Grzegorz Gorzelak 100 Andrzej Friszke 221 Popular Music—Entertainment Not Only for the Masses 88 Dariusz Michalski One Hundred Years of Chasing the Developed West IV 562 From the Fall of Communism . Witold M. Orłowski Jerzy Eisler 231 Science and Technology Cabaret—Reality in a Distorted Mirror 106 Ryszard M. Groński Institutions—Universities, Institutes, Scientific 571 The Law in Poland During the Last 100 Years III Associations Dorota Malec Joanna Schiller-Walicka 121 Society 118 Varia The Role of Territorial Self-Government in State Structures Changes in the Polish Language Humanities—Achievements of Scholars Stanisław Michałowski Jan Miodek Leszek Zasztowt List of Abbreviations 110 252 130 586 The Homeland is a great—collective—Duty Cyprian Kamil Norwid 23 Soviet-influenced communist government that was foreign to our Preface tradition.” The celebration of the 100th anniversary of regaining indepen- dence is, of course, an entirely exceptional event. This was why the originators of this album made an effort to emphasize the im- portance of this event by preparing a special jubilee publication with the huge commitment of a few dozen authors. The goal of the Michał Kleiber album is to present the history of Poland over the last 100 years in a verbal and pictorial form. To show in an attractive manner how, in spite of many dramatic events we encountered after regaining inde- pendence, we managed to build a modern, steadily developing state with a strong international position and the rising welfare of inhab- itants. Gratefully looking back on the heroism of our predecessors, whom we owe the possibility of celebrating successive anniver- “On November 11th, 1918, the dream of generations of Poles came orable November of 1918. A state of festive elation was also aroused saries of this splendid Independence Day in such a solemn and true—the Polish State was reborn. After the Partitions and 123 years by the victory in the war against Bolshevik Russia (1919-1921), which emotional manner, we would also like to encourage us all to think of servitude, Russification and Germanization, after great upris- was followed by the mundane process of building a new state. about and reflect on very current topics. The matter of regaining ings, free Poland returned to the world map. [. .] Independence The complexity of our modern history is reflected by the history independence is of fundamental importance to Poles not only for was regained through the dedicated and heroic fight not only in of the celebration of Independence Day. In 1919-1936, anniversaries the sake of remembrance. The patriotic awareness of our dramatic battlefields but also in daily struggles for maintaining the spiritual of the restoration of independence were celebrated as military cere- past and heroism necessary to overcome the national tragedy also and material national substance [. .]. This was also possible be- monies in Warsaw, usually on the first Sunday after November 11th. helps us effectively face the challenges of the future, both those cause people representing various circles—the pro-independence The status of a national holiday was assigned to Independence already known and those still unknown. The stimulation of such left wing, the national movement and the people’s movement— Day only by the Act of April 23rd, 1937. It was to celebrate the res- reflection was also the intention of the authors of this album. On managed to come to an understanding in the most important mat- toration of Poland’s sovereignty along with the end of World War I the year of this beautiful jubilee, it is worth realizing once again ters”—we can read in the Resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of and to commemorate Józef Piłsudski. During the Nazi occupation that only a strong civic community, following the example of such a. Secondary school students, members of the Polish Military Or- Poland adopted unanimously on May 25th, 2017, according to which of Poland in 1939-1915, the public celebration of Polish national holi- a diversified society raised in three Partitions one hundred years ganization in Częstochowa with weapons taken over from the Ger- the year 2018 was declared as the year of the 100th anniversary of days was obviously impossible, and organizers of the underground ago, is able to solve problems that we may come upon in the future. mans, November 11th, 1918 the restoration of independence by Poland. celebrations of the anniversary of November 11th were exposed a. The National Independence Day commemorates this event of to severe repressions. However, attempts were still made to keep fundamental importance for the process of forming the modern the memory of Independence Day alive. On the days preceding Polish nation. Although regaining independence was a long-lasting November 11th, inscriptions such as “Poland is fighting” or “Poland and gradual process, the date adopted as Polish National Indepen- is not yet lost” and—from November 1912—also the anchor-shaped dence Day is justified by the most significant events—on Novem- emblem of Fighting Poland could be seen on walls and sidewalks. ber 7th, the Provisional People’s Government was formed in Lublin, In spite of the Poles’ belief in the exceptional importance of this and on November 10th, Józef Piłsudski arrived in Warsaw from the event in our history and reverence for its heroes, Independence prison in Magdeburg and took over military power one day later. Day was abolished in 1915. By the decision of new authorities, the Also on November 11th, an armistice signed in Compiègne sealed most important national holiday became the National Day of the the end of World War I and the ultimate defeat of Germany. On Rebirth of the Polish State, celebrated on July 22nd on the anni- November 16th, 1918, Piłsudski sent the following telegraph to the versary of the proclamation of the Manifesto of the Polish Com- heads of states and the heads of governments of the United States, mittee of National Liberation. This forced independence circles Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and many other states: to organize illegal celebrations of successive anniversaries of the “As Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army, I wish to notify the