Civil War in Central Europe, 1918-1921: The Reconstruction of Poland (The Greater War)

The First World War did not end in Central Europe in November 1918. The armistices marked the creation of the Second Polish Republic and the first shot of the Central European Civil War which raged from 1918 to 1921. The fallen German, Russian, and Austrian Empires left in their wake lands with peoples of mixed nationalities and ethnicities. These lands soon became battle grounds and the ethno-political violence that ensued forced those living within them to decide on their national identity. Civil War in Central Europe seeks to challenge previous notions that such conflicts which occurred between the First and Second World Wars were isolated incidents and argues that they should be considered as part of a European war; a war which transformed Poland into a nation. Cover......Page 1 Civil War in Central Europe, 1918–1921: The Reconstruction of Poland......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 10 List of Illustrations and Maps......Page 12 Introduction......Page 16 THE FLAWED POPULAR NARRATIVE......Page 18 A STORY UNTOLD......Page 23 DIRECTIONS FOR THE READER......Page 27 1: Nations, States, and Conflict in Central Europe......Page 29 THE HISTORICAL SETTING......Page 30 REMAKING THE POLISH NATION AND STATE......Page 34 WHO IS IN AND WHO IS OUT?......Page 42 2: How to Mobilize the Polish Nation......Page 48 THE PROS AND CONS OF ARMED STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE......Page 50 “POLISH” ARMED FORMATIONS PRIOR TO INDEPENDENCE......Page 53 POLES FIGHTING UNDER IMPERIAL FLAGS......Page 60 BUILDING THE POLISH ARMY......Page 66 3: The Central European Civil War......Page 74 A CIVIL WAR......Page 75 A POINT OF REFERENCE: PARAMILITARY VIOLENCE IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE, 1918–21......Page 81 1: THE EASTERN THEATRE......Page 85 Overture in Ukraine......Page 86 Who Rules Eastern Galicia?......Page 91 The Vilnius Question......Page 98 2: THE WESTERN THEATRE......Page 110 “Insurrection” in Poznań......Page 112 Upper Silesia’s “war in the dark”......Page 119 The Cieszyn Drama......Page 130 3: TROUBLE AT THE GATES AND AT HOME......Page 136 The Polish–Soviet War......Page 138 The Polish Society Facing the Soviet Invasion......Page 143 Inner-Polish Conflicts during the Civil War......Page 153 4: Violence and Crimes Beyond the Battlefields......Page 161 LUNAR LANDSCAPES......Page 164 THE GREAT INSECURITY......Page 167 SOLDIERS RUNNING WILD......Page 172 WARLORDS IN POLISH SERVICE......Page 181 AMBIGUITIES......Page 190 Conclusion......Page 202 Epilogue......Page 211 POLAND......Page 214 GERMANY......Page 216 Works Cited......Page 218 Travelogue......Page 246 Glossary......Page 250 Index......Page 252 The Great War had come to an end in Europe in November 1918, but Central Europe did not come to a rest. The demise of the German, Austrian, and Russian Empires had left a geographical void, a theatre of armed conflicts between the imperial heirs for years to come: the Central European nation states. The Second Republic of Poland was one of them. Historiography has described these postwar struggles as rather unrelated conflicts. This book argues that they were much more part of one Central European Civil War. Since re-erected Poland was at the center of events, it provides a perfect case study and tells the story of this civil war in a nutshell. It challenged its neighbors on all frontiers: Ukrainians, Lithuanians, and Soviets to the northeast, Germans to the west, and Czechs to the south. A concise history of these related conflicts questions their common perception as moments of national bravado. In the embattled borderlands, nationality was not a constant, and national independence therefore not a matter of course. The people living there experienced the Central European Civil War rather as a tragedy, when brothers had to fight against brothers. Clearly defined nations did not exist in late 1918 Central Europe, they were rather forged in the fires of a civil war which shook the area for almost three years. Furthermore, in the leeway of these conflicts, Poland—like many other parts of Europe—witnessed a wave of paramilitary violence, with its own soldiers running wild beyond the battlefields "The First World War did not end in Central Europe in November 1918. The armistices marked the creation of the Second Polish Republic and the first shot of the Central European Civil War which raged from 1918 to 1921. The fallen German, Russian, and Austrian Empires left in their wake lands with peoples of mixed nationalities and ethnicities. These lands soon became battlegrounds and the ethno-political violence that ensued forced those living within them to decide on their national identity. Civil War in Central Europe seeks to challenge previous notions that the conflicts which occurred between the First and Second World Wars were isolated incidents and argues that they should be considered as part of a Central European war; a war which transformed Poland into a nation"-- Provided by publisher Civil War in Central Europe argues that Polish independence after the First World War was forged in the fires of the post-war conflicts which should be collectively referred to as the Central European Civil War (1918-1921). The ensuing violence forced those living in European border regions to decide on their national identity - German or Polish.