Poland 1918-1945 : an interpretive and documentary history of the the Second Republic

In the turbulent history of twentieth-century Europe, the reborn Polish State faced the most formidable and diverse array of problems imaginable. From 1918 until the end of the Second World War, Poland struggled to retain and consolidate Independence, finally falling prey to the alien ideology and political system of Communism. The period of the Second Polish Republic, from its establishment in 1918 until its end in 1945, has often been viewed in the context of its negative aspects and failures. This lucid new study demonstrates that a far more positive assessment is needed, through an informed, balanced and objective approach. Based on extensive range of Polish, British, German, Jewish and Ukranian primary and secondary sources, this work provides an objective appraisal of the inter-war period. Peter Stachura demonstrates how the Republic overcame giant obstacles at home and abroad to achieve consolidation as an independent state in the early 1920s, made relative economic progress, created a coherent social order, produced an outstanding cultural scene, advanced educational opportunity, and adopted constructive and even-handed policies towards its ethnic minorities. Without denying the defeats suffered by the Republic, Peter Stachura demonstrates that the fate of Poland after 1945, with the imposition of an unwanted, Soviet-dominated Communist system, was thoroughly undeserved. Peter Stachura Sets Out To Redeem The Reputation Of The Second Republic Of Poland From Failure. He Shows How The Government Consolidated The Country In The Early 1920s, And Provides An Assessment Of The Social And Economic Achievements Of The New State In The Years Before The Outbreak Of World War Ii. Nightmare. Independence regained Consolidation Society and the economy Politics The ethnic minorities Culture and education Foreign policy Occupation and resistance The Jewish Holocaust and the Poles Defeat in victory. Poland, 1918-1945 is a challenging, revisionist analysis and interpretation, supported by documentary evidence, of a crucial and controversial period in Poland's recent history