The Polish nationalism from 1795 to 1918. A nation without state

Résumé du document

In 1795, Poland ceased to exist as an independent state, as a result of the 3d Partitions of the country. For 123 years, Poland had been divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria.
Many attempts had been made to restore the Polish state, unsuccessfully. Thus until 1918, “ ‘Poland' was just an idea – a memory from the past, or a hope for the future”. Nevertheless, the idea of a Polish nation progressively emerged, giving birth to the Polish nationalism, which was already present, in some extent, during the 1st Partition in 1773. However, the final Partition of the country brought the question of the possible existence of a nation without a state.
We will therefore analyse in the first part the different ways this question of the Polish nation was answered throughout the 123 years of Partition. Then in a second part, we will examine the way Polish nationalism occurred. Finally, we will consider the role played in the shaping of the Polish nationalism by the few remaining institutional features of the previous Polish state.

Extraits

[...] Ibid. p e.g. Dabrowski, op.cit., note 24, p e.g. Auer, op.cit., note 12, p e.g. Davies, op.cit., note p Nicholas II passed an edict of toleration in 1905. It improved a bit the situation of the Catholic Church, but the Orthodox Church was still conferred the predominance. e.g. Chadwick, op.cit., note 22, p Ibid., p e.g. Wandycz, the price of freedom, op. cit., note p e.g. [...]

[...] WANDYCZ Piotr S., The price of freedom, A history of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present, Routledge, London and New York, 2d edition (1st edition 1992). The first partition (1772) was mainly due to the fear of Prussia and Austria from an expansionary Russia and had been rendered possible by the reason of Poland's weakness at that time. The second one (1793) had its root cause in the Polish will to recover its entire sovereignty through the adoption of the Constitution of the 3d May 1791. [...]

[...] Wandycz, the Lands of partitioned Poland, op.cit., note 19 p [101] Ibid. [102] From 1865 onwards, the partitioning power, which treated the Poles best was Austria. A Galician diet, elected on a limited franchise, met in Lwow, and the Galician provincial authorities were given wide powers over local economic affairs, public health and schools. Poles were also elected to the central Parliament in Vienna. e.g. Seton Watson, op.cit., note 45, p.127. [103] e.g. Seton Watson, op.cit., note 45, p [104] e.g. [...]

[...] Davies, op.cit., note p Ibid. One could apply here, to some extent, the model developed by Hroch, who distinguishes 3 different phases in the evolution of a national movement: a cultural one with no incidence on the political field, a second one which supposes the apparition of a pioneers group militating for the national idea and the last phase supposes the support of a large part of the masses. e.g. Hobsbawm, op.cit., note p e.g. Davies, op.cit., note p Hugh Seton-Watson, Nations and States, an enquiry into the origins of nations and the politics if nationalism, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado p e.g. [...]

[...] Ibid., p One of its leading characters had been Tadeusz Boy-Zelenski, who translated all the French classics into Polish. Ibid., p.267. e.g. Seton Watson, op.cit., note 45, p e.g. Wandycz, the Lands of partitioned Poland, op.cit., note 19, p e.g. Davies, op.cit., note p It would become in 1918 the polish natid Poland, op.cit., note 19, p e.g. Davies, op.cit., note p It would become in 1918 the polish national anthem, ‘Jeszcze Polska nie zgineła'. e.g. Eile, op.cit.,, note 20, p Their device was: our liberty and yours”. [...]