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Interwar Poland’s Ukrainians
Uncovers the hidden history of interwar Poland's Ukrainian minority, secret intelligence operations, and the geopolitical forces leading up to the 1930s famine.
Lecture guide · Written by AI from the lecture. For the lecture’s own words, open the Transcript tab.
Examines interwar Poland and its Ukrainian population, focusing on geopolitics, border shifts, and secret intelligence operations in the 1920s and 1930s. It contrasts the differing political legacies of the partition empires and details the strategic projects, such as Prometheanism and the Volhynian experiment, designed to counter Soviet influence.
Key Takeaways
- Interwar Poland contained roughly 5 million Ukrainians, making up about 15 percent of its population, primarily concentrated in Galicia and Volhynia.
- Polish political life was dominated by two main traditions originating before statehood: the federalist, center-left Polish Socialist Party (PPS) and the nationalist, center-right National Democrats.
- The 1921 Treaty of Riga established borders that created a Polish nation-state with substantial national minorities rather than a multi-ethnic federation.
- Poland's authoritarian regime under Józef Piłsudski covertly pursued Prometheanism, aiming to undermine the Soviet Union by supporting national self-determination and running intelligence networks.
Concepts Explained4
Polish Political Traditions (1918)—The two main political traditions in Poland in 1918 were the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), favoring a federation and statehood first, and the National Democrats, favoring a nation state prioritizing the peasants.
Revolution and Borders—A revolution is a total transformation that does not inherently recognize traditional borders, unlike nation states.
Prometheanism—A Polish geopolitical project aimed at supporting national self-determination for oppressed nations within the Soviet Union to weaken it.
Collectivization—The Soviet policy of transforming agriculture and society by taking land away from peasants and placing it under state control.
Examples, Proofs & Derivations
Works & Sources Cited1
Book
Sketches from a Secret War—Cited by the lecturer as the source detailing Polish intelligence work and archival research in interwar Ukraine.