Graduation Year
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Granting Department
History
Major Professor
Graydon A. Tunstall Jr., Ph.D.
Committee Member
Kathleen Paul, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Giovanna Benadusi, Ph.D.
Keywords
peace treaty of versailles, pilsudski, plebiscite, poland, polish-soviet war, polish-ukrainian war, riga peace treaty, upper silesia, uprising
Abstract
Poland was erased from European political maps in 1795 and fought in vain for freedom for the next century, until World War I provided another chance for independence. On November 11, 1918, the creation of the Polish Republic was proclaimed, but in an atmosphere of uncertainty, particularly relative to frontiers.
The border with Germany was established in 1920-21 after plebiscites. While peaceful in Masuria, Ermland and Pomerania, there were three violent uprisings of the ethnic Poles in Upper Silesia. The status of Gdansk as a Free City was confirmed at Versailles in 1919. The Southern border with Czechoslovakia was settled in 1920.
The Eastern borders were established after a war with Ukraine and a conflict with Lithuania. The last and most exhausting war with Soviet Russia was ended by 1921s Riga Peace Treaty. Polands boundaries were finally recognized by the Conference of Ambassadors in March 1923.
Scholar Commons Citation
Robak, Kazimierz, "In Poland World War I Ended in 1923" (2005). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/835
