123 years without a state. Never without a nation The Institute of National Remembrance in X:.
On November 11, 1918, Poland returned to the map of Europe after 123 years of foreign rule. Her independence was not won in one day. It was the achievement of generations who refused to let their country disappear.
In 1795, following the three divisions of Russia, Prussia and Austria, Poland ceased to exist as an independent state. And yet the Polish nation survived.
Throughout the 19th century, the Poles repeatedly fought for freedom. The November Uprising (1830–1831) and the January Uprising (1863–1864) were brutally suppressed by Russia. Thousands faced death, imprisonment, confiscation of property or deportation to Siberia.
But the struggle continues beyond the battlefield. Families, teachers, clergy, writers and artists preserved the Polish language, culture and identity despite Germanization and Russification.
Poland disappeared from the map, but not from the hearts and minds of its people.
World War I: Game Changer for Polish Independence.
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 placed the three division powers on opposite sides. Poles were recruited into their armies, sometimes forced to fight each other. But the war also created an opportunity to regain independence.
Jozef Pilsudski helped organize the Polish legions and the secret Polish military organization. Roman Demowski continued diplomatic efforts in the West, while the Polish army established in France in 1917, later known as the Blue Army, strengthened the military foundations of the reborn country.
By November 1918, the Russian Empire had collapsed, while Germany and Austria-Hungary had been defeated. Polish institutions had already emerged, laying the foundation for an independent state.
November 1918: A nation reclaims its state.
On November 11, 1918, the Regency Council transferred the military authority to Jozef Pilsudski, who returned to Warsaw from the German prison.