Józef Piłsudski as a Head of State in the Light of Accounts by Representatives of Western Countries Between 1918 and 1922

Abstract

Józef Piłsudski exercised supreme civil and military power in the reborn Polish state from November 1918 to December 1922. The beginnings of the Second Republic were watched with great attention by the victorious Entente states. Their representatives, including politicians, diplomats, military officers, members of humanitarian missions and journalists who were in Warsaw at the time left behind official documents, as well as more personal notes, accounts, memoirs and letters. Their analysis makes it possible to conclude that, in their view, Józef Piłsudski’s key role in Polish political life at the time was due not only to the fact that he held the most important posts in the state, but this was also influenced by other factors, such as his strong personality, certain personal charm, popularity and authority in society, and political ambitions. The source of his political strength was also the weakness of his most important political rivals, namely Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Roman Dmowski. Piłsudski’s withdrawal from active political life in 1923 was temporary. Some Western witnesses to these events correctly predicted that he would prepare to seize full power at an opportune moment. While appreciating Piłsudski’s position in Poland between 1918 and 1922, representatives of Western countries were far from giving him an unambiguously positive assessment. Indeed, there was no shortage of critical or even highly critical remarks about his character traits, his way of exercising power or his lack of competence in military matters.