103 years ago, on 11 November 1918, when the war operations in Western Europe were declining, Józef Piłsudski, who had come to Warsaw from Magdeburg, seized power to become provisional chief of state.

The events of November 1918 generated widespread publicity and were commented on by many regardless of political beliefs or social status. Polish society shared a conviction that the moment was unique. Duchess Maria Lubomirska, née Branicka, wrote: “Today is a historic, unforgettable, merry, triumphal day! We are free! We are masters of our own home. It has happened so unexpectedly.”

The daily newspaper Kurier Warszawski informed its readers in the following words: “We have finally lived to see what already seemed to be beyond the bounds of possibility – the very powers which had once pulled Poland to pieces have now collapsed humiliated and torn apart themselves, even though they fought on opposing sides. Unlike them, Poland stands united and is being resurrected.” 

Regaining independence meant that the military and diplomatic endeavours of five generations of Poles for the sake of their Motherland finally came to an end. The revived Second Polish Republic had its founding fathers in such statesmen as Józef Piłsudski, Roman Dmowski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, General Józef Haller, Ignacy Daszyński, Wincenty Witos and Wojciech Korfanty, and in diplomats. They had different political backgrounds and visions of the reborn state but shared the overriding goal of rebuilding an autonomous and sovereign Poland. They also had the biggest impact on the emerging borders of the nascent independent country, which did not take their final shape until 1921, following the Treaty of Versailles, the Silesian Uprisings of 1919–1921, the Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919, the Sejny Uprising of 1919, plebiscites on national affiliation, and the Treaty of Riga.

November 1918 also brought about a revival of Polish diplomacy. On 16 November 1918, the first diplomatic telegram was sent, by which the Provisional Chief of State notified the creation of an independent and sovereign State of Poland. That day is considered to have initiated the renewal of Poland’s diplomatic service after a period of foreign rule over the country. Leon Wasilewski became the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Second Polish Republic, succeeded by the world-famous pianist and composer Ignacy Paderewski, who also held the position of prime minister at that time. The next foreign minister was Stanisław Patek, a lawyer and a judge of the Supreme Court, who later became Poland’s ambassador to Tokyo and Washington.

MFA Press Office