History of Poland (1918–1939)

The history of interwar Poland comprises the period from the revival of the independent Polish state in 1918, until the Invasion of Poland from the West by Nazi Germany in 1939 at the onset of World War II, followed by the Soviet Union from the East two weeks later. The two decades of Poland's independence between the world wars are known as the Interbellum.^[1]

Poland re-emerged in November 1918 after more than a century of partitions by Austria-Hungary, the German, and the Russian Empires.^[2][3][4] Its independence was confirmed by the victorious powers through the Treaty of Versailles of June 1919,^[5] and most of the territory won in a series of border wars fought from 1918 to 1921.^[3] Poland's frontiers were settled in 1922 and internationally recognized in 1923.^[6][7] The Polish political scene was democratic but chaotic until Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935) seized power in May 1926 and democracy ended. The policy of agrarianism led to the redistribution of lands to peasants and the country achieved significant economic growth between 1921 and 1939. A third of the population consisted of minorities—Ukrainians, Jews, Belarusians, Lithuanians and Germans.^[8]