The 1918 in the History of Poland and Ukraine from the Perspective of a Century

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to take a look at the restoration of the Polish state in 1918, as a turning point in its history, and at the same time as the beginning of long-term historical process which we are still participating in.

The methodology is based on the basic principles of historicism, objectivity, multifactoriality and a comprehensive approach.

Scientific novelty. This long-term, cognitive perspective allows a more comprehensive approach in comparison with previous research to understanding of the events that make up Poland’s history of the last hundred years. Another effect of this perspective is the possibility to conduct a comparative analysis of the various historical processes occurring after 1918 on a larger scale – especially in the East-Central Europe. The author believes that any significant phenomenon in the history of a nation cannot be depicted accurately from a shorttime perspective, in a narrow chronological framework, without a broader comparative context. The author argues that the revival of Polish statehood was not unconditional, but it was, on the one hand, due to a favorable system of international forces, and on the other hand, due to the effective activity, both domestically and internationally, by the newly created state institutions and the Polish political community, which took the responsibility for the consequences of the restoration of state subjectivity. In this meaning, the events of November 1918 created a new reality. This new reality has been created up to nowadays.

Conclusions. A contemporary historian is clearly aware that 1918 is the beginning of the construction of a new Europe, which went through several dramatic and tragic episodes during the 20th century, which, however, cannot be excluded from the overall historical process. In this sense, the awakening of the nations of East-Central Europe, their state-building aspirations of 1917–1921 cease to be detached episodes, but they form a common large-scale picture. According to the author, although the history of the Polish and Ukrainian emancipation and state-making processes have differences, they appear to share a number of similarities not yet noticed in historiography.