Greater Poland Uprising (1918–19)

Quick Facts: Who was Greater Poland Uprising (1918–19)?

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Greater Poland Uprising (1918–19)

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A major Polish military insurrection (1918–1919) against German rule in Greater Poland.

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Origins & Early Life

The Greater Poland uprising of 1918–1919, or Wielkopolska uprising of 1918–1919 (Polish: powstanie wielkopolskie 1918–1919 roku; German: Großpolnischer Aufstand) or Poznań War was a military insurrection of Poles in the Greater Poland region (German: Grand Duchy of Posen or Provinz Posen) against German rule. The uprising had a significant effect on the Treaty of Versailles, which granted a reconstituted Second Polish Republic the area won by the Polish insurrectionists. The region had been part of the Kingdom of Poland and then Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth before the 1793 Second Partition of Poland when it was annexed by the German Kingdom of Prussia. It had also, following the 1806 Greater Poland uprising, been part of the Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815), a French client state during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, Poland had ceased to exist as an independent state.

Career & Major Achievements

From 1795 through the beginning of World War I, several unsuccessful uprisings to regain independence took place. The Great Poland Uprising of 1806 was followed by the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw, which lasted for eight years before it was partitioned again between Prussia and Russia. Under German rule, Poles faced systematic discrimination and oppression. The Poles living in the region of Greater Poland were subjected to Germanisation and land confiscations to make way for German colonization. At the end of World War I, US President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and the idea of national self-determination were met with opposition from European powers standing to lose influence or territory, such as Germany, which dominated Greater Poland.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

German politicians had signed an armistice leading to a ceasefire on 11 November 1918. Also, Germany had signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Bolshevik Russia to settle the territorial boundaries of the eastern frontiers. That treaty took into consideration of a future Polish state and so from then until the Treaty of Versailles was fully ratified in January 1920 many territorial and sovereignty issues remained unresolved. Wilson's proposal for an independent Poland initially did not set borders that could be universally accepted. Most of Poland that was partitioned and annexed to Prussia in the late 18th-century was still part of Greater Germany at the close of World War I, the rest of the Kingdom of Poland being in Austria-Hungary.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1793: 1793 Milestone — The region had been part of the Kingdom of Poland and then Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth before the 1793 Second Partition of Poland when it was annexed by the German Kingdom of Prussia.
2. 1795: 1795 Milestone — After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, Poland had ceased to exist as an independent state.
3. 1806: 1806 Milestone — It had also, following the 1806 Greater Poland uprising, been part of the Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815), a French client state during the Napoleonic Wars.
4. 1918: 1918 Milestone — The Greater Poland uprising of 1918–1919, or Wielkopolska uprising of 1918–1919 (Polish: powstanie wielkopolskie 1918–1919 roku; German: Großpolnischer Aufstand) or Poznań War was a military insurrection of Poles in the Greater Poland region (German: Grand Duchy of Posen or Provinz Posen) against German rule.
5. 1920: 1920 Milestone — That treaty took into consideration of a future Polish state and so from then until the Treaty of Versailles was fully ratified in January 1920 many territorial and sovereignty issues remained unresolved.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Greater Poland Uprising (1918–19)

True or False: “The Greater Poland Uprising was the first major Polish armed resistance movement following World War I.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): It was not the first; a significant earlier event was the Great Poland Uprising of 1806.

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