Abstrakt: | Describing the attitude of lieutenant Stanisław Szeptycki, as a commandeer of different units
of Polish army in a Polish-Bolshevik war, especially as a commander of the North-Eastern Front, to
the eastern borderline of the Republic of Poland it can be said that his approach did not differ from
the opinions presented by the majority of independent activists at that time. Szeptycki’s generation
fought for such a Poland — in a territorial sense — which was erased from the map of Europe in
the 18th century. They simply did not know another Poland. Such an image was provided to them by
their ancestors, they learned about such a Poland and it was in their hearts. So why did they require
to include Silesia into Poland which was eliminated from the Polish nation a long time ago? They
believed that the nation will be weak without a serious economic base (a gold apple in the Polish
crown, as Szeptycki used to say about this land) Upper Silesia could constitute for the Republic of
Poland and the lack of access to the sea.
The question that arises is whether lieutenant Szeptycki was not afraid of the fact that a big
number of ethnic minorities in a young nation, aware of their separateness could weaken the nation and be the cause of internal fears. It seems that the lieutenant did not voice such fears. He himself
was brought up in a family home in the culturally-diversified environment, in the Russian area,
learned and served in the army in a multinational dualistic Austro-Hungarian monarchy which he
treated his political homeland till 1918 and was certain that a reborn Polish nation could be such
a homeland for its loyal citizens other than the Polish nationality. |