Jozef Klemens Pilsudski, (5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was
a Polish statesman—Chief of State (1918–22), "First
Marshal" (from 1920), and authoritarian leader (1926–35) of
the Second Polish Republic. From mid-World War I he had a major
influence in Poland´s politics, and was an important figure on the
European political scene. He is considered largely responsible for
Poland´s regaining its independence in 1918, after 123 years of
partitions. Pilsudski successfully annexed Vilnius from Lithuania
following Zeligowski´s Mutiny but was unable to incorporate most of
his Lithuanian homeland into the newly resurrected Polish
State.
Early in his political career, Pilsudski became a leader of the
Polish Socialist Party. Concluding, however, that Poland´s
independence would have to be won by force of arms, he created the
Polish Legions. In 1914 he anticipated the outbreak of a European
war, the Russian Empire´s defeat by the Central Powers, and the
Central Powers´ defeat by the western powers. When World War I
broke out, he and his Legions fought alongside the Austro-Hungarian
and German Empires to ensure Russia´s defeat. In 1917, with Russia
faring badly in the war, he withdrew his support from the Central
Powers.
From November 1918, when Poland regained independence, until 1922
Pilsudski was Poland´s Chief of State. In 1919–21 he
commanded Poland´s forces in the Polish-Soviet War. In 1923, with
the Polish government dominated by his opponents, particularly the
National Democrats, he withdrew from active politics. Three years
later, he returned to power with the May 1926 coup d´état, and
became the de facto dictator of Poland. An Italian fascist
ambassador to Warsaw described him as "a liberal democrat in the
clothes of an old-world knight". From then until his death in 1935,
he concerned himself primarily with military and foreign
affairs.
For at least thirty years until his death, Pilsudski pursued, with
varying degrees of intensity, two complementary strategies,
intended to enhance Poland´s security: "Prometheism", which aimed
at breaking up, successively, Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union
into their constituent nations; and the creation of an Intermarum
federation, comprising Poland and several of her neighbors. Though
a number of his political acts remain controversial, Pilsudski´s
memory is held in high esteem by his compatriots.
The Independent Students’ Association (Polish: Niezalezne
Zrzeszenie Studentow (NZS)) is a Polish student society, created in
October 1980, in the aftermath of the Gdansk Agreement and the
anti-government strike actions (see: History of Solidarity). It was
a student arm, or suborganization, of Solidarity, and together with
it, as well as other similar organizations, was banned after the
martial law in Poland, (December 13, 1981). Some activists were
arrested, others organized an underground NZS. After the fall of
communism in 1989, the organization was recreated, and its focus
changed from political to cultural, although it still stands by its
origins as seen by Polish students’ support for the Orange
Revolution in Ukraine. It now is the largest independent student
organization in Poland, with 90 chapters at Polish universities and
a total of 20,000 members.
THIS PROPAGANDA STAMP SET WAS ISSUED BY THE POLISH UNDERGROUND
SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT AS A DIVERSIFICATION STATEMENT AGAINST MARTIAL
LAW WHICH HAD BEEN DECLARED BY THE COMMUNIST AUTHORITIES IN POLAND.
IT IS A VERY RARE AND COLLECTABLE ITEM . THE UNDERGROUND MEMBERS
WHO ISSUED THIS STAMP RISKED A LOT, BECAUSE IF CAUGHT THEY WOULD
HAVE BEEN IMPRISONED WITHOUT TRIAL.
THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO OWN A UNIQUE PIECE OF HISTORY. IT IS A
MUST FOR EVERY SERIOUS HISTORIAN AND COLLECTOR OF THIS PERIOD AND
WILL MAKE AN INTERESTING ADDITION TO YOUR COLLECTION.
General Wojciech Jaruzelski announced the introduction of martial
law in a speech first broadcast on radio and television at 6:00 am
on December 13, 1981. In order to isolate members of the opposition
(from the Solidarity movement), 52 internment centers were created.
A total of 10,132 internment orders were issued against 9,736
people during the period of martial law.
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