Postawa ziemian guberni kieleckiej i radomskiej wobec działalności ruchu niepodległościowego w czasie I wojny światowej

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present political attitudes of polish landowners during the years of World War the First. Before the beginning of a war polish society which lost independent existence more than one century ago were divided into two major political orientations. The supporters of the first option expected that the polish question would be resolved in the future by Russia. In the same time representatives of the second party combined their hopes with German monarchies. At the turn of twentieth century Józef Piłsudski – one of the leaders of Polish Socialists Party – started to develop unofficial military movement with the aim of recapturing independent state. In the years 1914–1918 the members of this organization took part in the military struggles on the area of Kielce and Radom Governorate. The Józef Piłsudski’s insurgents made efforts to establish contact with local landowners in order to receive both material and financial support. This turned out to be very difficult because polish landowners were afraid of the repression used by Russian army as a violent kind of punishment for showing sympathy to insurgents.