The Polish-Lithuanian War 1919-1920 (Documentary)
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- Опубликовано: 30 окт 2020
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Like the other Baltic states, Lithuania declared independence at the end of World War 1 and was caught in the chaotic and violent situation of 1919 and 1920 when much of Eastern Europe was in turmoil. Territories that today belong to Lithuania were claimed by Poland and Soviet Russia alike - while these two were waging a war in the direct vicinity of Lithuania.
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» SOURCES
Balkelis, Tomas, “From Self-Defense to Revolution: Lithuanian Paramilitary Groups in 1918 and 1919”, in Fleishman, Lazar & Weiner, Amir (eds.) War, Revolution and Governance: The Baltic Countires in the Twentieth Century, (Boston : Academic Studies Press, 2018)
Balkelis, Tomas, “Turning Citizens into Soldiers: Baltic Paramilitary Movements after the Great War” in Gerwarth, Robert & Horne, John (eds.), War in Peace: Paramilitary Violence in Europe after the Great War, (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012)
Gerutis, Albertas, “Independent Lithuania” in Gerutis, Albertas (ed.) Lithuania: 700 Years, (Woodhaven : Manyland Books, Inc, 1969)
Lieven, Anatol, The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence, (New Haven : Yale University Press, 2005)
Mačiulis, Dangiras and Staliūnas, Darius, Lithuanian Nationalism and the Vilnius Question, 1883-1940, (Marburg : Verlag Herder-Institut, 2015)
Senn, Alfred Erich, The Great Powers, Lithuania and the Vilna Question 1920-1928, (Leiden : E. J. Brill, 1966)
Snyder, Timothy, The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999, (New Haven : Yale University Press, 2008)
Leonhardt, Joern. Der Ueberfordete Frieden. (CH Beck, 2018).
Borzecki, Jerzy. The Polish-Soviet Peace of 1921 and the Creation of Interwar Europe (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008)
Lehnstaedt, Stephan. Der Vergessene Sieg. Der Polnisch-Sowjetische Krieg 1919-1921 und die Entstehung des modernen Osteuropa (CH Beck, 2019)
Davies, Norman. White Eagle Red Star (Random House, 2003 (1972))
Böhler, Jochen. Civil War in Central Europe, 1918-1921 (Oxford University Press, 2019)
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»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Toni Steller
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Maps: Daniel Kogosov ( / zalezsky )
Research by: Mark Newton
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Yves Thimian
Contains licensed material by getty images
All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2020
Man. If you were born Polish in 1900 you were about to go through a whole lot of bad if you survived to fifty.
It was, i have the example of my great grandparent
You wouldn’t be i the clear for the next 100 years. 2 World wars and communist rule and its effects lasted until probably 2000.
It really makes one appreciate emigration, doesn't it?
It was so tough, makes you wonder how come they weren't the ones to come up with rap music. It's a hard knock life...for us...
@@Turntapp The effects still last and will for generations.
Thank you for addressing this bit of history. My family is Lithuanian; but my father’s side spoke Polish, and fought on the side of the Poles. My mother’s side fought for the Lithuanians.
And do You speak Polish?
@@reshmer3033 , sadly, no. Studied Polish but never reached a point of being conversational. Similarly with Lithuanian and Russian. I suppose it will be easier for me to learn again having studied once.
My mother recently told me that my grandfather once scolded her for teaching my oldest sister Lithuanian instead of Polish. But none of his descendants in the US speak Polish.
@@IronWolfOverland Ar Tu nors kalbi lietuviu kalba?
Maybe your family name is Pilsudskis if that the case 🤔😉
@@petardos2684 , actually the family names are Lapinskas, Loda, Noreika, Skirmontas, Noviskis, Montvilius, and, of course, Jagelevicius / Jagiełłowicz. As I heard the story, Great Uncle Benedict left the family home near Vandziogala to join Piłsudski’s Legions. The Lithuanian authorities arrested him when he traveled home, and he later died in their custody. As my father explained, Benedict saw no issue - he lived in the Commonwealth and fought for the Commonwealth. The Lithuanian authorities saw it differently ...
A very complex time!
as a lithuanian, never seen events of that part of history laid down in such a broad and yet deep strokes. thanks for creating such a quality video
True. And as I watch this... Crazy times! A lot of brother's blood had to be spilled just for us to understand that we are brothers. United we are strong. Divided we are the weakest for our neighbours. Sveikanai iś Lenkijos ;) Greetings from Poland
@@twisters999absolutely. crazy times. I am from Lithuania and I dont want to ever fight Polish ✌️
@@Bambino8888 Jus mūsų broliai ir seserys! And We will never fight Lithuania again. That's I'm sure looking at our stable and great relations. Not only amongst govs but people! ❤️ And even I learned(learn) some Lithuanian :) sveikinai iš Lenkijos! Love to Lithuania 🇵🇱 ❤️ 🇱🇹
paklausk lenkų apie tai, Wilno nasze @@Bambino8888
Mmmm how did you know, can see future.
As a Lithuanian, I got to say, no one ever pronounces our funky names right, but you were pretty close Jessie, I will give you a solid 8 on Lithuanian name pronounciation.
I had a Lithuanian friend help me out, and tried to imitate as best I could :)
I do always enjoy Jesse's feats of pronunciation, I even pause sometimes to give myself a go.
Well111 Lithuainians sign a treaty thath with the soviets they would get back Klaipėda and Vilnius after they get annexed by the soviets the soviets even ofered to give Kaliningrad but we declined.
@Well111 Yes, definitely. Too bad Germans and Soviets werent as cooperative going forward. When I was in highscool and we were taught about this war, I cant find source anywhere, but I am vaguely remember one thing. Lithuanians had a shot at finishing Poles on their own, but one of Polish Generals pulled an amazing misdirection move and captured Vilnius. I cant find it anywhere, but I remember that somehow Poles convinced Lithuanians that they are retreating, or pulling back to fight Russians, that lead Lithuanians leave Vilnius believing threat is gone, while in reality that Polish army was in fact misdirecting and crashed right into undefended VIlnius, and thats how they really captured it.
@@oazeje12358 Awesome video. My mother's family lived in Vilnius at the time. People of Vilnius spoke Polish and considered themselves Lithuanian. They were loyal to the idea of Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. When Taryba proclaimed independence of Lithuania, they promised a Lithuanian speaking state separate from Poland. Polish speaking Lithuanians of Vilnius wouldn't have it. Piłsudski himself always considered himself LITHUANIAN. The division drew lines in families too. First president of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz had a brother (Stanislavas Narutavičius) who supported the Lithuanian Republic's side and drew the Lithuanian declaration of independence. Polish speaking Lithuanians either supporter the Republic of Lithuania or the Polish commonwealth. The conflict is said to have saved the Lithuanian language. As an act of defiance, Polish speaking Lithuanians learned and started speaking the language of their ancestors. Polish was a prevalent language in Lithuanian at the time. When Zeligowski's division was approaching Vilnius, some soldiers deserted not wanting to fight their brothers. Orders were shouted in Polish on both sides. Not every Lithuanian spoke Lithuanian but every Lithuanian spoke Polish. Dying soldiers on both sides were praying in Polish which was heartbreaking to everybody. I'm proud that Lithuanians were able to survive as a nation and were able to preserve their once endangered language.
It is always a sad and pathetic situation when brothers fight against each other. Greetings to LT from PL.
fr fr
Greetings from Lithuania. The amount of historical accuracy is astonishing. Thank you for this.
Fellow family bravo from the states
Sveikinai iś Lenkijos! Well said history but please ;D Don't fight each other again ok? hah ;D All the best to Lithuania from Poland, Brothers! Only United we mean something to this world.
I love your country :)
As Polish im happy that our nations are independent . We have had great history together and now hope peace will unite us and let us live free and happy . Salute Lietuva!!!
🧐🧐🧐
You are saying that only because Poland gained more territory
Sandy Lopez is not a Polish name????
@@piggyraccoon5464 she is not even Polish, just look at her acount, she is clearly lying
Spy.
For those of you who were wondering, Vilnius would eventually be handed over to Lithuania in 1939 by the USSR after the Red Army captured the city from the Poles. Less than a year later, of course, the Red Army would "compel" Lithuania to join the USSR.
@Jonas Lozorius yes and no, it was part of Polish Lithuenian Commonwealth after 1570 when it was de facto one country. Would citizens of Vilnus consider themselves as Poles, Lithuenians or just citizens of Commonwealth is another part- look at Adam Mickiewicz- he writes in polish and considers himself as Pole, but also writes Lithuenia my fatherland. Complicated as f
@@ukaszbiaek6641 Polish lithuanian commonwealth was a union not annexation by Poland. Any Pole that thinks Vilnius is Polish should try claim Chocago as Polish too because a lot of Poles live there lol
@@iBreakAnkles4Fun when did I said that it was annexation? I poited out the problem that many people who lived in Lithuenia considered themselves citizens of Commonwealth of just Poles. Hec, Marshall Piłsudzki was born in Zalavas in vilenian district but considered himself as a Pole. You don`t get the point.
@@iBreakAnkles4Fun Also many of the citizens/majority of Wilno didn't consider themslef as a Lithuanian nation but simply citizens of Lithuania.
@msx Nice bait, empty troll account :)
Attempting to equate the entirety of modern Lithuania to just Samogitia is beyond absurd. Specially since it includes almost the entire voivodeship of Trakai of the former grand duchy(a voivodeship which was always overwhelmingly Lithuanian) and Vilnius. The historical flag is there as what it is - the historical flag. Very much still in use today. It is there to be a symbol of history and to say "we were part of that".
Ruthenian language was chosen for the chancellery of GDL by the grand dukes as simply - a practical decision, given the geopolitical situation of the time. This does not mean Lithuanians abandoned their language and started speaking Ruthenian. Also, everyone still very much knew which language was Lithuanian, even deep into the years of the commonwealth. See: panegyric to Sigismund III Vasa(1589). Hensel's 'Linguistic map of Europe'(1741). The surviving "Lithuanian language primer for kids" 18th century books published in Vilnius. The languages used in the 1791 May 3rd constitution. The Lithuanian works listed and sponsored by Rotundus, etc.
Crazy times. Greetings from Poland, Bros! Never more war between us. United we are strong.
Sveikinai iś Lenkijos ;)
@@7urg154
We gotta push back against Putin
Męs po jūsų išdavystės niekada broleis nebūsime!
No more brother wars :)
That last Pilsudski's quote it's truly devastating
He was right, all the countries of his project "Międzymorze" were subjegated or had their land annexed by Germany or Russia in the period of 25 years.
And he was right. "Polish Poland", Dmowski's dream, could be viable. (con)federation of the nations based on *mutual respect* could be viable. Naked land grab was not.
@@AlexanderVlasov Dmowski's Polish Poland was supposed to be even bigger than the Second Polish Republic. Read about the map he presented at Versailles.
It is, indeed.
@@janherburodo8070 It's a common negotiation tactic to ask for more than you actually want. National Democrats were the leading political party in negotiations with the Soviets, and it was them who refused to accept even more land (which the Soviets did actually offer).
I wonder how the average soldier felt when after quitting fighting in the Czar's army, he ends up being conscripted again 2 years later by the Bolsheviks who came to power by promising an end to war.
A distinctive feature of the civil war in Russia was the passivity of ordinary soldiers from former tsarist army who did not want to fight in new conflicts. They often deserted or could surrender to the enemy if this option could help them return home. White, Red and other forces often mobilized a young generation of 16-20 years old who had no military experience of the First World War. WWI veterans were represented in the Green movement, so their uprisings were difficult to suppress.
The years of the Civil war in Russia are remembered for the terror that the Reds and Whites committed against common civilians. It gave people new motivation to join the army and fight for the cause they thought was right.
It was hardly the Soviets who promoted war, they above all wanted peace to build the Soviet Union and restore the economy. It was the nations that attacked the Soviets, the British, the French, the US, Poland and Japan, who both invaded and supported the Czarist/White generals attempting to over through the Soviet regime.
Then add the murderer Stalin.
How a normal soldier felt? Fed. In contrast to civilians who were starving.
Great discussion. I'm 2nd generation Lithuanian and have little knowledge of this conflict. Great job on the horrendous names!
wtf does second genration Lithuanian mean? When did the first generation start?
@@dejavulinx3295 My father and grandparents immigrated in the early 1900's, first generation.
@daveyRIR Doesn't make him non-Lithuanian. In fact, in American schools kids are asked what they are/where their families are originally from, etc. A fairly often told story of embarrassment by American young adults/teens is about how the teacher asked that when they were a kid and they answered "American". Because other kids would laugh at them for being a fool - not knowing only 'native Americans' were native.
It’s sad, this history was repressed under communist times.
@@mp1335 it does make him non-lithuanian
"A multiethnic state surrounded by hostile neighbours" Sums up pretty well literally every country in Central and Eastern Europe in interwar period.
Uhh especially poland
@Kadir Garip not even Western Europe is an exception - only a suppressed reality: Basques, Alsatians, Bretons, Flemish (France), Basques, Catalans, Gypsies (Spain) ect.
I feel very fortunate to grow up in a time when Europe is mostly peaceful. Let's hope it stays that way. 🙏
Same here.
There are still borders that need tweaking, nations within nations and oppression of minorities.
Let's hope it learns to work together more!
We will not let this happen again too much blood has been shed if we did start war again we would be the biggest fools ever
Peace is an anomaly. I don't think Europe will be at war until very long but don't take it for granted
I find it so sad seeing the Polish and Lithuanians fight against each other
😔 yea
We barely fight in comparison to Balkans. Now they are fighting. We don't fight anymore. It's all forgotten. Now more than ever especially Poland is getting more nationalist, so given our history I think there isn't going to be any hard feelings between us
@@laius6047 Wilno was 60% Polish, that's why we conquered it
@@dominik8306 don't be delusional peasant
@@dominik8306 So if Warsaw was 60%, would it be fair for us to take it?
My grandpa George is lithuanian...95 yrs old and those boys are tough as nails
If his name was George, then his original name most likely would've been Jurgis (pronounced Yurgis)
Your grandpa was Lithuanian from Prussia/Memelland or from Lithuania Proper?
@@telenowelka I'll have to ask. I know my family did alot of baltic sea fishing
@@jonathanschadenfreude9603 visit Neringa some time : )
They have a memorial to frank zappa! My kinda people
a mention that Pilsudski was generally from Vilnus would be useful
He was not strictly from Vilnius
@Mariv was, he is dead
His mother and his own heart lies in Vilnius cemetery of Rasos (he himself - as i called - Heartless, and it's litterally - lies in Crakow).
Thanks from Lithuania 🇱🇹❤️🇱🇹.
The Lithuanian language was banned by the tsarist authorities after 1830 upheaval suppression but the Polish language, as the language of the Slavic majority in the general Seimas, was adopted in Commonwealth in the 17th century and was patronized by the Catholic church. Tsar's police exiled the whole Lithuanianfamilies to Siberia for finding at least one Lithuanian book 📙.
After 1863
After January Uprising 1864.
First if all, only Latin alphabet for the language was prohibited, not the language itself. So you are a little lier. Secondly, let me guess why it was banned? Revolt?
@@Fricid Ignorance. It was forbidden any education in Lithuanian, secondly, it was officially forbidden even to speak Lithuanian in all state official places. There are in museums some Russian plaques left making this requirement visible. Don't try to put barbaric russian deeds in cotton.
@@FricidLithuanian press ban 1865-1904 look it up before saying bs
As a Lithuanian from Vilnius region I have substancial historical memory in a family. My grandmother, born 1902, recalling that her parents used to speak to each other Lithuanian in order to hide matters from the kids. So she was aware that she was Lithuanian, also not knowing language and speaking polish. To the old age she used to spoke Polish whenever with her friends, while in the family she spoke Lithuanian. And she used to speak angrily about some relatives which try to pretend being Polish, the landlords, not a peasants. I myself know Polish relatively well without learning it formally, just so casualy.
Pilsudski himself was one of those hybrid identity nobles (would sometimes call himself an "old Litwin"). Also, the reason Poland took "so little" land from the Soviets is that Polish political factions (which were negotiating the treaty of Riga) didn't want too many minorities in their country. The Soviets actually offered Poland more land.
Belarusians would've been most welcome minority.
@@MIMALECKIPL Not according to National Democrats. Had they wanted to they could have gotten whole of Belarus in Riga.
@@nouta6440 That's why we have constant Dmowski vs Piłsudski war in our political discussions nowadays. Though I am not in favor of federation, just one great united Poland.
Yes. Soviet Russia offered Poland Minsk, the Belorussian capital. And the National Democrats refused. While The interwar Poland had most problems with the greek-catholic Ukrainians. But Belorussians were also trobulesome. Many greek-catholic Ukrainians supported Ukrainian nationalists (in contrast to Orthodox Ukrainians). But on the other hand, as much as 25% of Belorussians supported the Communists in the elections (by far the highest percentage of Communist support).
Piłsudski's federation plan would probably be much more effective. As it would have created Belarus and Ukraine as Polish perpetual-allied (satellite) states. So no minority problems and the border with the Soviets secured.
@@Vielenberg Indeed, the Poles could've taken Minsk at the Riga negotiations, and establish a protectorate of some sort. However, it could've heavily damaged the Belorussian-Polish relations in the long run, as the scenario of one people under the boot of another always ends in bloodshed. But, a fully independent buffer state, is another thing.
This is a fascinating video about Lithuanian history - really enjoyed it. Thanks for making it!
These episodes that deal with what happened after the war are fascinating. I would have never known what happened after the treaty of Versailles if not for this channel
The Commonwealth looking on like “My boys”
"Look how they messed up my boys" you mean?
@@VersusARCH "Look how they massacred my boys!" You mean lol?
@@remlok5556 yeash
I'm always interested in these relatively little know events in the inter-war period, thanks for sharing this awesome high quality videos with us!
A magnificent piece of work! Thank you for producing such work.
Thank you for a great episode! Greetings from Vilnius!
My family is from Vilnius. They spoke Polish but my grandmother's first husband (Markunas) spoke Lithuanian. I can always tell if someone from Vilnius is a Lithuanian speaker or Polish speaker. Lithuanians speakers speak proper Polish while Polish speakers speak their local dialect.
Just signed up for the great courses! Glad I could help out the show.
Lithuania was multi ethnic state from very begining, uniting pegans, then slavs, nomadic tribes like tatars etc, it was melting pot for centuries. Finally cause of the pressure of longest teutonic crusades (and other aggressors), United with Poland, where 2 Lithuanians split control of poland and GDL. The potential for this union was superb, expecialy after zalgiris battle, but jealousy, intrigue failed this alliance. Polish and Lithuania still feel bitter towards each other, but hopefully we will rebuild trust and love between these two nations.
I am a proud member of Lithuanian Rifleman Uninion 100 years later. Even though we have our bitter history with Poland, I consider them our closest allies in terms of values and history.
Thanks for your work man. It's great to hear about this war.
This war is special to me as my great grand father was one of the generals fighting for lithuania
Didn't know Julius Caesar had relatives in Lithuania 😂😂😂
its true@@ainisskulskis7975
A complex situation which is explained very clearly - thanks!
Thank you for the video!
26:20 Lithuanian army by this time was bigger than Żeligowski's army. It was smaller than Polish army as a whole.
And still Żeligowski beat Lithuanians...
@@MIMALECKIPL regular Polish army captured Varena rail road station, main Lithuanian army elements couldn't be transferred from Suwalki for Vilnius fight.
@@1MuchButteR1 That's why we won. We're never afraid of forced march.
@@MIMALECKIPL did u listen boi? Żeligowski's army mostly included lithuanias as belarussians. GO HOME SOLDIERS
@@nYgiz69 Lithuanians who felt their ties with Poland and not with rebel Zhmud.
I am from Vilnius but learned something new, today. Thank you.
Awesome video. They should show this in history classes!
this feels like watching two best friends fight..
How old are you now and write your nephew Guntis’ current address? How is Guntis?
This is a great summary! Thank you
Awesome video. My mother's family lived in Vilnius at the time. People of Vilnius spoke Polish and considered themselves Lithuanian. They were loyal to the idea of Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. When Taryba proclaimed independence of Lithuania, they promised a Lithuanian speaking state separate from Poland. Polish speaking Lithuanians of Vilnius wouldn't have it. Piłsudski himself always considered himself LITHUANIAN. The division drew lines in families too. First president of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz had a brother (Stanislavas Narutavičius) who supported the Lithuanian Republic's side and is said to have authored the Lithuanian declaration of independence. Polish speaking Lithuanians either supported the Republic of Lithuania or the Polish commonwealth. The conflict is said to have saved the Lithuanian language. As an act of defiance, Polish speaking Lithuanians learned and started speaking the language of their ancestors. Polish was a prevalent language in Lithuania at the time. When Zeligowski's division was approaching Vilnius, some soldiers deserted not wanting to fight their brothers. Orders were shouted in Polish on both sides. Not every Lithuanian spoke Lithuanian but every Lithuanian spoke Polish. Dying soldiers on both sides were praying in Polish which was heartbreaking to everybody. I'm proud that Lithuanians were able to survive as a nation and were able to preserve their once endangered language.
It is so sad that after so many years some people who declare themselfs as poles living in lithuania do not know who really they are. They just same lithuanians whom great parents lived for 20 years under Polish rule, that's all.
@@MrElmas02 It's more complicated than that. Rzeczpospolita was our common state. At the end of the 19th century the fight in Lithuania was over who is the "real" Lithuanian. Is the real Lithuanian someone speaking old Lithuanian language or is Lithuanian a descendant of Lithuanian nobility or Lithuanian city dwellers who for generations spoke Polish at home. Don't forget, when Latin was the official language in Poland, for 19 years Polish was the official language of Lithuania. Poland was ruled by Polish speaking Lithuanian families for centuries. Polish language was brought to Belarus and Ukraine by Lithuanian nobles. Those Lithuanian magnates cared about their lands in the east and in the west Polish speaking lands were becoming German speaking lands unopposed. So those Polish speaking Lithuanians have been told by Lithuanian speaking Lithuanians that they are not Lithuanian at all. They are discriminated against because of their language. You can get penalized for using Polish in official settings. I guess Lithuanians like to discriminate other Lithuanians for centuries now.
Are you saying that ALL Polish speakers in Lithuania saw themselves as Lithuanian, or some of the upper classes/noble origin? So far all the sources I've read stated it's the latter. That is, lower/middle classes saw themselves as just Polish (as most of Poles in Lithuania do now). rather than Lithuanian/Polish-Lithuanian. Even Czeslaw Milosz himself said that in 20th century National Democrats and their vision of Polishness has defeated the ideas of Krajowcy and people like him were in minority.
@@nouta6440 I'm talking about pre-WW1 Lithuania. The conflict between Litwini and Litwacy or Litwomani or Żmudzini. Polish speaking Lithuanians considered themselves Lithuanian and considered those who wanted to separate from Poland and speak Lithuanian as Żmudzini or crazy Litwomani. That was the division in Lithuania. Every Lithuanian spoke Polish but only minority of Lithuanians spoke Lithuanian.
@@MrElmas02 Lithuanian magnates, nobility spoke Polish at home by then. In fact Lithuanians bragged that when they would come to Sejm (a Lithuanian word adopted by Polish) they'd speak Polish better than Poles themselves. Lithuanias spoke the literary language while Poles had their dialects. How do you think Polish language because the leading language in Kiev and Minsk (till WW1)? There was no great transfer of population. The language and new identity was brought by Lithuanian nobility. You see... Poles and Lithuanians for some reason don't like talking about it.
Well presented account of a particular chapter of Polish/Lithuanian history.
Between the two World Wars the Lithuanian-Polish relations were so bad that it was impossible to send a letter directly from one country to the other.
But ofcourse! What did you expect?? Poland was acting just like rushka is doing now in Ukraine.
Jedi, just calm down, boy.
Spokojny jestem. Skomentowałem konkretny przypadek historyczny sto lat temu. Dziś go nie stosuję. Uważam dzisiejszych Polaków za sojuszników i przyjaciół.
@@drTadux Look at the population in Wilno then and borders were fluid after ww1, it's different from what Russia is doing today.
@@Koczu0It's not different. The borders been recognized and signed by Poland. But after signing up she attacked.
Do you know the facts??????? Do you want me to send you the year and demarcation zone been agreed and signed.
I'm so sick of people like you who can't comprehend and accept occupation.
I see same imperialistic methods as Russia do to Ukraine.
An excellent presentation, thank you.
Thanks... Great episode.
Excellent piece.
These videos have really filled out my knowledge of Poland's military situation prior to 1939.
What army?
@@ainisskulskis7975the army that defeated the bolsheviks
Great video!
Thanks for the video!!! I learned couple of new things that I didn't know before! I'm Lithuanian living abroad ☺️
And many of those old photos an videos i have never seen before! Really interesting!
I grew up in Vilnius! Left when I was 20...
This a very well made episode , thank you for these details . Just bought the CuriosityStream subscription with Nebula access, annual. Cheers !
My Grandparents left Vilnius around 1910 to come to America. I think they left just in time.
Yep, they avoided the Titanic
Excellent series .
It's also worth mentioning that the victories polish war with mighty Soviet red army in 1920 was fought only 8 months after Poland gained independence in 1919. Poland disappeared from the maps for 123 years.
Curzon and his stupid lines never ceases to amaze me. Possibly worst Governor general of India also.
Wars everywhere! It would seem that those who held that the 'interwar 'years were simply a 'halftime' between the two major clashes are right.
More like going from a rolling boil to a simmer: you're still getting cooked.
Sad you didn't mention Pilsudski - Narutowicz families (edit: or brothers Вацлаў Іваноўскі, Tadas Ivanauskas and Jerzy Iwanowski) as an example. That would give more context in Polish Lithuanian relations in my opinion.
Three brothers claiming 3 different (Polish, Lithuanian and Belorussian) nationalities. That shows how twisted family lines have become.
And there still are such families in the contemporary Republic of Lithuania where one brother thinks he is a Pole and another one thinks he is a Lithuanian. And their families don't respect one another and don't communicate because of those opinions. There are just a few of them left, but not zero yet.
9:59 i think you have mistaken Vistula with Vilia river. Great video!
First Polish President, Jozef Pilsudski, himself, was from a family of Polonised Lithuanian gentry, which no doubt explains why he was so interested in renewing the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
He never was a president...
He was Poland's Marshall, aka Head of State, but never a president.
@@civishyperboreum6853 You're correct. He was initially elected to this office but refused it.
renewing????thats you call renewing?fighting,killing???are you crazy man?and he was marshalka,not president
@@Mandobird1 yup, but it was in 1926, not during Polish-soviet war
A “new” series you could do is cover the stuff in the Great War that you didn’t have time to
Great channel 👍
Such a great channel.
Nicely informative video.
I'm glad there isn't a test after watching this one.
Support us and get 40% off Nebula: go.nebula.tv/the-great-war
Watch 16 Days in Berlin on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/16-days-in-berlin-01-prologue-the-beginning-of-the-end?ref=the-great-war
As you can see and hear we are back in the Emergency Lockdown Studio Also Known As Jesses Living Room (ELSAKAJLR™) and we know the sound isn't ideal. Starting with the next episode, Jesse will have a better mic that should improve things dramatically. Next step we will also make a few more improvements to Jesse's overall recording setup. Recording TGW episodes remotely while Jesse is in his ELSAKAJLR™ and we are in Berlin is not easy, but that bloody pandemic will not stop us.
you missed that in vilenski kraj, the majority were the belarusians , why ?
I subscribed to Curiosity Stream months ago based on an ad in Tge Great War, but was surprised not to find any content from The Great War there. Any way to add Nebula to that subscription now? I assume the content is on Nebula?
Could you explain what the problem with RUclips is? What is being censored? I'm considering joining something like curiosity stream for more content. I'm not fond of RUclips basically coming directly out and telling me they will be slowing down and interrupting the videos I watch unless I pay a monthly fee. Sounds too much like "nice restaurant you got here. Sure would be a shame if somethin' happened to it" to me.
@@jessealexander2695 , hmmm. I did this at the end of March, got 40% off on code stayin40 from your ad. Perhaps this pre-dated the Nebula offer?
Big fan of your channels, BTW
Gdy zwiedzim Warszawę, już nam pilno.
- Zobaczyć, to *nasze* stare Wilno.
It's sad the Federation wasn't meant to be. As I also had family on both sides of the war - it was truly a war between brotherly nations.
say one,say two-polish Pilsudsky army forced to Lithuania..federation???after fighting it cannot be federation,only colony ..
@@souldoc123 How come? The South and the Northern States in USA were at warin 1860' and one are not a collony of the other. It is counterintuitive but it is still possible.
@@souldoc123
I think you can be probably partly right. It was hard to create after WW1 a Polish-Lithuanian federation, if Lithuania wasn't interested at that idea.
But if Lithuania didn't want to restore a historical Commonwealth with a historical Lithuanian borders (with Vilna, Suwałki, Święciany etc.), but create its own national state, it should than create that state on a national criteria, that means that there were Lithuanians we're majority or at least there were more Lithuanians than any other nation. Wilno and Suwałki regions surly weren't such lands. In Wilno according to German census from 14 Dec 1916 the population of the city was 54% Polish and 2,09% Lithuanian. In the whole region Poles were also dominating. Even in the Kaunas/Kowno region Poles made a large part of the population.
Lithuania than can't have grievances to Poland that Poland wanted after WW1 to add this land to its state.
@@Alaryk111 the south is clearly the junior partner to the north.
@@Alaryk111 , Compare green with square. America is a country of emigrants, while Poles and Lithuanians are nations formed in their homeland.
The Pilsudskii family originates from the village of Pilsūdai in Žemaitia, which even the Google car has not driven to. Pilsudskis had an inferiority complex, which is why he believed that Lithuania had no right to statehood. After seizing the territory of Vilnius, they thought that the whole of Lithuania was theirs. However, the Lithuanians moved to Kaunas and preserved their statehood. Pilsudski dreamed of a Polish-ruled empire from sea to sea, and Lithuania was the first message. Empire building stalled. After occupying Vilnius, they started fierce polonization. In my father's family, they spoke Polish (I think "just plain"), although they were Lithuanian patriots and their uncles were volunteers in 1918-1920. My great-grandfather and great-grandmother came from the Ukrainian city of Slavuta.
Really sad story to be honest. I mean compared to the times when Lithuania and Poland was one coutry and would roll together to kick some ukrainian and russian asses together and reaching black sea. Greetings from Lithuania to Poland. I wish our nations would cooperate more without taking each others identiy.
May we wish for a future of peace, cooperation, and friendship! From Poland with love
Even thought Lithuanian separatism was stoked by the Russians, we're basically back to the state things were in the 14th century. We have to pick things up from the same point.
Très intéressant! Merci ben gros!
My grandfather born in Bryansk, Belarus, was impressed into the Russian army and went AWOL. He escaped home only to be impressed into the Polish army from which he also ran away. He was only sixteen years old. He eventually made it to New York a hundred years ago this month, July 1921.
Scary time to live.
Bryansk is in Russia you fool... If you don't know that, then what do you know regarding this silly little fable of yours, hm? Exactly.
Fantastic piece
All very new to me... very interesting.... thanks.
Polish-Lithuanian War...against whom tho?
Its poland vs lithuania ffs...
@@Gloverfield dude it was a joke about Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
@@Gloverfield it was a joke cus poland and lithuania were always together in history
@@rasag7664 yh ik...
Vilnius vėl priglaus pulkus!🇱🇹❤️
zalezy czyim... i tak pozniej w 1939 sovieci 'przekazali je Litwia, a ta sama wpusciala na swoje terytorium Armie Czerwona, co skonczylo sie 1940 aneksja.... do rosji sovieckiej.
a szkoda bo razem bylibysmy silni. W Rzeczypospolitej jednak glowne rody byly z pochodzenie z Wielekiego Ksiestwa Litewskie .. rody Ruskie i Litewskie.
@@maciejk7689 Tu supranti, kad Lietuviui lenkiškai atrašinėji? :D nebe viduramžiai, niekam neįdomi čia tavo kalba. Jei nori diskutuot - rašyk kalba, kurią galima suprasti. Verstis nežadu, nes nematau reikalo :)
@@WUSTASS Rozumiem ze mam pisasc po Staro Rusku .. spoko. Bo taki był jezyk Wielkiego Ksiestwa ..
Я разумею, што мне трэба пісаць па-старажытнаруску .. крута. Таму што гэта была мова Вялікага Княства ...
@@WUSTASS
Sveiki. Gaila, nes nesuprantant praeities neįmanoma kurti ateities. Vienpusis ir nacionalistinis istorijos aiškinimas tik sukelia konfliktus. Man nepatinka keistumas, kiekviena iš partijų, kilusi iš Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės tradicijos, nori jas pasisavinti ir ar tai būtų Lietuva, Lenkija ar Baltarusija. Ši praeitis mums yra įprasta ir turėtų būti pateikiama sąžiningai, o ne per politiką ir nacionalizmą. Be to, XIX - XX a. Sandūroje įvyko labai dideli kultūriniai pokyčiai.
@@maciejk7689 How many schkools are in the Poland now, there are lithuaaninan language thought? ...?!! Exactly - NON! NADA! ZERO! And this is the politics of Warshav!
Fantastic video !
Fine that someone details what the historians avoid to mention !
Amazing video
Last time I was this early, it was still the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
bump
So, 1980's? When this name was invented for history books instead of Rzeczpospolita aka Republic to remove historical significance of full name of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, *Ruthenia and Samotija* compared to Poland, which wasn't a dominant side in the union? Not very early then:D
@@TheArklyte That would still be years before I was born so I'll take it.
@@TheArklyte yhm Poland wasn`t a dominant side in the union right...
@@ukaszbiaek6641 well, look at the map of both states before the union:\
5:45
Such situation of changing languages was also simular on Ruthenia. There in census 1921 declared the same percentage of Ukrainias (by nationality), as in census 1931 asking for a native language.
I did not expect to be so fascinated by this video when I first clicked it, wow
What is important but omitted in the video is the fact that Pilsudski himself was from Vilnius region. So it was very personal for him to capture the city.
Great video. My ancestry is around half Lithuanian.
Interesting to see the Polish Army light machinegun detachment at 26:05 using Madsens from Denmark.
In that time Poland had one of the bigest numbers of tanks ... in the world.
The Madsens were likely inherited from the German Army, since the Germans had imported lots of Madsens before and during the First World War. If I’m not mistaken, the Madsens had been used by German Army jäeger regiment machine gun detachments.
Thank you for this video, the region has the most complicated history and it's hard to understand who I am and what my family we're doing out there, Who they allied with in different era's. The mind boggles
Thanks for the video again. Wish I had a million dollars to give you guys.
🇱🇹🤝🇵🇱
It`s worth mentioning that Piłsudski was a Polish-speaking Lithuanian himself , born and raised in the Vilnius district.
Like Adolf Hitler were German speaking Austrian himself. ;)
@@ldkbudda4176 austrians are german lol
Sadly he chose the wrong side.
@@konfunable Why?
@@reshmer3033 Because he was not on his side, which of course is better according to him, because he is probably Lithuanian.
Thank you :)
Thank you for this video. I'm Lithuanian born, but I left before we went through this part of our countries history in school, so there always was a gap in my mental timeline and now its gone :) .
Soviets and Germans had the interest to push this war. Some relatives come from Lituania, almost 100 years back. I was born in Poland
Living in Lithuania as a non native, It saddens me deeply to know that Lithuania and Poland fought against each other due to basically being forced by a third party.
Knowing that they had such a big alliance in old times, and fought side by side like in Tannenberg. It is just a sad and dark spot in Lithuanian - Polish history.
Thats why both lithuanian and polish politicians of today working hard to fix the relationships and lots of progress has been made in the last 3 years
Tannenburg?
Poland forced the war. Not a third party.
dark spot in polish history. as poland wears invaders suit
The audio is still better than it used to be......
Excellent explaining this Complicated issue (Lithuanian independence)also mobilized of Three kinds of Armies
Both countries were at theirs best when they formed the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom starting in 14th century through 18th century. The Kingdom was the biggest in Europe with the largest population.
Great and very informative program, thanks a lot.
It was the biggest mistake made for GDL
@@bigdoggy7 It had one alternative - be incorporated into Muscovy and have a far worse fate. Which is why siding with Poland was chosen.
@@bigdoggy7How? Without the union with Poland, Lithuanians would probably get either:
-Completely exterminated by Teutonic Order (to the point where there would be literally no Lithuania, just like it was with Prussia)
-Annexed into Muscovy and Russia, which wolud likely also mean russification, economical backwardness, and lack of any freedoms and independence that the Grand Duchy had during the Union with Poland.
Lithuania: we’ll let you pass through our land if you give us our city.
Soviets: but of course.
*actually don’t give back the city*
Lithuania: surprised pikachu face
Not to defend the Soviets, they did give back the city what do you mean?
@@2hotflavored666 give back Vilnius and after that take whole Lithuania 🤣
@@LukasSRR True, but the Lithuanian SSR like other SSR's, had a "border" which is the same as modern day Lithuania. Google a map of the SSR's.
@@2hotflavored666 well initially it looked like they had no intention of giving it back after setting up the basis for a new government
Once commies get somewhere, it's hard to get them out. Look at Czechoslovakia. Reds came with "brotherly help" in 1968 and left only in 1992, even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Incredible!
Very interesting piece about a little known conflict
Pilsudski was from Lithuania and wanted to reestablish Commonwealth, lithuanians wanted to be independent and not under polish boot.
And they didn't understand threat that Soviet Union posed. Only Federation of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine could match Germany and Russia.
The sad thing is that regardless of what we the Poles, Czech, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Balts do to each other, there's always some steamroller round the corner, coming from either east or west, flatting us miserably. Only then we realise that our arguments where mere child's play on the international chessboard.
@@mixererunio1757 Right. As a Lithuanian: Originally - the government understood. But most of the country's people didn't understand or just simply wanted to prioritize their own well being 'here and now'. Which ironically, as quite often happens, led to naivety and ended up hurting them and their families in the long run. Kind of funny how some people back then regarded the warnings of certain politicians as "russophobia" and the term is very much alive today.
Love from Poland. ❤️❤️
Nice!
thx bro
I have never heard about that war before. As a Pole I'm sure that we are not teached too much about that war in our schools...
Anyway, great video, I will share this video with my friends so that they can expand their knowledge of history.
It's not the best source
@@bartoszpankiewicz8031 Sure it's not. It's just a thirty minutes video so probably reading some history book would be the best source.
Thats because this period of couple decades of xx century of polish history has shamed historical context.
Hope, this will not ever happen again in our common relations.
Did anyone keep track of how many times Vilnius changed hands? I lost count.
Me too. :)
6 times, it was pretty standard i Eastern Europe. The same was in Kiev.
I believe Lwow/Lviv also changed hand multiple times too
I believe Lwow/Lviv also changed hand multiple times too
21:53 The lack of divination is astonishing.
30:08 and thus gained some foresight.
Now that's a chaotic scenario!!