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The Piast Concept is a political idea of Polish state based on its initial territories under the
Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...
, containing a mostly Polish population. It holds that Poland, composed of mostly Polish territories in the west during Middle Ages, was a strong westernized state, equal to other western European countries. For its supporters, the Piast concept is mostly identified with the idea of westernization, attachment to Europe and its ideas, close relationship with western countries, and pragmatism in international relations, while avoiding unwise adventures in the East.


Development of the Piast Concept

Jan Poplawski developed the "Piast Concept" in the 1890s. It formed the centerpiece of Polish nationalist ideology, especially as presented by the National Democracy Party, known as the "Endecja", which was led by
Roman Dmowski Roman Stanisław Dmowski (Polish: , 9 August 1864 – 2 January 1939) was a Polish politician, statesman, and co-founder and chief ideologue of the National Democracy (abbreviated "ND": in Polish, "''Endecja''") political movement. He saw th ...
. The concept was also supported by Polish peasant parties. In practice, Polish nationalists of the early 20th century believed that Poland should restore its central values such as westernization, focus on the development of Polish trade and economy and creation of a Polish middle class.


Rival ''Jagiellon Concept''

A rival ''Jagiellon Concept'' was endorsed by the interwar governments dominated by
Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...
. It looked to the grandeur of Poland under the Jagiellonian dynasty in the later Middle Ages, which linked Poland–Lithuania,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, and
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
under Polish kings. The Jagiellon Concept looked more to the underdeveloped eastern territories, inhabited mostly by
Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
,
Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...
and
Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...
. Supporters of the Piast Concept critiqued the Jagiellon Concept for neglecting the interests of the Polish population in the west, in particular by focusing on underdeveloped agricultural territories instead of industrial regions. Piast Concept supporters also argued that Jagiellon Concept put Poland unnecessarily at odds with the powerful Russian state, while ignoring the threat from Germany, which was considered far more dangerous in its ability to eradicate Polish identity than Russia. Since Jagiellonian Poland ultimately led to Poland being extinguished from the international arena, it was not seen as an attractive model to follow by the followers of the Piast Concept.


After 1940

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
at the 1943
Tehran Conference The Tehran Conference (codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943, after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It was held in the Soviet Union's embassy i ...
discussed with
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
and
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
new post-war borders in central-eastern Europe, including the shape of future Poland. He endorsed the Piast Concept in order to justify a massive postwar shift of Poland's frontiers to the west. After discussions over many months Britain and the United States agreed with Stalin on the new borders, but the
Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
remained opposed. After 1945 the Communist government adopted the Piast Concept, using it to support their claim that they were champions of Polish national interests Calling the newly acquired formerly German territory "
Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...
", the Communist regime made an enormous effort to justify the acquisition in terms of the Piast Concept. Following the removal of the Communist regime, Poland pursued a western-orientated foreign policy, in line with the ideas of the Piast Concept.


Criticism

Hosking and Schöpflin argue that the Piast Concept "rested on a simple and persuasive historical myth". They summarize the essence of this "myth" as follows: Historian
Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a Welsh-Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor at ...
says that Dmowski based his vision of Poland on the "primitive" Piast period, "uncorrupted by alien influence".{{cite book, author=Norman Davies, title=Heart of Europe: The Past in Poland's Present, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yWi-WLvY_v0C&pg=PT197, year=2001, publisher=Oxford University Press, page=197


Notes

1. Ewolucja systemu politycznego w Polsce w latach 1914-1998. T. 1. Odbudowanie niepodległego państwa i jego rozwój do 1945 r. Cz. 1, Zbiór studiów 1999. Polska myśl zachodnia XIX I XX wieku Czubiński Antoni Political history of Poland Polish nationalism (1795–1918) Second Polish Republic