The Republic of Pińczów () was an area of

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. The population is 10,946 (2018). Pińczów belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland (Polish: ...

and the surrounding area which was liberated at the end of 1918 for a period of six weeks by the city's inhabitants, led by Jan Lisowski, after the disarmament of Austrian troops without a fight.

History

The city was seized at the end of 1918 after an action carried out by a group of about 150 people, consisting of members of the fire brigade and residents. The group that disarmed the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

's occupation unit consisting of

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

without a fight was commanded by Jan Lisowski, an activist of the SDKPiL. As agricultural strikes took place in the

powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...

, a punitive expedition was sent to

Rosiejów Rosiejów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Skalbmierz, within Kazimierza County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Skalbmierz, north-west of Kazimierza Wielka, and south ...

(the most inflammatory place), which sent the striking fornals to the farm buildings. The strikers were released after the relief organized by Jan Lisowski. Due to this event, Lisowski was arrested and imprisoned. There was also a former Austrian officer Kalinka, pseudonym "Kazuń", leading a group spreading

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

slogans. This group, based on peasants, carried out several attacks, including in

Działoszyce Działoszyce is a town in Pińczów County in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 2,882 inhabitants as of December 2023. History The town is located in historic Lesser Poland, and the earliest mention of Działoszyce in hist ...

and Wodzisław. The attack on Działoszyce and disarmament of police officers took place on November 12, and on Wodzisław on November 18, 1918. It was carried out by an 18-strong Kalinka unit and a group of several hundred peasants armed with poles and axes. The group committed robberies, but only on rich people. Fearing the actions of the agitated peasants, several landed gentry families left their homes and went to

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

. Kalinka died in a fight with a punitive army unit in the Piotrków forests. In 1944, after the liberation from the German occupation of Pińczów and the surrounding area and the seizure of power by partisans from the Peasants' Battalions, the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

and the People's Army, a Second Pińczów Republic was established.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{cite book , author = Praca zbiorowa , title = Drogi rozwoju ruchu ludowego , publisher = LSW , location =

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, year = 1964 1918 in Europe 1918 establishments in Poland 1918 disestablishments in Poland 1918 establishments in Austria-Hungary 1918 disestablishments in Austria-Hungary States and territories established in 1918 States and territories disestablished in 1918 Anarchism in Poland Socialism in Poland

History

See also

References

Bibliography