Tadeusz Ludwik Hołówko (September 17, 1889 – August 29, 1931), codename ''Kirgiz'', was an interwar Polish politician, diplomat and author of many articles and books. He was most notable for his moderate stance on the "Ukrainian problem" faced by the Polish government, which due to its nationalist policies in Poland's largely Ukrainian- and Belarusian-populated eastern territories, faced increasing tensions there. Despite, or perhaps because of, being a relative moderate in policies toward the Ukrainian population, and a supporter of peaceful cooperation, he was assassinated in 1931 by two members of the radical Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.

Life

Born on September 17, 1889, in Semipalatinsk, Governor-Generalship of the Steppes,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now

Semey Semey (; , formerly known as Semipalatinsk ( ) until 2007 and as Alash-Qala ( ) from 1917 to 1920, is a city in eastern Kazakhstan, in the Kazakh part of Siberia. When Abai Region was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. I ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

), Hołówko became a close collaborator of

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

,Pracownia Literatury Ukraińskiej. Instytut Slawistyki PAN
(Department of Ukrainian Literature. Institute of Slavistics,

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...

. Last accessed on 30 September 2006 first in the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party (, PPS) is a democratic socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communist Polish Workers' Party to form ...

(''PPS''), later in the Polish Military Organization (''POW'') and finally in the pro- Sanation Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (''BBWR'') party and the Polish government (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). In 1918 he became a vice-minister in the first government of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

led by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Ignacy Daszyński.w dziejach i kulturze Polski
(Lublin in history and culture of Poland). Last accessed on 30 September 2006 One of the organizers of the ''POW'' and the ''BBWR'', he was the ''BBWR''s vice president and chief ideologist. From 1930 he was a deputy to the Polish parliament (''

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

''); he advocated increasing the presidential and executive powers and decreasing the powers of the Sejm. He is credited by many English and Polish authors for advocating and improving relations with Poland's ethnic minorities, chiefly the Ukrainians and Belarusians. Orest Subtelny, ''Ukraine: A History'', University of Toronto Press, 2005,
Google Print, p. 428Google Print, p.445
/ref>

Timothy Snyder Timothy David Snyder (born August 18, 1969) is an American historian specializing in the history of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. He is on leave from his position as the Richard C. Levin, Richar ...

, ''Sketches from a Secret War: A Polish Artist's Mission to Liberate Soviet Ukraine'', Yale University Press, 2005,
Google Print, p.33p.41p.75
/ref> Marian Siemakowicz
Założenia programowe głównych obozów politycznych wobec szkolnictwa dla ludności białoruskiej w II Rzeczypospolitej
(Plans of main Polish political camps towards education of Belarusian minority in the Second Republic). Last accessed on 30 September 2006 Włodzimierz Kalicki,

Gazeta Wyborcza (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish nationwide daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It was launched on 8 May 1989 on the basis of the Polish Round Table Agreement and as a press organ of the Solidarity (Polish trade union), t ...

, 2002-08-29
29 VIII 1931: Morderstwo podczas burzy
(29.8.1931: Murder during the storm). Last accessed on 30 September 2006 However, certain Ukrainian authors Petro Mirchuk.
Narys istoriï Orhanizatsiï ukraïnskyh natsionalistiv.
" Section "Vbyvstvo polskogo posla Tadeusha Holufka" i

/ref> Zynoviy Knysh. "", consider otherwise pointing out his opposition to granting the autonomy to Ukrainian regions and even to creation of the Ukrainian university in Galicia''"Peace to his sole, Holowko was absolutely against any autonomy thoughts, wherever they came from. More than that. He was against the creation of the Ukrainian university anywhere in Galicia. He, and for very good reasons, considered that in the current state of affairs, when the painful for us problem is yet always presented as the political one, giving to the Ukrainian population any kind of autonomy or University is only to preserve and aggregate this political issue, and by this, separatism, and as such to make the realization of the program impossible..."''
'' Słowo Polskie'', October 5, 1931, as quoted by Petro Mirchuk. and to his efforts aimed at convincing the Ukrainian leaders to recall their complaints about pacification submitted to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

.''"His government activity consisted in conducting negotiations... His main task were negotiations with UA politicians to convince them to recall from Geneva their complaints on Pacification."'', ''Nashpud'', October 2, 1931 Modern research however notes he was supportive of giving wide autonomy to the minorities and supported their cultural development,Eugeniusz Mironowicz, Oleg Łatyszonek
Historia Białorusi
Last accessed on 30 September 2006. for example, by advocating for using

Belarusian language Belarusian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language. It is one of the two Languages of Belarus, official languages in Belarus, the other being Russian language, Russian. It is also spoken in parts of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Polan ...

in schools, but not Ukrainian. Considered one of the ideologists and activists of the " Prometheist" policies

, ''Covert Polish missions across the Soviet Ukrainian border, 1928-1933'' in ''Cofini'', Silvia Salvatici (a cura di), Rubbettino, 2005,
p.1p.2p.3p.4p.5
. that sought to destabilize the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

by encouraging national uprisings among the non-Russian nations that had been conquered by the Soviet Union, particularly the

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

and the peoples of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, Hołówko took an active part in preparing the 1929 Soviet-Polish treaty, called the Litvinov's Pact after the Soviet diplomat

Maxim Litvinov Maxim Maximovich Litvinov (; born Meir Henoch Wallach-Finkelstein; 17 July 1876 – 31 December 1951) was a Russian Empire, Russian revolutionary and prominent Soviet Union, Soviet statesman and diplomat who served as Ministry of Foreign Aff ...

. In his published comments to the Treaty, Hołówko stated apparently contrary to the "Prometheian" ideas that the Soviet control over

Dnieper Ukraine The term Dnieper Ukraine (), usually refers to territory on either side of the middle course of the Dnieper River. The Ukrainian name derives from ''nad‑'' (prefix: "above, over") + ''Dnipró'' ("Dnieper") + ''‑shchyna'' (suffix denoting a g ...

is the most beneficial condition for the Polish "solution of the Ukrainian problem" as any genuinely Ukrainian government would have likely raised territorial claims towards Polish state. On the other hand, he was frequently cited as an advocate for independence of Ukraine, Belarus and other countries. His controversial stance towards the Ukrainian problem made him a target for Ukrainian extremists. Approximately 1/3 of population of the

was formed of ethnic minorities,

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a British and 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 Profes ...

, God's Playground, Columbia University Press, 2005,
Google Print, p.299
/ref> but their problems were marginalized by the Polish government, whose heavy-handed policies were only serving to antagonize the Ukrainian population.

, ''The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999'', Yale University Press,
Google Books, p.144
/ref>Davies, God's Playground, op.cit.
/ref> Eventually the extremists among Ukrainians started sabotage and assassination campaigns, and the Polish government responded with further repressions. Hołówko was one of the few who tried to deal with that problem with negotiations and compromise; he mediated between willing Polish and Ukrainian politicians and proposed various plans to solve the tensions, from releasing Ukrainians prisoners and granting the minorities more rights, up to giving the

Kresy Eastern Borderlands (), often simply Borderlands (, ) was a historical region of the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic. The term was coined during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic with ...

regions, inhabited by those minorities, substantial

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

. However, such pro-Polish Ukrainian politicians were viewed as collaborators by the radical Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, and Hołówko's stance made him enemies among extremist politicians on both sides, who saw profit in further inter-ethnic conflict. He died in ''Truskawiec'' ( Truskavets) on August 29, 1931, one of the first victims of an

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

campaign carried out by militants of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (''OUN''). Having experienced heart-related illness, and unable to go to abroad due to financial constraints, he had decided to stay at the health

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

of Truskawiec in eastern Poland's ''

'', an area with a largely Ukrainian population. He had, moreover, chosen to stay at a guest house run by

Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s of

Basil of Caesarea Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

(''Sorores Basyliae''), partly as a declaration of his pro-Ukrainian stance, and partly because it was less expensive. At the news that he had chosen Truskawiec to spend his vacation, the local police commissioner, unable to change Hołówko's mind, assigned a man to shadow him as a bodyguard. August 29 was Hołówko's last day in Truskawiec; unable to leave as planned because he was waiting for a cash transfer to pay for his stay, he was further delayed by a storm. Then in his room he was met by two OUN activists, Vasyl Bilas and Dmytro Danylyshyn, who shot him and left the scene. Danyłyszyn and Biłas were executed for unrelated crimes in December 1932. His death, widely discussed in the Polish press, and mentioned in the international press and even at a

session, Wojciech Kujawa (Ukrainians in the pre-war Poland). Last accessed on 30 September 2006. was part of a vicious circle involving the Polish government's repressive policies towards members of the Ukrainian community (the Polish government's " pacification" campaign) and the OUN's campaign of what has been increasingly described as

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

. Some time later, the Polish police

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

in charge of investigating Hołówko's death, , himself became an OUN assassination victim.

Works

*''O demokracji, polityce i moralności życia publicznego'' *
Kwestia narodowościowa w Polsce
' (1922).

Quotes

*"Influence of communism diminishes with progress... n a wealthy, educated village a communist agitator has nothing to do. Thus two things are needed do combat influences of communism: objective, independent and just administration, and cultural work." Andrzej Chojnowskibr>- Piłsudczycy wobec komunizmu
(Piłsudskiites and communism). Last accessed on 30 September 2006. *"Independence of Poland is inconceivable without independent Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Ukraine and Belarus. Independence of Poland is only one of many examples of a process seen throughout modern Europe - freeing of nations from political slavery. If Poland is alone, if other countries created on the ruins of Russian Empire will fall - dark will be Poland's future." *..."such policies eeds to be usedthat ethnic minorities would feel good in Poland, not attempting to break away from Polish state, but on the opposite, they would see such a break away as a defeat. .. husthose national movements must be supported ..Therefore that population which would have complete freedom within borders of the Republic would not be loured by Russia."

Awards and decorations

Silver Cross of

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

(20 May 1920) * POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski ZG BAR

Commander's Cross with Star of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

(posthumously, 9 November 1931) *

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence () was the second highest Polish military decoration between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three classes. History The Cr ...

with Swords (6 June 1931) * EST Order of the Cross of the Eagle 2nd Class BAR

Order of the Cross of the Eagle, 2nd Class (

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, 1931)

Life

Works

Quotes

Awards and decorations

See also

References

Further reading