Lisa’s Reviews > A History of Poland. > Status Update

“And Prussia…was enabled to to resume more methodically than ever her policy of Germanification which was fundamentally, according to the administration of Bismarck himself, a programme for the extermination of the Poles under Prussia.”

Oof

…The last insurgent was only executed in 1865. But the fate of Poland was…decided when France, England, and Austria…contented themselves in June 1863 with sending diplomatic notes to the tsar in favor of the Poles.”

“the rising broke out openly on 22nd January 1863. It had assuredly no chance of success. Nevertheless, this act of despair has left a memory sacred to every Pole…The January Rising, as it is usually called, lasted even longer that the November Rising.…

“The Prussian government… changed its attitude after the November (1831) rising….then began an active policy of Germanization.”

What was included in this? Names? Religion? Language?

“In 1802 the First Consul even den a detachment of them to San Domingo, where these unfortunate Polish soldiers were compelled to fight against the negroes and perished en masse.”

Whaaat?! Why gloss over one of the noblest fights of Polish soldiers in such a misleading and uninteresting way? Was O. Halechi racist?

I’m surprised that the author doesn’t point out that the larger army and resources came from colonial pursuits; something Poland never partook of. Poland hadn’t suddenly become weak, Russian and Prussia suddenly had a surplus of resources taken from elsewhere.