The invention of modern Poland

Piłsudski and the politics of symbolism

Mieczysław B. Biskupski

pp. 102-122

in: Stanislav J. Kirschbaum (ed), Central European history and the European union, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007

Abstract

Between 1918 and 1939, the date of 11 November was increasingly regarded as the principal patriotic anniversary in Poland, marking the return of independence after more than a century. However, the Second World War interrupted this commemoration and after 1945 the Communist authorities preferred to ignore the occasion. Only since the re-establishment of a truly sovereign government has 11 November regained something of its pre-1939 importance.²