The Wielkopolska Uprising

Since the Third Partition of 1795 Poland had effectively ceased to be a country, wiped off the map and carved between Imperial Russia, Prussia and Habsburg Austria. Poznań enjoyed brief freedom in 1806, when Napoleon’s conquering troops marched eastwards, liberating much of Poland and placing the city under the independent jurisdiction of the Duchy of Warsaw. But Napoleon’s military disaster on the plains of Russia was to prove just years away, resulting in the 1815 Congress of Vienna which saw Poznań once more delivered back
into Prussian hands. There it was to remain for over a century. With Europe reeling after years of war, Germany in collapse and Russia plunged into revolutionary chaos patriotic fervour once more simmered to the surface. The people of Poznań, overwhelmingly Polish, could sense independence was round the corner, but there remained one crucial sticking point: German stubbornness to relinquish the Wielkopolska region. Woodrow Wilson’s plans for an independent Poland had failed to set any boundaries, and while Warsaw was back in the hands of a Polish government Poznań was still answerable to Berlin. Ever since the Kaiser’s abdication on November 9, 1918, the native Poznanian’s had been plotting an uprising. Positions in local government and industry were forcibly seized by Poles and the countdown was on for outright war. Following weeks of tension the fuse was finally lit on December 27. Historical accounts of how the Uprising started vary; some sources claim it was the shooting of Franciszek Ratajczak and Antoni Andrzejewski on the steps of the police headquarters that started the initial fighting, though most point to a stirring speech given by the pianist and patriot Ignacy Jan Paderewski on the balcony of what was then the Bazar Hotel. While addressing the Polish crowd assembled below a German counter-demonstration passed by – within moments shots had been fired and the Uprising had begun. Historians disagree on which side started the hostilities, but either way there was no turning back the clock. Within hours Polish forces had captured the train station and post office, while elsewhere in the region other towns rose up in rebellion.

Under the temporary charge of Stanisław Taczak the Polish forces followed up with numerous swift successes against a German army shattered from four years of world war. Neighbouring towns like Kórnik, and Mogilno were liberated though several counter attacks suggested a stiffening in German resolve. Fighting continued into the New Year and by January the situation was out of hand. To save the region from a descent into anarchy the government in waiting (christened NRL) took charge of all civil and military issues, conscripting all men born between 1897 and 1899 into military service. Taking their oaths of allegiance in what is today (B-2) pl. Wolności, the Polish troops continued to march into increasingly fierce battles with their German counterparts.

Thankfully, peace was just around the corner, due in no small part to French intervention. February 14, 1919 saw the beginning of international peace talks, and within two days the French delegation had persuaded the Germans to sign an extension of the Allied-German armistice, this time including the Wielkopolska front. Sporadic fighting continued for the next few days, but to all intents and purposes, Poznań, and with it Wielkopolska, were liberated.