A Military Order as a Source of Information about Requisitions on Polish Soil in 1919–1920

Abstract

The article analyses issues related to the civic duty to bear the burdens for the defence of the State. These burdens have a centuries-long tradition and in the period discussed by the author they were also often used by the Polish Army through forced requisitions, which, however, were often of an illegal nature and even took the form of looting and plundering, i.e. criminal acts. Numerous military abuses by the army in the course of requisitioning became the subject of interest of the Supreme Command, including in particular the Minister of Military Affairs. By giving the relevant orders to military units, he tried to put an end to this illegal practice of requisitioning abuses, often referring to the dignity of a Polish soldier’s uniform and forcing the commanders of units to apply absolute discipline and punishment for these abuses during requisitioning operations. The author discusses requisitioning activities through the prism of the analysis of requisitioning legislation and the attitude of the supreme military authorities to these activities in the light of the content of the orders sent by the Minister of Military Affairs to military units subordinate to him.