Biskupski, M. B. B. Independence Day: Myth, Symbol, and the Creation of Modern Poland (review)

Abstract

SEER, 93, 3, JULY 2015 576 The third part, which deals with the memory of the war, was probably the mostchallengingfortheauthors,buttheresultisbalancedandinformative.The interwar commemorations of ‘White Finland’ are analysed in another strong article by Roselius. The rather more complicated story of Red remembrance is written by Tauno Saarela, who portrays the legacy of 1918 in the interwar labour movement, after the split between Socialists and Communists. The third article by Tepora focuses on the post-war era, particularly on Civil War novelization by Väinö Linna and the left-wing resurgence in the 1960s. Finally, Tiina Kinnunen brings the cycle to a conclusion with an article on the new controversies related to the Civil War during the ‘neo-patriotic’ era that followed the 1990s. Kinnunen’s article offers a concise description of the new polarization between neo-patriotic discourses and the ongoing postmodern exploitation of Civil War themes in popular culture. Although the war has probably lost its significance as Finland’s foremost dividing line, it still occupies its own niche in present-day culture wars. As a thematic compilation, the book is a cohesive and well-structured synthesis of old and new research, which could be even described as a testament tocontinuityinFinnishhistoriography.Manyarticles,suchasthosebyHaapala and Siltala, actually restate the conclusions which are familiar from their previous Finnish-language books. The articles by Roselius are particularly well contextualized and place the events in Finland in an international perspective, which is particularly appropriate, considering that the book was published on the centennial of the First World War. For an international audience and academic professionals, the book has considerable value as a multi-authored case-study of a small, but significant and interesting European conflict from the revolutionary era. The decision to combine social and political history, war studies, history of mentalities and experiences, gender studies and analysis on memory politics in one single volume is a successful formula. The result is an enjoyable read presented in a thematic structure which one hopes will become a standard in military history. School of Social Sciences and Humanities Jussi Jalonen University of Tampere Biskupski, M. B. B. Independence Day: Myth, Symbol, and the Creation of Modern Poland. Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 2012. xv + 200 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. £60.00. To Canadians and Americans, Independence Day is an occasion for fireworks, street festivals and patriotic clichés, so it comes as something of a surprise to find that Polish Independence Day has been a hotly contested political issue REVIEWS 577 for most of its history. Professor Mieczysław Biskupski has made a useful contribution to our understanding of Polish history and culture by examining the subject over a ninety-three-year period. The Independence Day controversy stems from the long-standing dispute between followers of Józef Piłsudski and Roman Dmowski. Piłsudski-ites, who controlled the Polish government from 1918 to 1922, credited the achievement of independence to Piłsudski’s military activities before and during the First World War, capped by his arrest by German authorities, his triumphal return to Warsaw on 10 November 1918 and his assumption of power on 11 November. A Parliamentary Act of 22 October 1920 declared 11 November to be Independence Day. Dmowski-ites reluctantly accepted the November date but minimized Piłsudski’s personal significance and attributed independence to the victory of the Western Powers, symbolized by the 11 November Armistice. This grouping credited Dmowski’s role in presenting the Polish case in Paris and London with achieving independence. The degree of enthusiasm with which Poland celebrated the 11 November IndependenceDayinlateryearsdependedonpoliticalfactors.From1922to1926, the Dmowski-ite parliament minimized celebrations and ignored Piłsudski, while Piłsudski-ites, who seized power in May 1926, made 11 November a full national holiday in 1927. From then until the outbreak of World War Two, the November celebrations turned into a veritable Piłsudski Cult of Personality, with parades, parties and the promotion of military officers to higher rank. The celebrations continued to grow after his death in 1935, while political conflict over independence went on during World War Two and beyond. The London government-in-exile blamed the Piłsudski-ite regime of the Colonels...