Polish Conceptions of Unity and Division in Europe: Speculation and Policy

Abstract

This chapter examines the political background to the writings of Oskar Halecki and Marceli Handelsman, and highlights the relation between praxis and theory in Polish conceptions of unity and division in Europe. Like Józef Retinger and Józef Piłsudski, Halecki and Handelsman viewed Poland not so much a country as a symbol of a solution to European structural (and ultimately both ethical and geopolitical) problems. All four men challenged the ‘Western’ and unitary principles espoused by the nationalist conception of Poland and Polish history. According to this nationalist view, originally conceived by Roman Dmowski (1864–1939, the father of Polish nationalism), Poland should reject the implications of its post-1386 history (that is, the Polish–Lithuanian Union) and focus on the contest with Germany to secure its position in the centre of Europe. The chapter also considers the geopolitical thought of Ignacy Jan Paderewski in relation to Retinger, Piłsudski, Halecki, and Handelsman and their theoretical opponents in the nationalist camp.