The “Polish-Belarusian Knot” 1918–1921 in the interpretation of modern Polish historiography

Abstract

1918–1921 became an important milestone in the formation of both Polish and Belarusian statehood. The goals and aspirations of various political forces on both sides are reflected in detail in an extensive collection of documents and materials, which has no analogues in Polish historiography. It was edited by the famous Polish historian Wojciech Materski and published in Warsaw in 2018. The significance of the book is not only that it first published several dozen sources on Belarusian topics, iamong them those available only in the archives of the United States and Great Britain, but also in a new formulation of a number of research problems for the historical science of Poland. Among them, it is worth highlighting the concept of the “Polish-Belarusian knot” and the comparison of attempts to restore Polish statehood since 1916 with the formation of Belarusian state structures since 1918.