REFLECTIONS: The Polish Cause and the German Cause in the 20th Century
REFLECTIONS: The Polish Cause and the German Cause in the 20th Century

Summary/Abstract: The ninety years of Poland’s foreign policy, reborn in 1918, have been a period of dramatic events, great successes and tragic failures, including World War II as the biggest catastrophe in Polish history. Of key importance for Polish history during this 90-year period have been Poland’s relations with Germany. It appears that two issues are interweaving here, issues that were on the agenda of European policy already in the 19th century, namely the Polish cause and the German cause. The Polish cause revolved around the restitution of Poland as a sovereign state and of its borders, while the German cause focused more on the unification of German states, with the question open of whether this would be Germany together with Austrian states or without them (Greater vs. Lesser Germany options). The German cause was settled in 1871 according to the latter option.

• Details
• Contents