W imię „polskiej większości”: antysemityzm i mobilizacja polityczna w Polsce 1922 roku
In the Name of “Polish Majority”: Anti-Semitism and Political Mobilization in Poland in 1922

Summary/Abstract: When Gabriel Narutowicz was elected president of Poland in December 1922, with the aid of Jewish, German, Ukrainian, and Belarusian national minority parties, the city of Warsaw witnessed a series of anti-Semitic riots and violent protests which were only curtailed by the imposition of martial law. Within a week of his election, Narutowicz was assassinated by Eligiusz Niewiadomski, a right-wing anti-Semite who believed that by killing the president he was saving Poland from “Jewish rule.” The murder of Narutowicz has traditionally been seen as a relatively minor episode, perpetrated by a “fanatic” or “madman,” which did not have a significant impact on the subsequent history of Poland. In fact, the assassination is usually seen as an embarrassment and setback for the anti-Semitic National Democratic movement. This paper seeks to present an alternative interpretation of the president’s election and assassination. Specifically, it argues that the specific political context of the presidential election led the right-wing National Democrats movement to formulate the so-called “Doctrine of the Polish Majority,” which stated that only ethnic Poles had the right to rule Poland. It was the transgression of this doctrine which led Niewiadomski to kill the president. More important, the doctrine would continue to play an important role in Polish politics after the president’s murder. As such the latter can be seen as a long-term victory for the National Democrats and their nationalist discourse.

• Details
• Contents