Today in Poland it is (or rather, was) Polish Independence Day, Narodowe Święto Niepodległości, a national holiday in Poland which celebrates the day in 1918 when Józef Piłsudski assumed military control of Poland. World War I had just ended, but Poland’s struggle was not done. Over the next few year the army and government, led by Piłsudski, eventually defeated the Soviet Russians and set up the post-World War I borders of Poland. It was first in 1937 the November 11 was celebrated as Independence Day, a remembrance that did not last long, as in 1939, the Nazi Germans invaded at the start of World War II.
For many of the post-World War II years, this day was “forgotten.” But with the downfall of Soviet Communism, the holiday has once again been reinstated and now every November 11th, this day is celebrated with peaceful demonstrations and parades in Warsaw, and accross Poland. To learn more, read this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Independence_Day.
And to read a bit more about my feelings and thoughts on this day and event, see what I wrote in my blog two years ago here: https://poland.leonkonieczny.com/blog/?p=218.
