This thesis seeks to examine the factors that resulted in the fall of the Second Polish Republic and track its downward trajectory. Examining the Second Republic, from its creation in 1918 to its loss of recognition in 1945, reveals that its demise began long before German tanks violated Poland’s frontiers on 1 September, 1939. Commencing with the competing ideas of what a Polish state would be and continuing through the political and foreign policy developments of the inter-war years, a pattern begins to emerge -that of the Poles’ search for their place in modern Europe. The lead up to the Second World War and the invasion of Poland by the German-Soviet Alliance demonstrates the failure of the Poles to achieve that place. The actions of the Polish Government-in-Exile during the war embody an attempt to legitimize their claims by lending all the support at their disposal to the Allied war effort. Yet the entry of the Soviet Union into the Allied cause proved a death sentence for the Second Republic, despite the Poles contributions they paled in comparison to those of the USSR. The London Poles defense of their national territory and people in the face of Soviet demand aggravated the Western Allies, causing them to see the government-in-exile as uncooperative and therefore, inconvenient. Due to this, when the time came they were willing to sacrifice the London Poles to appease Stalin and ensure his continued pledge to inter-allied unity. The Second Republic emerges from this examination as a victim of the circumstances of its time and place. From the beginning the Poles were fighting a losing battle to regain the position they had lost in the 17th century. In the end, despite their resistance to Germans and Soviets alike, they were resigned by the Western powers to be a Soviet puppet state for the next 50 years.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis seeks to examine the factors that resulted in the fall of the Second Polish Republic and track its downward trajectory. Examining the Second Republic, from its creation in 1918 to its loss of recognition in 1945, reveals that its demise began long before German tanks violated Poland’s frontiers on 1 September, 1939. Commencing with the competing ideas of what a Polish state would be and continuing through the political and foreign policy developments of the inter-war years, a pattern begins to emerge -that of the Poles’ search for their place in modern Europe. The lead up to the Second World War and the invasion of Poland by the German-Soviet Alliance demonstrates the failure of the Poles to achieve that place. The actions of the Polish Government-in-Exile during the war embody an attempt to legitimize their claims by lending all the support at their disposal to the Allied war effort. Yet the entry of the Soviet Union into the Allied cause proved a death sentence for the Second Republic, despite the Poles contributions they paled in comparison to those of the USSR. The London Poles defense of their national territory and people in the face of Soviet demand aggravated the Western Allies, causing them to see the government-in-exile as uncooperative and therefore, inconvenient. Due to this, when the time came they were willing to sacrifice the London Poles to appease Stalin and ensure his continued pledge to inter-allied unity. The Second Republic emerges from this examination as a victim of the circumstances of its time and place. From the beginning the Poles were fighting a losing battle to regain the position they had lost in the 17th century. In the end, despite their resistance to Germans and Soviets alike, they were resigned by the Western powers to be a Soviet puppet state for the next 50 years.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kent, Wesley"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in History (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Brian K. Feltman","Jacek Lubecki"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:27:41Z","subjects":["ETD","Poland","USSR","Germany","The United Kingdom","The United States of America","France","The Second Polish Republic","The Polish Government-in-Exile","World War II","Katyn","Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact","The Warsaw Uprising","The Teheran Conference","The Yalta Conference","The Potsdam Conference","Jozef Pilsudski","Joseph Stalin","Winston Churchill","Franklin Roosevelt","Diplomatic History","European History","Military History","Political History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/851","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Brian K. 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Examining the Second Republic, from its creation in 1918 to its loss of recognition in 1945, reveals that its demise began long before German tanks violated Poland’s frontiers on 1 September, 1939. Commencing with the competing ideas of what a Polish state would be and continuing through the political and foreign policy developments of the inter-war years, a pattern begins to emerge -that of the Poles’ search for their place in modern Europe. The lead up to the Second World War and the invasion of Poland by the German-Soviet Alliance demonstrates the failure of the Poles to achieve that place. The actions of the Polish Government-in-Exile during the war embody an attempt to legitimize their claims by lending all the support at their disposal to the Allied war effort. Yet the entry of the Soviet Union into the Allied cause proved a death sentence for the Second Republic, despite the Poles contributions they paled in comparison to those of the USSR. The London Poles defense of their national territory and people in the face of Soviet demand aggravated the Western Allies, causing them to see the government-in-exile as uncooperative and therefore, inconvenient. Due to this, when the time came they were willing to sacrifice the London Poles to appease Stalin and ensure his continued pledge to inter-allied unity. The Second Republic emerges from this examination as a victim of the circumstances of its time and place. From the beginning the Poles were fighting a losing battle to regain the position they had lost in the 17th century. In the end, despite their resistance to Germans and Soviets alike, they were resigned by the Western powers to be a Soviet puppet state for the next 50 years.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Drugi Potop: The Fall of the Second Polish Republic"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Brian K. Feltman","Jacek Lubecki"],"dc:creator":["Kent, Wesley"],"dc:date.available":["2013-09-19T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis seeks to examine the factors that resulted in the fall of the Second Polish Republic and track its downward trajectory. Examining the Second Republic, from its creation in 1918 to its loss of recognition in 1945, reveals that its demise began long before German tanks violated Poland’s frontiers on 1 September, 1939. Commencing with the competing ideas of what a Polish state would be and continuing through the political and foreign policy developments of the inter-war years, a pattern begins to emerge -that of the Poles’ search for their place in modern Europe. The lead up to the Second World War and the invasion of Poland by the German-Soviet Alliance demonstrates the failure of the Poles to achieve that place. The actions of the Polish Government-in-Exile during the war embody an attempt to legitimize their claims by lending all the support at their disposal to the Allied war effort. Yet the entry of the Soviet Union into the Allied cause proved a death sentence for the Second Republic, despite the Poles contributions they paled in comparison to those of the USSR. The London Poles defense of their national territory and people in the face of Soviet demand aggravated the Western Allies, causing them to see the government-in-exile as uncooperative and therefore, inconvenient. Due to this, when the time came they were willing to sacrifice the London Poles to appease Stalin and ensure his continued pledge to inter-allied unity. The Second Republic emerges from this examination as a victim of the circumstances of its time and place. From the beginning the Poles were fighting a losing battle to regain the position they had lost in the 17th century. In the end, despite their resistance to Germans and Soviets alike, they were resigned by the Western powers to be a Soviet puppet state for the next 50 years.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/851"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Poland","USSR","Germany","The United Kingdom","The United States of America","France","The Second Polish Republic","The Polish Government-in-Exile","World War II","Katyn","Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact","The Warsaw Uprising","The Teheran Conference","The Yalta Conference","The Potsdam Conference","Jozef Pilsudski","Joseph Stalin","Winston Churchill","Franklin Roosevelt","Diplomatic History","European History","Military History","Political History"],"dc:title":["Drugi Potop: The Fall of the Second Polish Republic"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in History (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:27:41Z"}