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| May Coup Przewrót majowy | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theinterwar period | |||||||
 Józef Piłsudski and other coup leaders onPoniatowski Bridge inWarsaw. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sanation-loyal army | Government-loyal army | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Józef Piłsudski | Stanisław Wojciechowski Wincenty Witos | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 12,000 | 6,000–8,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Military killed: 215 Civilians killed: 164 Military and civilian wounded: 920 Total:1,299 | |||||||
TheMay Coup (Polish:przewrót majowy orzamach majowy) was acoup d'état carried out inPoland byMarshalJózef Piłsudski from 12 to 14 May 1926.
The attack ofPiłsudski's supporters on government forces resulted in the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of PresidentStanisław Wojciechowski and Prime MinisterWincenty Witos and caused hundreds of fatalities.
A new government was installed, headed byKazimierz Bartel.Ignacy Mościcki became president. Piłsudski remained the dominant politician in Poland until his death in 1935.
Józef Piłsudski, who controlled politics in the reestablishedPolish state to a considerable degree, had lost his advantage in the aftermath of the failedKiev offensive of spring 1920.[1] He retained high esteem in segments of the armed forces that originated from hisearlier activities.
In November 1925, the government of Prime MinisterWładysław Grabski was replaced by the government of Prime MinisterAleksander Skrzyński, which had received support from theNational Democrats and thePolish Socialist Party (PPS). GeneralLucjan Żeligowski became the new government'sminister of military affairs. After the PPS withdrew its support, this government also fell and was replaced by one headed by Prime MinisterWincenty Witos, formed by thePolish People's Party "Piast" and theChristian Union of National Unity (Chjeno-Piast). The new government, however, had even less popular support than the previous ones, and pronouncements from Piłsudski, who viewed the constant power shifts in theSejm (Polish parliament) as chaotic and damaging, set the stage for the coup.
The coup events were also inspired by Piłsudski's perception of the need for extraordinary measures in the face of the emerging threats to the maintenance of Poland's independence. These included Piłsudski's assessment of theLocarno Treaties signed by the GermanWeimar Republic and theFrench Third Republic in 1925, and theTreaty of Berlin, concluded by Germany and theSoviet Union in 1926.[2][3]
Polish politics were shaken by atrade war with Germany that had started in June 1925. On 16 October, theTreaty of Locarno was signed; the WesternAllies of World War I guaranteed the stability of western, but not eastern borders of Germany.
On 10 May 1926, the coalition government of Christian Democrats and Agrarians (PSL) was formed. On the same day, Józef Piłsudski, in an interview with the newspaperKurier Poranny ('The Morning Courier'), said that he was "ready to fight the evil" ofsejmocracy (a contemptuous term for a rule by Polish parliament) and promised a "sanation" (restoration to health) of political life. The newspaper edition was confiscated by the authorities.
The night of 11–12 May, a state of alert was declared in theWarsaw military garrison, and some units marched toRembertów, where they pledged their support to Piłsudski. On 12 May, they moved on Warsaw and captured bridges over theVistula River. The government of Prime MinisterWincenty Witos declared astate of emergency.
At about 17:00, Piłsudski met PresidentStanisław Wojciechowski on thePoniatowski Bridge. Piłsudski demanded a resignation of the Witos cabinet, but the president demanded capitulation of Piłsudski's forces. No agreement was reached and fighting erupted at about 19:00 hours.
The next day, a new round of negotiations began, mediated byArchbishopAleksander Kakowski andMarshal of the SejmMaciej Rataj. They brought no change to the stalemate.
On 14 May, thePolish Socialist Party declared its support for the rebels and called for ageneral strike, supported by the Railwaymen's Union (Związek Zawodowy Kolejarzy). The strike by socialist railwaymen paralyzed communications and kept pro-government military reinforcements from reaching Warsaw.[4]
Eventually, to prevent the fighting in Warsaw from escalating into a nationwidecivil war, Wojciechowski and Witos gave up and resigned their offices.
During the events, 215 soldiers and 164 civilians were killed, and some 900 people were wounded. A symbolic victim was the student Karol Levittoux (the great-nephew of the Polish independence activistKarol Levittoux), who was most likely killed by a non-commissioned officer fighting on the Piłsudskiite side.[5]
A new government was formed under Prime MinisterKazimierz Bartel, with Piłsudski as minister of military affairs. On 31 May, the National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) nominated Piłsudski to be president, but he declined. EventuallyIgnacy Mościcki became the new president, but Piłsudski wielded real power from the time of the coup onward.
Piłsudski initiated aSanation government (1926–1939), supposedly to restore moral fitness to public life. Until his death in 1935, Piłsudski played a preponderant role in Polish politics. He formally held the offices ofdefence minister andInspector general of the armed forces in all governments until his death, two of which he headed himself in 1926–1928 and 1930.
The democraticMarch Constitution of Poland was replaced by Piłsudski and his supporters by theApril Constitution in 1935. It was tailored to Piłsudski's specifications and provided for a strong presidency, but came too late for Piłsudski to assume that office. It remainedPoland's constitution until the outbreak ofWorld War II and was recognized by thePolish government-in-exile afterwards.
The Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw, Prezydium Rady Ministrow, catalogue no. 33, p. 330.
