Rada Jedności Narodowej (
Council of National Unity,
RJN) was the quasi-parliament of the Polish Underground State during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was created by the
Government DelegateThe Government Delegation for Poland was an agency of the Polish Government in Exile during World War II. It was the highest authority of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland and was headed by the Government Delegate for Poland, a de facto deputy Polish Prime Minister.The Government...
on 9 January 1944.
History
Originally the political arm of the
Polish Secret StateThe Polish Underground State is a collective term for the World War II underground resistance organizations in Poland, both military and civilian, that remained loyal to the Polish Government in Exile in London. The first elements of the Underground State were put in place in the final days of the...
was
Political Consultative CommitteePolitical Consultative Committee was the beginning of the political arm of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland during World War II. It was formed on 26 February 1940 by several Polish political parties continuing their activities underground...
(
Polityczny Komitet Porozumiewawczy,
PKP), a council composed of 4 main political parties. On 21 March 1943 it was renamed to
Home Political RepresentationHome Political Representation was the representation of the four major Polish political parties continuing their activities underground . It was the political arm of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland during World War II...
(
Krajowa Reprezentacja Polityczna,
KRP) and became an underground coalition
parliamentA parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, composed of members of
Polish Socialist PartyThe Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
,
National PartyStronnictwo Narodowe was a Polish political party formed on 7 October 1928 after the transformation of National Populist Union. It gathered together most of the political forces of Poland's National Democracy right-wing political camp. SN was one of the main opponents of the Sanacja regime...
, People's Party and Labour Party. It became the controlling body of both the
Delegate's OfficeThe Government Delegation for Poland was an agency of the Polish Government in Exile during World War II. It was the highest authority of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland and was headed by the Government Delegate for Poland, a de facto deputy Polish Prime Minister.The Government...
and the Headquarters of the
Armia KrajowaThe Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
.
On 9 January 1944 it was turned into Council of National Unity, the underground parliament of Poland. Initially only the rump council was chosen, composed mostly of members of the former KRP. On 12 March of the same year the Council was extended to include more members.
RJN was opposed to the communist-controlled quasi-parliament,
State National CouncilKrajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish was a parliament-like political body formed in the late stages of the Second World War in the Soviet Union, as part of the formation of a new Communist Polish government...
.
On 15 March 1944, the RJN declared its manifesto named
O co walczy naród polski (
What does the Polish nation fight for). According to the document, the main aims of Poland in the Second World War were:
- restoration of free, independent, strong and safe Poland
- reaching an international peace
- cooperation of all nations
- defeating of Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, its dismemberment and disarmamentDisarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms...
- forcing Germany to rebuild the countries it destroyed
- organisation of a trial of war criminals
- alliance with France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- restoration of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union
Regarding the post-war Poland, the RJN declared that its borders were to be based on the borders as of 1938, with
East PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, Opole Silesia and part of
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
incorporated as
war reparationsWar reparations are payments intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.- History :...
. The Polish political system was to be based on parliamentary democracy, with strong self-government. The RJN also declared the will to develop the Polish industry and base the economy on
socialistSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
principles of
planned economyA planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
and
land reform[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
.
During the
Warsaw UprisingThe Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
the RJN issued several appeals and open letters to the western powers asking to help Warsaw and the Polish struggle for independence. On 22 February 1945, protested against the outcome of the
Yalta ConferenceThe Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...
and the fact that no representatives of Poland were informed of the meeting. At the same time the RJN proposed to accept communist into the provisional government.
After the
Red ArmyThe Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
conquered Poland, the members of the RJN remained underground. In March 1945 large part of them were arrested by the
NKVDThe People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
and brought to
MoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. After 3 months of interrogations, the members of the Polish government were sentenced in the
Trial of the SixteenThe Trial of the Sixteen was a staged trial of 16 leaders of the Polish Underground State held by the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1945.-History:Some accounts say approaches were made in February with others saying March 1945...
.
Until May 1945 the RJN was reconstructed from the remaining members. However, the Soviet occupation of Poland and the end of World War II made the further existence of RJN pointless. On 1 July 1945, the RJN issued the
Do Narodu Polskiego i Narodów Zjednoczonych (
To the Polish Nation and the United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
) manifesto and the so-called
Testament of the Fighting Poland, in which it underlined the basic Polish aims of the war and the principles of Polish-Soviet relations. The latter document also demanded that the Red Army be withdrawn from Poland, the communists stopped reprisals and terror against the soldiers of the
Polish Secret StateThe Polish Underground State is a collective term for the World War II underground resistance organizations in Poland, both military and civilian, that remained loyal to the Polish Government in Exile in London. The first elements of the Underground State were put in place in the final days of the...
and the civilians, democracy be introduced and the social reforms be started.
After issuing the documents, the RJN was dissolved.
Composition
Since Poland was still under enemy occupation and no elections could be held, it was decided that the RJN would include representatives of all major political parties of Poland. Initially it included representatives of
PPSThe Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
,
SLThe People's Party was a Polish political party, active from 1931 in the Second Polish Republic. An agrarian populist party, its power base was composed mostly from peasants....
,
SPStronnictwo Pracy was a Polish Christian democratic political party, active from 1937 in the Second Polish Republic and later part of the Polish government in exile. Its founder and main activist was Karol Popiel....
and SN parties and the Catholic clergy (3 representatives each). In July 1944 the RJN was extended to include also representatives of Chłopska Organizacja Wolności, Ojczyzna, ZD and representatives of co-operative movement.
The RJN was headed by the Main Commission. Its head was
Kazimierz PużakKazimierz Pużak was a Polish politician of the interwar period. Active in the Polish Socialist Party, he was one of the leaders of the Polish Secret State and Polish resistance, sentenced by the Soviets in the infamous Trial of the Sixteen in 1945.-Biography:Born on 26 August 1883 in a family of...
(
nom de guerre Bazyli). After he was arrested and sentenced in a staged
Trial of the SixteenThe Trial of the Sixteen was a staged trial of 16 leaders of the Polish Underground State held by the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1945.-History:Some accounts say approaches were made in February with others saying March 1945...
, the Main Commission was headed by various politicians, chosen from among the remainder of the council for a 1 month term.