A Piłsudskiite () was a political supporter of Marshal

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

, the founder of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Polish Legions and the first Chief of State of the Second Republic of Poland. The Piłsudskiites had a major influence on the politics of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

(1918–1939). Piłsudski was the dominant political figure in the interwar

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. Most of the successive governments supported Pilsudski, who served as Chief of State from 1918 to 1922 and as Prime Minister from 1926 to 1928 and for several months in 1930. Piłsudski was highly influential, never dropped out of public life, remained active in Polish politics and exercised considerable influence until his death in May 1935. His special position was highlighted by the position of the General Inspector of the Armed Forces, which was created specifically for him and was responsible not to the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

(Parliament) but only to the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. In May 1926, Piłsudskiite forces conducted the May Coup, deposed the legally-elected government and installed their own. The ''

Sanacja Sanation (, ) was a Polish political movement that emerged in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May Coup (Poland), May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and gained influence following the coup. In 1928, its political activists went on to fo ...

'' political camp was formed, and Piłsudski's power grew. The ''Sanacja'' began to strengthen its own power and to curb the activities of opposition political parties. Many parties then became Piłsudskiite to get closer to power and stay safe from potential problems. When Piłsudski died in May 1935, the ''Sanacja'' movement lost its leader. The political situation in Poland became radicalised, and the pressure of opposition camps on the ruling ''Sanacja'' (especially by the right-wing

National Democracy National Democracy may refer to: * National democratic state, a state formation conceived by the Soviet concept of national democracy * National Democracy (Czech Republic) * National Democracy (Italy) * National Democracy (Philippines) * National De ...

) became stronger. To unite the Piłsudskiites and hold on to power, the leading Piłsudskiite politicians formed the Camp of National Unity. To gain voters from the opposition National Democracy, the Camp of National Unity radicalised its program and even took some issues from the opposition camp such as becoming more nationalist. Still, it advocated Piłsudski's points of view and followed his political heritage.

References

Józef Piłsudski Politics of the Second Polish Republic Eponymous political ideologies Political movements {{Poland-hist-stub

See also

References