INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

Paying tribute to the heroic people of Greater Poland, I would like to emphasize that here in Kujawy and Pomorze, we regard the Greater Poland Uprising as part of our shared Polish path to freedom,” said Vice-Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski during his speech, representing the Regional Self-Government at today’s (December 27) ceremonies in Bydgoszcz.

The Bydgoszcz commemoration of the 106th anniversary of the Greater Poland uprising took place in the garrison church and at the Monument of the Unknown Greater Poland Insurgent.

“As subsequent generations, we have a duty to remember that there is such a thing as the ethos of service to Poland! May we not lack patience and humility in this service, and may we know how to unite both in the face of danger and when working together to build the success of our homeland. Today, we build it on the foundations left to us by our predecessors,” emphasized Vice-Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski in his speech at the monument.

After Poland regained independence in November 1918, the territories of the Prussian Partition were still within Germany’s borders. The arrival in Poznań of the eminent pianist and future Prime Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski became an occasion for the residents of the Greater Poland capital to demonstrate their Polish identity. In response to German provocations and a counterdemonstration, street clashes broke out in the city on December 27, 1918, which within days spread to almost the entire former Poznań Province. Intense fighting also occurred from the start in Pałuki, western Kujawy, and Krajna—areas now within our region. These clashes continued despite the armistice between the Entente powers and Germany signed in February 1919 in Trier. Only the Treaty of Versailles, concluded in June 1919, granted Poland most of the Greater Poland part of the former Prussian Partition.

Beata Krzemińska

Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office

December 27, 2024