Independence. Around Józef Piłsudski’s Historical Thought

Social and independence activist, legend of the Polish Legions, commander of the Polish Army and head of state from November 1918, First Marshal of Poland, leader of the Sanation government in the wake of the coup d’état of May 1926 and two-time holder of the Prime Minister’s office: Józef Piłsudski is familiar to all Poles, regardless how they see his role in the history of the Second Polish Republic. But do we really know a lot about him? As part of its celebrations of the centenary of Poland’s independence, the National Museum in Krakow uses artworks and historical memorabilia to reveal the ties between Piłsudski’s ideas (his press articles, historical essays, speeches, lectures, commands and interviews comprising eleven volumes of Collected Works) and the mood of the era preceding the outbreak of the Great War, the spirit of the Legions and the atmosphere of the first two years of newly independent Poland. The exhibition Independence. Around Józef Piłsudski’s Historical Thought at the Main Building of the National Museum in Krakow presents works by Jacek Malczewski, Józef Mehoffer, Leon Wyczółkowski, Leopold Gottlieb, Wojciech and Jerzy Kossak and Artur Grottger. (dd)