Austria-Poland: Historical Ties And Political Changes

Austria and Poland have a long historical relationship that dates back several centuries. In the 18th century, the two countries participated in the Partitions of Poland, which saw the progressive reduction of Poland's size until it ceased to exist as a sovereign state. Austria, alongside Russia and Prussia, was one of the main parties responsible for the elimination of the Polish Crown. During the First Partition of 1772 and the Third Partition of 1795, Austria acquired Polish lands, including the Duchy of Zator, Duchy of Oświęcim, and part of Little Poland. This area, known as Austrian Poland or Austrian Partition, encompassed a significant population and land share of the former Commonwealth. The complex relationship between Austria and Poland continued into the 20th century, influenced by World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.

The Austrian Partition of Poland

The Austrian Partition (Polish: zabór austriacki) was one of three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place towards the end of the 18th century, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted jointly by the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg monarchy, which divided the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively through territorial seizures and annexations.

Austria acquired Polish lands during the First Partition of 1772 and the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. In the First Partition, Austria received the largest share of the formerly Polish population and the second-largest land share, acquiring the Polish Duchy of Zator and Duchy of Oświęcim, as well as part of Lesser Poland with the counties of Kraków, Sandomierz and Galicia, less the city of Kraków. In the Third Partition, the annexed lands included Western Galicia and Southern Masovia. Overall, Austria gained about 18% of the former Commonwealth territory and about 32% of its population.

The Austrian Partition included the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (1772-1918), West Galicia (1795-1809), and the Free City of Kraków (1815-1846). The two major cities of the Austrian Partition were Kraków (German: Krakau) and Lwów (German: Lemberg).

During the Napoleonic Wars, the borders between the partitioning powers shifted. The Duchy of Warsaw was established by Napoleon in 1807, and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 created the Congress Kingdom of Poland, with Russia gaining a larger share of Poland (including Warsaw) and Austria regaining control of Kraków.

Of the three partitioning powers, Austria was considered the most tolerant towards the Poles, due to its multiethnic tradition. In the 19th century, the Austrian government made few concessions to their Polish constituents, but by the early 20th century, the Austrian Partition had the most local autonomy. Polish was accepted as the official regional language, Polish organisations had some freedom, and Polish parties could participate in Austro-Hungarian politics. Polish culture flourished in the Austrian Partition, particularly in the cities of Kraków and Lwów, which became cultural and political capitals of the Polish people during this period.

The Austro-Polish War of 1809

The Army of the Duchy of Warsaw was weakened as the French corps garrisoning it were sent to Spain in 1808, leaving only the duchy's own Polish forces. On April 14, 1809, an Austrian corps under Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este invaded the territory of the Duchy of Warsaw, engaging Polish defenders under Prince Józef Poniatowski. The Battle of Raszyn on April 19, 1809, was fought between the armies of the Austrian Empire and the Duchy of Warsaw. While the battle was not decisive, it resulted in the Austrians capturing the Polish capital of Warsaw.

In the following weeks, Greater Poland was defended by the Corps of General Henryk Dąbrowski, and the Polish cavalry seized Lwów. Poniatowski left only a small force near Warsaw to prevent the Austrians from advancing and moved the rest of his forces southwards, capturing the city of Kraków. The Polish forces successfully defeated elements of the Austrian army in a series of battles, forcing them to retreat to the western side of the Vistula River.

On June 3, 1809, Russian forces crossed the Austrian border, attempting to prevent the Poles from gaining too much strength. The Russians hoped to take some Austrian-held territories without intending to return them after the war. The Austrians managed to defeat the Poles at the Battle of Jedlińsk on June 11 and retook Sandomierz and Lwów. However, they were unable to engage Poniatowski, who had captured Kielce and Kraków.

The Austrian main army, unable to push further and fearing supply line cuts, abandoned the siege of Toruń and Warsaw, moving south to engage the Polish army in Galicia. The Treaty of Schönbrunn was signed between Austria and France on October 14, 1809, resulting in the Duchy of Warsaw annexing lands, including Zamość and Kraków, as well as income from the Wieliczka salt mines.

The Kraków Uprising of 1846

The uprising began on the night of 20 February 1846 and was successful in the short term, briefly taking over the city of Kraków. A provisional government formed on 22 February and issued a radical "Manifesto for the Polish Nation", which ordered the end of many elements of serfdom, declared universal suffrage, and other revolutionary ideas inspired by the French Revolution. The leaders of the uprising included Jagiellonian University philosophy professor Michał Wiszniewski and lecturer and lawyer Jan Tyssowski, who declared himself dictator on 24 February.

The Austrian forces in the area were led by Ludwig von Benedek. The revolutionaries had up to 6,000 volunteers, but many were badly trained and poorly armed. The rebels suffered a defeat on 26 February at the Battle of Gdów and were quickly dispersed by von Benedek's forces. The uprising was soon suppressed by the Austrian army with help from local peasants, who likely felt that the Austrians would improve their situation.

It is estimated that about 1,000-2,000 Polish nobility who supported the uprising died in the conflict. Following the uprising, Kraków and its surrounding area were annexed to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, a province of the Austrian Empire. Despite its failure, the uprising was seen by some scholars, including Karl Marx, as a "deeply democratic movement that aimed at land reform and other pressing social questions". The uprising was also praised by Marx and Friedrich Engels for being "the first in Europe to plant the banner of social revolution".

The Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw

The Duchy of Warsaw was created by the Treaties of Tilsit (July 7 and 9, 1807) after the Poles had helped Napoleon defeat Prussia. The duchy consisted of the major portion of the central Polish provinces that had been absorbed by Prussia in 1793 and 1795. The exceptions were Danzig (Gdańsk), which became a free city, and the district of Białystok, which was ceded to Russia. In 1809, the duchy was increased by the territory that Austria had seized in the Third Partition.

Shortly after its founding, Napoleon dictated the constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw (July 22, 1807). It was modelled on the French constitution and established a powerful executive branch of government, which was headed by Frederick Augustus I, the king of Saxony and grandson of Augustus III. The Napoleonic Code became the law of the duchy (May 1, 1808).

The Duchy of Warsaw was heavily militarised, bordered as it was by Prussia, the Austrian Empire, and Russia. Its army was of considerable size when compared to the duchy's number of inhabitants. Initially consisting of 30,000 regular soldiers (a mix of cavalry and infantry), its numbers rose to over 60,000 in 1810. By the time of Napoleon's campaign in Russia in 1812, the army totalled almost 120,000 troops out of a total population of just 4.3 million people.

The heavy drain on its resources by forced military recruitment, combined with a drop in exports of grain, caused significant problems for the duchy's economy. In addition, in 1808, the French Empire imposed an agreement on the duchy to buy from France the debts owed to it by Prussia. This debt, amounting to more than 43 million francs in gold, was a significant burden on the Polish economy.

The Duchy of Warsaw was short-lived, as it ceased to exist with the fall of the First French Empire. Its fate was decided at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, where it was formally divided between Prussia and Russia. The east-central territory of the duchy acquired by the Russian Empire was transformed into a polity called Congress Poland, while Prussia formed the Grand Duchy of Posen in the west.

Austria-Hungary's divide and rule tactics

Austria-Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe from 1867 to 1918. It was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states, each with its own constitution and government, but with a single monarch. The empire was formed in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War and wars of independence by Hungary in opposition to Habsburg rule.

The empire's divide and rule tactics can be seen in its encouragement of Ukrainian organisations as a way to control the Polish population. This caused accusations from Poles that "Austria-Hungary had invented Ukrainians". Ukrainians were afforded more rights than in the Russian Empire, and they were allowed to maintain schools and Ukrainian-language newspapers. Ukrainian political parties also entered Austrian politics after 1848.

Another example of Austria-Hungary's divide and rule tactics can be seen in the way Emperor Franz Joseph I separated Polish regiments into small parts during World War I to prevent any Polish uprising and to prevent them from working together to resurrect the Polish nation.

Frequently asked questions