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The Polish Cause at The Versaill
The Polish Cause at The Versaill
A replica of a border pole, which marked the border between Poland and the Free City of Danzig
Source: Jarosław Góralczyk, Wikimedia Commons, licencja: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Nagranie abstraktu
The representatives of the Polish cause at the Paris Peace Conference were Roman
Dmowski and the Prime Minister of the Polish government Ignacy Paderewski. Ultimately,
the Treaty of Versailles awarded the Greater Poland to Poland. The Polish state also got the
Danzig Pomerania, “cutting” the German state in half, which will be a cause of conflict in the
future. Danzig was proclaimed the Free City of Danzig under the control of a High
Commissioner of the League of Nations. Poland was granted certain privileges in the city.
The fate of the Upper Silesia, Warmia, Masuria and Powiśle was to be decided in plebiscites.
Poland and the other newly established countries not only had to sign the Versailles Treaty
but also a treaty that guaranteed minority rights, also known as the Little Treaty of Versailles.
Task 1
Find out what the top leaders of Europe and the President of the United States of America
thought about Poland.
The Big Four of the Conference: David Lloyd George, Vi orio Emanuele Orlando, Georges Clemenceau and
US President Woodrow Wilson.
Source: GroMar Sp. z o.o., licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Exercise 1
Find informa on about the speech of Roman Dmowski at the Versailles Peace Conference on
the Internet. Analyse the map and learn the territorial demands, stated by him. And then do
the exercise.
During his speech, Dmowski showed a great diplomatic talent and extraordinary
competence. He delivered the speech, which lasted several hours, in French, without
any notes, and he also repeated his arguments in English.
Roman Dmowski argued that the German presence in Danzig is dangerous and must
be suppressed.
Roman Dmowski argued that the Bolshevik presence in Danzig is dangerous and
must be suppressed.
Dmowski called for the eastern border of Poland running along the following line: to
the north of Dyneburg – to the west of Mohylew – Mozyrz – to the west of Kamieniec
Podolski to the border with Romania.
Dmowski called for the eastern border of Poland running along the following line:
Dźwina – Ostróg – Zbrucz.
Dmowski treated Kashubia as a Polish territory.
Dmowski claimed that “non-historical” nations, which was the name he gave to
nations which had never had their own states, such as Ukrainians or Belarussians,
should not have them.
The so-called Dmowski line encompassed the Greater Poland, the Danzig Pomerania,
Warmia, the Opole region and the Upper Silesia, as well as Lithuania (a "real union”).
It reached Bobrujsk in the east.
The so-called Dmowski line encompassed the Greater Poland, Warmia, the Opole
region, the Upper Silesia and the Lower Silesia. It reached Bobrujsk in the east.
The Polish Committee, headed by the French diplomat Jules Cambon, received
Dmowski’s demands favourably, albeit with two exceptions. It proposed plebiscites in
the southern part of East Prussia. Apart from that, it rejected the Polish claims to small
parts of the Western Pomerania and the Lower Silesia.
The Polish Committee headed by the French diplomat Jules Cambon, received
Dmowski’s demands with disapproval. It only agreed to a plebiscite being held in the
southern part of Each Prussia.
The demands of Dmowski and the Cambon Committee were torpedoed by the British
Prime Minister David Lloyd George who had a negative attitude towards Poland. He
challenged the decision to incorporate Danzig and the Upper Silesia into Poland. The
reason for that was his reluctance to weaken Germany excessively.
In accordance with the decisions made at the Versailles Peace Conference, the fate of
the Upper Silesia, Warmia, Masuria and Powiśle was to be decided in plebiscites.
Keywords
The Treaty of Versailles, plebiscite, the Curzon Line, the Dmowski Line, the Little Treaty of
Versailles
Glossary
Plebiscite
Curzon Line
Dmowski Line
Li le Treaty of Versailles.
Adresat
Podstawa programowa
Kompetencje kluczowe
Kryteria sukcesu
Uczeń nauczy się:
Metody/techniki kształcenia
podające
pogadanka.
aktywizujące
dyskusja.
programowane
z użyciem komputera;
z użyciem e‐podręcznika.
praktyczne
ćwiczeń przedmiotowych.
Formy pracy
praca indywidualna;
praca w parach;
praca w grupach;
praca całego zespołu klasowego.
Środki dydaktyczne
e‐podręcznik;
zeszyt i kredki lub pisaki;
tablica interaktywna, tablety/komputery.
Przebieg lekcji
Przed lekcją
Faza wstępna
Faza realizacyjna
Faza podsumowująca
Praca domowa
1. Nauczyciel zadaje zadanie domowe (nie jest obligatoryjną częścią scenariusza), którym
jest przeczytanie zamieszczonych w e‐podręczniku fragmentów konwencji między
Polską a Wolnym Miastem Gdańskiem (Paryż, 9 listopada 1920 roku), a następnie
wykonanie pisemnie Polecenia 3 z e‐podręcznika. Uczeń wyjaśnia, na czym polegała
uprzywilejowana pozycja Polski w Wolnym Mieście Gdańsku.
Pojęcia
Plebiscite
Curzon Line
Dmowski Line
Li le Treaty of Versailles.
Teksty i nagrania
Nagranie dostępne na portalu epodreczniki.pl
Nagranie abstraktu
The representatives of the Polish cause at the Paris Peace Conference were Roman
Dmowski and the Prime Minister of the Polish government Ignacy Paderewski. Ultimately,
the Treaty of Versailles awarded the Greater Poland to Poland. The Polish state also got the
Danzig Pomerania, “cutting” the German state in half, which will be a cause of conflict in the
future. Danzig was proclaimed the Free City of Danzig under the control of a High
Commissioner of the League of Nations. Poland was granted certain privileges in the city.
The fate of the Upper Silesia, Warmia, Masuria and Powiśle was to be decided in plebiscites.
Poland and the other newly established countries not only had to sign the Versailles Treaty
but also a treaty that guaranteed minority rights, also known as the Little Treaty of Versailles.
Lesson plan (English)
Target group
Core curriculum
XXVIII. The rebirth of the Polish state after the First World War. Pupil:
2 ) presents the process of forging borders: the decisions of Versailles and the phenomenon
of creation
Wielkopolskie Province and Silesian uprisings (west) – federal dilemma and incorporation
result (east).
Students learn about the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles towards Poland.
Key competences
Methods/techniques
expository
talk.
activating
discussion.
programmed
with computer;
with e‐textbook.
practical
exercices concerned.
Forms of work
individual activity;
activity in pairs;
activity in groups;
collective activity.
Teaching aids
e‐textbook;
notebook and crayons/felt‐tip pens;
interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.
Before classes
1. The teacher asks students to do Exercise 1 from the e‐textbook - assigning titles to
individual documents. Students review the knowledge about the Paris conference.
Introduction
1. The teacher explains the students the purpose of the lesson and the criteria for
success.
2. The teacher refers to the homework (it will be the starting point for understanding
further diplomatic games in Paris) and the economic situation of Poland. He talks about
the efforts of its representatives for gaining compensation for war damages. Students
check what was the result of these efforts - to do this they carry out Task 1 from the
e‐textbook.
Realization
1. The teacher asks students to work in two- or four‐person teams. Each student from
a given team receives another part of the material (I or II) to analyze / exercise to be
done (work sheets prepared by the teacher). Students working on the same issues meet
in expert groups. They discuss the subject of the assigned material, share doubts and
order knowledge. Later, they return to „their own” double groups and pass on their
ordered knowledge one by one.
2. Tasks for the expert I. The student examines the attitude of the superpowers towards
the Polish issue at the Versailles conference. To this end, they execute Task 1 - they
familiarize with an interactive illustration showing members of the so‐called Big Four.
They try to use the knowledge from the previous lesson, embed the attitude towards
Polish affairs in the international context, find geopolitical justifications for the attitudes
of other powers. They search for supplementary information on the Internet. The
teacher gives feedback to a group of experts working together.
3. Tasks for expert II. The student examines the activity of the Polish delegation in Paris,
with emphasis on territorial postulates and the reaction of the decision‐making bodies
to them. They do Exercise 1 - analyze the map in the context of postulates proposed by
Roman Dmowski and answer the question. The teacher takes care of giving feedback to
a group of experts working together.
4. Work on the return of experts (in pairs or in teams of two), in addition to transferring
the knowledge to other colleagues, they should assume interaction between areas of
knowledge obtained by each student: an attempt to look for manifestations of mutual
interaction between politics, economy, etc. The common goal for each group is to
understand that the decisions of the congress regarding the Polish issue were the
result of Polish actions and the interests of other powers.
Summary
1. The work ends with a discussion of the issues introduced in the class.
2. The teacher asks the students questions:
What did you find important and interesting in class?
What was easy and what was difficult?
How can you use the knowledge and skills you have gained today?
Homework
1. The teacher sets the homework (it is not an obligatory part of the scenario), which is to
read the excerpts from the conventions between Poland and the Free City of Gdansk
(Paris, November 9, 1920), and then to do in writing Task 3 from the e‐textbook. The
student explains what the privileged position of Poland in the Free City of Gdansk was.
Terms
Plebiscite
Curzon Line
Dmowski Line
Li le Treaty of Versailles.
Nagranie abstraktu
The representatives of the Polish cause at the Paris Peace Conference were Roman
Dmowski and the Prime Minister of the Polish government Ignacy Paderewski. Ultimately,
the Treaty of Versailles awarded the Greater Poland to Poland. The Polish state also got the
Danzig Pomerania, “cutting” the German state in half, which will be a cause of conflict in the
future. Danzig was proclaimed the Free City of Danzig under the control of a High
Commissioner of the League of Nations. Poland was granted certain privileges in the city.
The fate of the Upper Silesia, Warmia, Masuria and Powiśle was to be decided in plebiscites.
Poland and the other newly established countries not only had to sign the Versailles Treaty
but also a treaty that guaranteed minority rights, also known as the Little Treaty of Versailles.