Hey guys,
So I’m generally
very pleased with the ways in which KR is being currently steered. To put aside arguments about “realism”, “plausibility” etc, I’ve heard sentiments echoed by the team that go something essentially along the lines of “Is there some precedent for this? If so, let’s do it”. And I am in love with this train of thought, because that’s by
no means necessarily going to be realistic. Otherwise, Qing China would probably remain a Wu Peifu dictatorship hellhole. Megali would likewise probably not be an option, and the Anderson Doctrine (one of the most underappreciated pieces of content IMO, conquering the Pacific as Australasia is fantastic) would probably be pretty unfeasible given that the Entente have bigger fish to fry. The 2ACW would probably not happen, and neither would the British Revolution. Obviously, these are all good things that we want to keep.
Anyway, despite my feeling that things will be steered the right way for every country, I feel there is one that I worry for that I cannot resist writing about – if not to change the minds of any KR higher-ups, perhaps one hopes to, in fact, simply predict where this country will be headed. That country is, of course…
Yeah you read the title Poland Now, once upon a time, Sikorski’s Poland with the later Czartoryski coup was, without a doubt, my favourite thing to do in Kaiserreich. Though its detail is perhaps lacking compared to newer areas such as South America and China, my knowledge of Polish history post-partition and the OTL events that followed for Poland from WWI to our very day gave KRTL Poland’s seizure of Ruthenian, Lithuanian, Austrian & German lands a great sense of vengeance, a real phoenix (or eagle?) rising from the ashes. One which, especially relative to something like Greece forming Byzantium, felt very much believable and more satisfying as a result. And it does leave me desiring one thing: a Poland that doesn’t get dicked over by her mighty powerful neighbours – because boy, if there was any country that deserved some goddamn poetic justice from this period, it would be Poland.
For those who might not be in the know, once upon a time, the great power in the east of Europe was not Russia: no, it was at different points, either Sweden or Poland-Lithuania, something that might surprise someone who would look at Poland in 1936, either KRTL or OTL, or even today. Sadly, geography ended up screwing Poland over, and a combination of gifted enemy kings, military alliances and opportunism from her neighbours of course led the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to being partitioned three times and erased from the face of the earth.
But here’s where things get more interesting, and it’s when we cover events in Congress Poland and Lithuania, as well as what is today western Belarus and Ukraine – there were at least two uprisings by Poles, Lithuanians and Ruthenians (as they were back then, I don’t exactly know when the Ruthenian identity gradually diverged into Belarusian and Ukrainian) championing the old Rzeczpospolita, and to my surprise, and as Augustyn Czartoryski’s bio suggests – his ancestors were prominently involved in both uprisings, the latter of which happened as late as 1863.
Here’s the flag that was used during the latter uprising, for those curious: Poland, Lithuania & Ruthenia being represented. Probably not a possibility for KR’s universe, but fun fact. Though I know fewer specifics as of the turn of the 20th century, I do know that the Russian Empire as of 1900 was facing serious issues with nationalism, especially in Congress Poland and the surrounding areas.
This was, of course, a weakness that Germany exploited very effectively in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. And if we look to KRTL in 1936, we see that former Ruthenian lands now have their own nation states, and while Poland is once again
de jure independent, it’s seriously reduced in size and left as a puppet of Germany. Their new king August IV seems to feel just as unwelcome in his adoptive home as Mindaugas (or Vytautas in the new lore IIRC) does in Lithuania, and it does make me despair at Poland’s new state of affairs. Around a year ago, I had a good chat with Droz and asked if there would be a chance to depose August IV, and while my question couldn’t be answered, I did hear that you wouldn’t have any other option for a king without being puppeted. Furthermore, I can’t possibly say if Belarusians and Ukrainians would wish to be part of this new Poland anyway – sure, they rose up with them in the 19th century, but it seems like Germany has given them a far sweeter offer in the form of their own nation states.
So, does that remove any chance of an expansionist, monarchist Poland? Well, no, but perhaps probably if you put the two of them together. It sounds like whatever king they have is just going to be a figurehead placed there by a power wishing to use Poland for its own means. But let’s go over some reason why they
could potentially get claims and maybe even cores on land east of Congress Poland.
Now, while it's debatable that former Ruthenians would be happy being a part of a restored Poland, I can definitely give you a demographic that would be ecstatic to be a part of a new Poland…
Jews The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth offered, compared to virtually all of Europe, very hospitable conditions for Jews – I’m foggy on the exact details, but take it from a guy who had the great opportunity to visit the Polin Museum last year in Warsaw. Post-Commonwealth, many former Polish Jews found themselves separated in 3 different countries that at best didn't have as good conditions for them as the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and at worst were downright oppressive - looking at Russia here. This was exacerbated in WWI, when they found themselves fighting and killing one another, so OTL once Poland was restored many former Polish Jews had a restored hope that things might be better for them.
Around the time of 1930s Poland, there were two schools of thought amongst the demographic: one group, promoted particularly by the Yiddish-speaking community, promoted integration and assimilation in this new Poland. The other group promoted reviving Hebrew and creating a Jewish state (i.e Israel). Now OTL, the former kind of view stopped existing (for reasons I'm sure I don't have to explain), whereas in Kaiserreich, a Yiddish-speaking Jewish community who would realistically be very pro-Poland still would very much exist. Furthermore, given that most of the Middle East will likely remain territory of the Ottoman Empire, might this further give support to those who'd prefer to remain in Poland? This is compounded with Józef Piłsudski remaining a prominent figure in Poland around this time, who encouraged a multi-ethnic Poland whose citizens were united by loyalty to the state rather than religion, for example.
Now, while Jews are obviously still a minority, this is still a population of 3,500,000 spread around the area of OTL 1930s Poland, with around 400,000 in OTL Belarus and upwards of 2,000,000 in OTL Ukraine, and IIRC these citizens would be heavily focused in urban areas. It seems likely that they’d prefer to live within a single unified state, rather than being split across Ukraine, White Ruthenia and Poland, lest they go to war with one another again. While this might not necessitate cores in more Eastern areas of Ukraine and Belarus, maybe this can be represented as a modifier that boosts population significantly for Poland? Alternatively, core the western states but put a negative modifier on recruitable population until a focus/decision is completed or something (Like “Appease the Ukrainians”, “Appease the White Ruthenians”, whatever)? Also, I imagine this was done deliberately, but the new Lithuanian borders in the Eastern Europe Rework mean that a considerable portion of it is majority Polish. Least of which Vilnius, Lithuania’s largest city! Like I say, I imagine this was done deliberately because this will lead to a more dynamic and eventful 1936 when Black Monday hits.
Anyway, back to coring western Ruthenia briefly. As far as cores go, there are certainly more outrageous cases in the mod. It would certainly be more likely than Iron Guard Romania annexing Transylvania and getting cores on the Szeklerland, for example, which as of the 1930s was overwhelmingly Hungarian and would
despise the Iron Guard. Meanwhile, a considerable population of Ruthenia (mainly the influential and powerful gentry) considered themselves culturally Polish. This is a demographic who I don’t see losing their influence.
I originally wrote a little more here about how all Belarusians and Ukrainians would perhaps accept living in a new Polish Kingdom – but I have to be honest with myself, that’s probably a pipe dream.
A very beautiful pipe dream though, one must admit. Look at that Russian border! I will, however, draw attention to a few maps map of OTL Poland in 1937:
https://preview.redd.it/khhol1jxtcj51.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=3d6b8a1a33699e8e5ddaf420eb4aab8770e8b919 https://preview.redd.it/2r7c538ytcj51.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=0683f42fd12657a745c3d163f95d1acb055b78a9 As we can see, significant populations exist in areas that not only can already be claimed by a revanchist Poland currently, but even some more
outside of Poland’s OTL 1930s borders (See the first image), and once again, oftentimes concentrated in densely populated urban areas. Outside of that, Polish or Yiddish is the second language of much of the population (once again, concentrated in the highly populated urban areas), see the second image. It’s also worth repeating that notable OTL Polish figureheads like Józef Piłsudski believed that Poland could function as a multi-national state, with loyalty to the Polish state being valued over assimilation. He was also positively viewed by Polish Jews for this exact policy. Funnily enough, one of Augustyn Czartoryski’s ancestors also (eventually, he didn’t at first) began to champion these same ideals – Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, if my memory serves me right, who was very prominently involved in the 1863 January Uprising.
Now, is this a view that’s going to be championed by others? Well, as of 80-100 years ago, the Polish uprisings certainly indicate that they would have been. Now, though…? Far more unlikely.
The real issue unfortunately is that this territory is held by states that aren’t likely to give them up to Poland without outside pressure. Now, with this said, the 20 or so years that pass that differ from our own timeline could well affect these ethnic boundaries, but for the sake of what we’re proposing here, we’re going to presume it’s nothing so drastic to massively affect the demographics on the maps above.
Germany would be the one divvying up this territory if anyone, which would be an interesting mechanic for the rework if you needed to attempt appeasing your Mitteleuropan puppet states. I won’t touch on that though, because Germany is not the focus of what I’m writing on here.
So, we’ve weighed aspects that could influence whether or not this could happen, and while there certainly exists some, it’s arguably not enough to mean it should get in-game content. And to this, I must appeal to another aspect of the situation, perhaps the same one that led to the Manchu Restoration being implemented for the Qing, and that is this:
POLAND'S HISTORY IS SO BLOODY SAD.
Whether you’re looking at a century of being split apart, being carved up and invaded by nations that are much more powerful or taking advantage of a weakness, being occupied for over a century and brutally oppressed and assimilated, and finally your people getting killed barbarically in WWII, Poland is a country that knows how to take a hit. And in KRTL, it doesn’t even get the momentary high that it got to live for 20 years before 1939 happened. It’s a tiny rump state that’s traded one overlord for another. Their current king is uninspiring to the Polish people and is merely a symbol of German dominance, in the words of the game itself. The most believable path for Poland, all things considered, is perhaps a concession or two from one of the other Mitteleuropan puppet states. Poland’s fate would seem to ultimately be a jewel in the German crown, and nothing else, her borders seriously reduced. Who wants that to be the only outcome? Any other alternative would seem to likely lead to Poland being invaded by her vengeful neighbours like 1939 OTL, and
that’s even worse (one needs only to read time after time about hundreds of soldiers who deliberately dug their heels in and sacrificed themselves, just to make the 1939 German invasion last 10 more minutes, to have
that illustrated). I digress, but point being, nobody wants that to be the only outcome, that’s just depressing.
I will appeal to the story side of things – Poland is the perfect underdog, a once great power now fallen and humiliated time and time again.
Now is the moment for them to reclaim their birthright and dignity, surely! For them to remain a ghastly shadow of their former selves and just another Mitteleuropan puppet state, sure it’s maybe realistic…but it’s just
sad, in the same way Qing China remaining dominated by Wu Peifu is sad. Anyway, given that Manchu Qing exists, I’m sure I don’t need to make this point, and the writers and team in charge of KR are considering at least some of what I’ve written so far (though perhaps likely to a less extreme degree as what I've written). In any case, let’s move on!
Is a True Polish King unbelievable? Anyway, was monarchism
dead in Poland around this time KRTL? Well, their nobility certainly was not, or at least not recently. OTL, I believe the szlachta (that is to say the Polish nobility) were only abolished in 1921 within the Polish Republic – something it seems unlikely for the German Empire who’s just installed a Hohenzollern monarch to want to do. Hell, if you wanted an ethnically Polish monarch, you have not only the Czartoryski, but Poniatowski, Potocki and plenty more. The only thing that’s realistically stopping one of them from taking the throne is Germany, who’d rather have August IV there.
But would they really? Look at Belgium as it currently is – Adalbert is despised, and Germany can grant Belgian independence in exchange for Reichspakt participation. It’s a total win-win for Germany to get rid of their despised monarch in favour of a head of state Belgium loves and wants to follow. Adalbert’s situation seems very similar to August’s, if not worse off, since poor old Auwi doesn’t even have his father’s love. Putting Albert back in charge of Belgium is already one of the most blessed parts of the mod, and for something similar to occur in a country as battered and aching for a win as Poland is, would be awesome. It also seems strange that Poland would not be given territory that's majority Polish - but again, I imagine this was chosen deliberately by the team for a more eventful, interesting scenario.
Now, I don’t really know much about how monarchism and its popularity after WWI in Poland, but I
did recently speak to two people who do happen to know a fair bit. So I’m going to go through what they said a little bit and some inspiring cool candidates for the Polish throne that they identified.
1. Another German king – but a Catholic one, rather than a Protestant
Meet Duke Albrecht von Wurttemberg! So from what I’ve heard other people say, this guy was considered by Wilhelm II himself because he was Catholic, and might be a better fit for Poland as a result. I’ve also seen the current Saxon candidate Frederick Christian, as well as Ferdinand I of Romania’s older brother, thrown around as ideas, but this got disputed between the people I asked, with some arguing even a converted Catholic wouldn’t be accepted and that the Germans wanted non-Hohenzollerns on the thrones of these new states. I overall don’t really know much about them, and I find them relatively uninteresting candidates, so I’m going to move on to #2.
2. A Habsburg king like we have now
Hey, I’ve seen this one before… God, as much as I love the idea of an ethnically Polish noble taking the throne, Karl Albrecht is a
really fantastic choice, and I hope he remains as an option, even if he’s still a puppet. OTL in both 1918, the Polish-Soviet War and 1939 he volunteered in the Polish army. When Poland was occupied, he declared himself to be a Polish citizen, defied the Nazi government and got imprisoned, tortured, half-blinded and sent to a concentration camp for doing so. Just as the current KR events and info about him indicate, he was a Polish patriot through and through, and I’d love to see him remain as an option for a Polish king. Hell, given that a more benevolent (and long-sighted) Austria might well yield an allied Poland Galicia-Lodomeria, this might actually be one of the brighter paths Poland could take as a country. This Habsburg is definitely worthy of the throne in my eyes.
3. A member of the szlachta? Regardless, and to hell with the odds, this would be my favourite option. One that I find myself interested in because there’s so many different & fascinating avenues to be explored. And after speaking to a few people, I heard a few fascinating options given, especially as candidates preferred by local powers:
https://preview.redd.it/4uqjmd8bucj51.png?width=271&format=png&auto=webp&s=59f20f3d2e586957df2b5f25a2589729dcbbd149 Janusz Radziwiłł – So from what I’ve heard and read of this guy, not only was he the Kaiser’s cousin and had strong ties to the Hohenzollerns maternally, but he lived much of his life in Germany and had connections to German aristocracy. With this said, he identified himself as Polish nonetheless, involved himself with the Polish government when it was both a kingdom
and a republic following World War One, he supported Piłsudski, and actually refused himself as a candidate to be King of Lithuania (the throne of which would eventually go to Wilhelm Karl von Urach/Mindaugas II). Like Karl Albrecht OTL, he championed Polish independence and suffered greatly for it, getting interred in Lubyanka and personally interrogated by
world-class piece of shit Lavrentij Beria, and after his release attempted to improve the lives of Poles by petitioning to the Nazis (he had connections with Goering amongst others) before being imprisoned again by
them!
Come on, guys! This guy sounds like a
far better functioning alternative than an effeminate, non-Catholic, non-Pole who’s on terrible terms with the Hohenzollerns despite
being one paternally, especially given the precedent that minor houses were preferred to be kings of these nations, as well as hitting the cool factor out of the park. If there was a Belgium-esque removal of Auwi in favour of Janusz, surely this would appease all parties: both conservative Catholic Poland
and the Kaiser who isn’t exactly very happy with poor old Auwi. Hell, it probably makes Auwi happy as well and he can return to not living in a country that’s as disdainful of him as Poland is.
Jesus, as I write this, I learn that this guy is king of Poland at the game start of Fuhrerreich. Not sure how that makes much sense at all given Fuhrerreich’s circumstances, but whatever Enough about him though, onto the next guy.
Our guy Augustyn Czartoryski, who I am already mourning since I don’t see his position as “the true Polish king” surviving the rework at all. Read on for more info… A Czartoryski or Poniatowski – these guys as I understand, while considered, probably wouldn’t be nominated or seriously considered here, due to having a lot of French ancestry (particularly the Poniatowski as I’ve read) and being considered Entente-aligned in general. While these guys would be fantastic, this is already kind of a stretch as it is and I think, as much as I hate to say it, these guys probably wouldn’t be considered by Germany or Austria. Now, if Russia or France was putting a candidate on the throne, that’d be a different story…so maybe these guys could be considered for a pro-Entente puppet government placed in Poland. This seems extremely unlikely to happen though, requiring nothing short of a full-scale Russian or Entente invasion and capitulation of the Reichspakt. And God knows that Russia might more likely have plans of just annexing Poland altogether once again.
God, what a downer. It seems like if these guys are remaining, it’ll just be in sad circumstances. I’d be happy to be proven wrong, of course, so I’ll shut up now and move on to…
Here’s Jerzy Potocki after meeting with FDR thanking him for sending assistance to Poland in 1939. Jerzy Potocki – This guy could be an alternative to Karl Albrecht, as he has connections with Austria-Hungary. He was OTL a diplomat and was active in Poland’s political scene. Tbh though, I’d probably still prefer Karl Albrecht.
There are likely tons more candidates that I missed, but honestly, I should probably just stop writing this section already, because with all of this said: I’ve already heard that a new king who isn’t August isn’t going to appear by will of Poland itself, but inserted there by a puppet master. This might be subject to change ofc, and if what I wrote here maybe helps that, happy days.
Honestly, I wonder if those words were chosen
very carefully when they were said to me almost a year ago. As I’ve written this essay, I’ve begun to not help but wonder if Auwi was deliberately chosen by the Dev team
because he’s such an atrocious, ill-fitting King of Poland. It’s a situation that’s incredibly delicate and could be so easily pushed over the edge if, say, an economic crisis were to strike the world in 1936. In other words, Auwi was chosen deliberately to give the player as much choice as humanly possible to, shall we say, have Germany remove him and look for another candidate, like some of the ones I’ve listed. But let’s just assume I’m wrong about that completely, so we can get onto the last section…
A new Rzeczpospolita Polska? Please correct me if I’m wrong, Polish readers, but “rzeczpospolita” can be translated as both “commonwealth”
and “republic”, right? I’ll continue writing presuming as such.
Finally, a truly fantastic pathway I could see Poland take would be some kind of monarchy overthrow, like Belgium. However, unlike Belgium, perhaps their only option will be to declare a republic. While I was initially lukewarm to the idea, with greater thought it’s something that’s kind of appealed to me. With the old Commonwealth being an elective monarchy, perhaps members of the szlachta are able to run as new presidents for this brave new Poland? A phoenix from the ashes, surrounded by enemies all around. A new republic that, just like the commonwealth of old, was functional and perhaps even powerful despite the diverse demographics that existed within her borders. A republic that follows Piłsudski’s philosophy and ideas for the Polish state – perhaps not entirely far-fetched given how influential a figure he was when he was alive, and especially given that he’ll as of 1936 either still be alive or only recently deceased. Perhaps pragmatism would prevail here when it’s realised that if differences aren’t put aside, and they do not get their shit together in time, they risk being put under the Russian boot again, except this time under an ultranationalist regime that will hate them and destroy their culture through the Russification polices of OTL (Assuming that Savinkov being in power is the most likely option here, it’d certainly be the worst-case scenario for Poland).
Furthermore, the ideas that Piłsudski preached seem like they could be utilised by socialists in Poland, but I have no idea if syndicalism would even be a viable option for not only a country that’s staunchly conservative and catholic, but also completely surrounded by other countries that are either conservative, catholic, or both – i.e, opposed to syndicalism. Still, it seems like Britain and France would be the only ones that’d want to support this new Poland’s claims, seeing as unlike Germany, Austria & Russia, Polish claims and French/British ones don’t overlap and cause issues. It could also either be an interesting parallel to OTL Poland and their relationship with the UK and France in the 1930s, but one would hope things end differently this time…
:^( Now, the szlachta would certainly not be the only candidates, that I will totally acknowledge. Regardless, I feel like a continuation of the old commonwealth’s virtues has such an appeal to it from a narrative perspective, and the descendants of those who once led this great power raising it from the ashes is just perfect, if unlikely. Let us not forget though, that unlikely things have happened a plenty in history, and the option to do these things, in my humble opinion, would enrich Kaiserreich immensely. It’s some of the more unlikely things that occur in Kaiserreich that carry a lot of charm to them. The Kuomintang rising up and winning in China, the Manchu Restoration, the (potential) prevalence of democratic regimes in the crisis-stricken countries of socialist France and Britain, Mittelafrika electing the Reformgruppe and (my personal favourite) the emergence of a constitutional monarchy in Russia against all odds – I could go on, but you all get the point. Kaiserreich’s world is plenty dark and violent, and Poland is well overdue some good fortune - good fortune that would by extension lead to really fun gameplay, world-building and story-telling.
Conclusion In any case, I’ve probably made my points as well as I’m able to. I also have no idea how finished Poland is as a country in regards to its rework, so I might be writing this too late to be properly considered. However, in the off chance that it’s
not nearly finished in regards to the rework, perhaps what I wrote here can help developers in their mission to create a fantastic new Poland. Then again, I’m not Polish and am really an amateur when it comes to historical knowledge, so maybe what I’ve said is already being considered by people with a greater knowledge of history than myself. What is for sure is that the idea that “Poland is not yet lost” rings true very strongly still in KR – and I hope that this sentiment is utilised to its fullest potential.
In either case, that’s all for this one. Thanks for reading!
