Bloody Wednesday (Poland)

Bloody Wednesday (Polish: Krwawa środa) refers to the events of 15 August 1906 in the (Congress) Kingdom of Poland, where the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party (OB PPS) carried out a series of attacks on Russians, primarily police officers and informants. This took place in the context of the Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907), and represented one of the biggest actions in the history of OB PPS.

For the Bloody Wednesday on 3 November 1943, see Operation Harvest Festival.
For the Bloody Wednesday on 31 July 1940, see Bloody Wednesday of Olkusz.

Events

The aim of OB PPS was to stop repressions following in the wake of the revolution, and demonstrate its strength to the Russian government.[1] It organized a series of simultaneous attacks on Russian officials, primarily policemen, in the Russian partition of Poland that occurred on August 15, 1906.[1][2][3]

There were about 100 incidents,[4] with attacks reported in 18,[5] 19[6] 20[7] cities and towns. Sources vary significantly with regards to the number of fatalities, reporting about 80,[8] 70,[2] 51,[9] fatalities among Russian officials (primarily policeman) and informants (see Okhrana), and 43[5][6] or 69[9] injured. In Warsaw alone, sources note "over 100 civilian casualties";[10] another notes 50 Russian policemen killed and 100 wounded,[11] Yet another talks of about 200 fatalities.[12] There, an OB PPS group led by Henryk Baron attacked police offices and clashed with a Cossack military unit, which led to a panic in the Russian garrison, suspecting an uprising, and the retreat of some military units from the town. There was also a demonstration at Grzybowski Square.[13] Another large assault took place in Łódź, where a 25-strong OB PPS group under F. Lipiński attacked a police station, and ambushed several patrols.[3]

Aftermath

Three days later, on 18 August 1906, OB PPS carried out another of its landmark operations, when OB PPS female activist Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz attempted to assassinate the Russian Governor-general of Warsaw, Georgi Skalon, in Warsaw.[14]

OB PPS was not fully united behind this operation; it was notably opposed by Józef Piłsudski.[15] Other, more moderate organizations like Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania and Bund were also critical of this operation.[16] The Russian response was a new wave of arrests and persecution of anti-state activists.[16][17] The Imperial Russian Army terrorized worker districts in Warsaw, Łódź and other towns;[18] the most infamous of the reprisal actions was the Russian-organized Siedlce pogrom on 8–10 September 1906.[17][18][19][20][21][22]

Those events became among the best known actions of the OB PPS.[14] They were also among the biggest terrorist-like events in the history of OB PPS.[15][23] It also marked the high point of OB PPS activity, which would wind down over the next year or so.[21][24]

See also

References
  1. Janusz Wojtasik (1987). Idea walki zbrojnej o niepodległość Polski, 1864–1907: koncepcje i próby ich realizacji. Wydawn. Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej. p. 216. ISBN 9788311072541. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  2. "krwawa środa". Encyklopedia.pwn.pl. Archived from the original on 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  3. Grzegorczyk, Arkadiusz (ed.). "Łódź w ogniu rewolucji 1905 r." Ilustrowana encyklopedia historii Łodzi. Miesięcznik Łódzki "Piotrkowska 104" (Supplement Historyczny). URZĄD MIASTA ŁODZI. VII/12 (7): 196–197. ISSN 1731-092X. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  4. Norman Davies (2005). God's playground: a history of Poland in two volumes. Oxford University Press. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-19-925340-1. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  5. "Józef Anastazy Montwiłł – Mirecki (1879 - 1908)".
  6. "Krwawa Środa – WIEM, darmowa encyklopedia". Portalwiedzy.onet.pl. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  7. Wacław Jędrzejewicz (1982). Piłsudski, a life for Poland. Hippocrene Books. p. 42. ISBN 9780882546339. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  8. Roy Francis Leslie; R. F. Leslie (1983). The History of Poland since 1863. Cambridge University Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-521-27501-9. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  9. "Początki walki zbrojnej". Świat Polonii – witryna Stowarzyszenia Wspólnota Polska – Kraj i Polonia – O Polsce. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  10. Anna Geifman (1995). Thou shalt kill: revolutionary terrorism in Russia, 1894–1917. Princeton University Press. p. 341. ISBN 978-0-691-02549-0. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  11. Anna Geifman (20 May 2010). Death orders: the vanguard of modern terrorism in revolutionary Russia. ABC-CLIO. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-275-99752-6. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  12. Tadeusz Władysław Świątek, Rafał Chwiszczuk, Warszawski ruch społecznikowski, Fundacja Cultus, Warszawa, 2010, ISBN 978-83-62679-00-3, p.149
  13. Jerzy Jan Lerski (1996). Historical dictionary of Poland, 966–1945. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-313-26007-0. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  14. "Organizacja Bojowa Polskiej Partii Socjalistycznej – WIEM, darmowa encyklopedia". Portalwiedzy.onet.pl. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  15. Jerzy Besala (2004-05-22). "Kiedy byliśmy terrorystami". Polityka. No. 21 (2453). pp. 80–82. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  16. Alicja Wójcik (1984). Ruch robotniczy na Lubelszczyźnie do 1918. Wydawn. Lubelskie. p. 118. ISBN 978-83-222-0328-6. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  17. Marian Kukiel (1963). Dzieje Polski porozbiorowe, 1795–1921. B. Świderski. p. 537. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  18. Władysław Pobóg-Malinowski (1990). Najnowsza historia polityczna Polski, 1864–1945. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. p. 166. ISBN 9788303031624. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  19. Ludwik Bazylow (1972). Ostatnie lata Rosji carskiej. Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. p. 162. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  20. Zakład Naukowo-Badawczy Archiwistyki (Poland) (1 January 1997). Archeion. Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych, Zakład Naukowo-Badawczy Archiwistyki. p. 334. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  21. Józef Piłsudski; Leon Wasilewski (1937). Pisma zbiorowe: wydanie prac dotychczas drukiem ogłoszonych. Instytut Józefa Piłsudskiego. p. 32. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  22. Feliks Tych (1990). Rok 1905. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. p. 81. ISBN 978-83-03-02915-7. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  23. Feliks Gross (1973). Violence in politics: Terror and political assassination in Eastern Europe and Russia. Mouton. p. 142. ISBN 9783111948973. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  24. Józef Piłsudski (1943). Pisma wybrane. Krakowskie Towarzystwo Wydawnicze. p. 60. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
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