Editing Second Polish Republic (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Polish pavilion Paris 1937.jpg|thumb|upright|Polish pavilion at [[Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne|Expo 1937]] in [[Paris]] ]]
[[File:Poland NYC 1939.jpg|thumb|upright|Polish pavilion at the [[1939 World's Fair]] in [[New York City]] ]]

After regaining its independence, Poland was faced with major economic difficulties. In addition to the devastation brought by the First World War, the exploitation of the Polish economy by the German and Russian occupying powers, and the sabotage performed by retreating armies, the new republic was faced with the task of economically unifying disparate economic regions, which had previously been part of different countries and different empires.<ref name="wolf"/> Within the borders of the Republic were the remnants of three different economic systems, with five different currencies (the [[German mark]], the [[Russian ruble|Imperial Russian rouble]], the [[Austrian krone]], the [[Polish marka]] and the [[German ostrubel|Ostrubel]])<ref name=wolf/> and with little or no direct infrastructural links. The situation was so bad that neighbouring industrial centres, as well as major cities, lacked direct [[railway]] links because they had been parts of different jurisdictions and different empires. For example, there was no direct railway connection between Warsaw and [[Kraków]] until 1934. This situation was described by [[Melchior Wańkowicz]] in his book ''[[Sztafeta]]''.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

In addition to this was the massive destruction left after both the First World War and the [[Polish–Soviet War]]. There was also a great economic disparity between the [[Kresy Wschodnie|eastern]] (commonly called ''Poland B'') and western (called ''Poland A'') parts of the country, with the western half, especially areas that had belonged to [[Prussia]] and the [[German Empire]], being much more developed and prosperous. Frequent border closures and a [[German–Polish customs war|customs war]] with [[Germany]] also had negative economic impacts on Poland. In 1924, Prime Minister [[Władysław Grabski]], who was also the Economic Minister, introduced the ''[[Polish złoty|złoty]]'' as a single common currency for Poland (replacing the marka), which remained a stable currency. The currency helped Poland to control the massive [[hyperinflation]]. It was the only country in Europe able to do this without foreign loans or aid.<ref name="onet"/> The average annual growth rate ([[GDP per capita]]) was 5.24% in 1920–29 and 0.34% in 1929–38.<ref name="Broadberry">Stephen Broadberry, Kevin H. O'Rourke. ''The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe: Volume 2, 1870 to the Present''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. 2010. pp. 188, 190.</ref>
{|class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin:0em 0.5em 0.5em 1.5em; font-size:85%;"
|+ {{nobreak|'''GDP per capita'''}}<br /><ref name="Broadberry"/><ref name="Maddison">(1929-1930) Angus Maddison. ''The World Economy Volume 1: A Millennial Perspective Volume 2: Historical Statistics''. Academic Foundation. 2007. p. 478. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/456125276116] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521073928/https://statlinks.oecdcode.org/4103063.XLS|date=21 May 2022}}</ref>
|-
! Year !! [[Geary–Khamis dollar|Int$.]]
|-
|1922 ||1,382
|-
|1929 ||2,117
|-
|1930 ||1,994
|-
|1931 ||1,823
|-
|1932 ||1,658
|-
|1933 ||1,590
|-
|1934 ||1,593
|-
|1935 ||1,597
|-
|1936 ||1,626
|-
|1937 ||1,915
|-
|1938||2,182
|}

Hostile relations with neighbours were a major problem for the economy of interbellum Poland. In the year 1937, [[foreign trade]] with all neighbours amounted to only 21% of Poland's total. Trade with Germany, Poland's most important neighbour, accounted for 14.3% of Polish exchange. Foreign trade with the [[Soviet Union]] (0.8%) was virtually nonexistent. [[Czechoslovakia]] accounted for 3.9%, [[Latvia]] for 0.3%, and [[Romania]] for 0.8%. By mid-1938, after the ''[[Anschluss]]'' with [[Austria]], [[Greater Germany]] was responsible for as much as 23% of Polish foreign trade.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
[[File:M.S "Batory". 1937-1939 (81562876) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Poland's [[MS Batory]] at the [[Port of Gdynia|sea port]] of [[Gdynia]], ca 1937-1939]]

Piłsudski's regime followed the conservative free-market economic tradition of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] throughout its existence. Poland had one of the lowest taxation rates in Europe, with 9.3% of taxes as a distribution of national income. Piłsudski's regime was also heavily dependent on foreign investments and economies, with 45.4% of Polish equity capital controlled by foreign corporations. After the [[Great Depression]], the Polish economy crumbled and failed to recover until [[Ignacy Mościcki]]'s government introduced economic reforms with more government interventions with an increase in tax revenues and public spending after Piłsudski's death. These interventionist policies saw Poland's economy recover from the recession.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dadak |first=Casimir |date=May 2012 |title=National Heritage and Economic Policies in Free and Sovereign Poland after 1918 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/contemporary-european-history/article/abs/national-heritage-and-economic-policies-in-free-and-sovereign-poland-after-1918/B65FA110EF9020504F284BB52EB5B907 |journal=Contemporary European History |language=en |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=193–214 |doi=10.1017/S0960777312000112 |issn=1469-2171}}</ref>

The basis of Poland's gradual recovery after the [[Great Depression]] was the mass economic development plans of the new government (see [[Four Year Plan (Poland)|Four Year Plan]]) under economist [[Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski]], which oversaw the building of three key infrastructural elements. The first was the establishment of the [[Gdynia]] seaport, which allowed Poland to completely bypass [[Free City of Danzig|Gdańsk]] (which was under heavy German pressure to boycott Polish coal exports). The second was construction of the 500-kilometre rail connection between [[Upper Silesia]] and Gdynia, called the [[Polish Coal Trunk-Line]], which served freight trains with coal. The third was the creation of a central industrial district named COP – ''[[Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy]]'' ([[English language|English]]: Central Industrial Region). Unfortunately, these developments were interrupted and largely destroyed by the German and Soviet invasion and the start of the Second World War.<ref name="AHP"/> Other achievements of interbellum Poland included [[Stalowa Wola]] (a brand new city, built in a forest around a steel mill), [[Mościce]] (now a district of [[Tarnów]], with a large nitrate factory), and the creation of the central bank [[Bank Polski SA]]. There were several trade fairs, with the most popular being [[Poznań International Fair]], Lwów's ''[[Targi Wschodnie]]'', and Wilno's ''[[Targi Północne]]''. [[Polish Radio]] had ten stations (see [[Radio stations in interwar Poland]]), with the eleventh one planned to be opened in the autumn of 1939. Furthermore, in 1935, Polish engineers began working on TV services. By early 1939, experts of the Polish Radio built four TV sets. The first movie broadcast by experimental Polish TV was ''[[Barbara Radziwiłłówna (film)|Barbara Radziwiłłówna]]'', and by 1940, a regular TV service was scheduled to begin operation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tvp.info/informacje/nauka/70-lat-telewizji-w-polsce/862059 |title=70 years of television in Poland, TVP INFO, 26.08.2009 |access-date=3 May 2013 |archive-date=16 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616033659/http://www.tvp.info/informacje/nauka/70-lat-telewizji-w-polsce/862059 }}</ref>

Interbellum Poland was also a country with numerous social problems. Unemployment was high, and poverty in the countryside was widespread, which resulted in several cases of social unrest, such as the [[1923 Kraków riot]], and [[1937 peasant strike in Poland]]. There were conflicts with national minorities, such as the [[Pacification of Ukrainians in Eastern Galicia (1930)]], relations with Polish neighbours were sometimes complicated (see [[Soviet raid on Stołpce]], [[Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts]], and the [[1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania]]). On top of this, there were natural disasters, such as the [[1934 flood in Poland]].

===Major industrial centres===
[[File:Agfacolor Elektrownia Łaziska Polska 1939 Henryk Poddębski.jpg|thumb|right|Coal power station in Łaziska Górne, Silesian Voivodeship in 1939. It was the largest Polish power plant in the years 1927-1953 ([[Agfacolor]]).<ref>Oto 10 największych elektrowni w Polsce 13 February 2014 https://forsal.pl/galeria/777419,oto-10-najwiekszych-elektrowni-w-polsce.html</ref><ref>Portal "Historia:Poszukaj" NIMOZ 2022 https://www.historiaposzukaj.pl/wiedza,obiekty,1883,obiekt_fotografia_z_okolic_lazisk_gornych_autorstwa_henryka_poddebskiego_ze_zbiorow_muzeum_historii_polski.html</ref>]]
[[File:Targi Wschodnie we Lwowie, aerial view (-1936).JPG|thumb|right|The [[Targi Wschodnie|Eastern Trade Fair]] in [[Lwów]], 1936]]
[[File:Gdynia 234669023555.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gdynia]], a modern Polish seaport established in 1926]]

Interbellum Poland was unofficially divided into two parts – better developed "Poland A" in the west, and underdeveloped "Poland B" in the east. Polish industry was concentrated in the west, mostly in Polish [[Upper Silesia]], and the adjacent [[Lesser Poland]]'s province of [[Zagłębie Dąbrowskie]], where the bulk of coal mines and steel plants was located. Furthermore, heavy industry plants were located in [[Częstochowa]] (''Huta Częstochowa'', founded in 1896), [[Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski]] (''Huta Ostrowiec'', founded in 1837–1839), [[Stalowa Wola]] (brand new industrial city, which was built from scratch in 1937 – 1938), [[Chrzanów]] (''[[Fablok]]'', founded in 1919), [[Jaworzno]], [[Trzebinia]] (oil refinery, opened in 1895), [[Łódź]] (the seat of Polish textile industry), [[Poznań]] ([[H. Cegielski – Poznań]]), Kraków and Warsaw ([[Ursus Factory]]). Further east, in [[Kresy]], industrial centres included two major cities of the region – [[Lwów]] and [[Wilno]] ([[Elektrit]]).<ref name="liberte.pl"/>

Besides coal mining, Poland also had deposits of oil in [[Boryslav|Borysław]], [[Drohobych|Drohobycz]], [[Jasło]] and [[Gorlice]] (see [[Polmin]]), potassium salt ([[TESP (company)|TESP]]), and [[basalt]] ([[Bazaltove|Janowa Dolina]]). Apart from already-existing industrial areas, in the mid-1930s an ambitious, state-sponsored project called the [[Central Industrial Region (Poland)|Central Industrial Region]] was started under Minister [[Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski]]. One of the characteristic features of the Polish economy in the interbellum was the gradual nationalisation of major plants. This was the case for the [[Ursus Factory]] (see [[Państwowe Zakłady Inżynieryjne]]) and several steelworks, such as ''Huta Pokój'' in [[Ruda Śląska]] – Nowy Bytom, ''Huta Królewska'' in [[Chorzów]] – Królewska Huta, ''Huta Laura'' in [[Siemianowice Śląskie]], as well as ''Scheibler and Grohman Works'' in Łódź.<ref name="liberte.pl"/>

===Transport===
[[File:WWII-Poland-1939-communications and industry.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|Industry and communications in Poland before the start of the Second World War]]

According to the 1939 ''Statistical Yearbook of Poland'', the total length of the railways in Poland (as of 31 December 1937) was {{cvt|20118|km|0|abbr=off}}. Rail density was {{cvt|5.2|km|1|abbr=off}} per {{cvt|100|km2|abbr=off}}. Railways were very dense in the western part of the country, while in the east, especially [[Polesie]], rail was non-existent in some counties. During the interbellum period, the Polish Government constructed several new lines, mainly in the central part of the country (see also [[Polish State Railroads Summer 1939]]). Construction of the extensive [[Warszawa Główna railway station]] was never finished due to the war, while Polish railways were famous for their punctuality (see [[Luxtorpeda]], [[Strzała Bałtyku]], [[Latający Wilnianin]]).

In the interbellum, the road network of Poland was dense, but the quality of the roads was very poor – only 7% of all roads were paved and ready for automobile use, and none of the major cities were connected with each other by a good-quality highway. In 1939 the Poles built only one highway: 28&nbsp;km of straight concrete road connecting the villages of Warlubie and Osiek (mid-northern Poland). It was designed by Italian engineer Piero Puricelli.
[[File:CWS T-1 torpedo (replika) w Gdańsku.JPG|thumb|left|The [[CWS T-1]] ''Torpedo'' was the first serially-built car manufactured in Poland.]]

In the mid-1930s, Poland had {{cvt|340000|km|0|abbr=off}} of roads, but only 58,000 had a hard surface (gravel, [[cobblestone]] or [[Sett (paving)|sett]]), and 2,500 were modern, with an asphalt or concrete surface. In different parts of the country, there were sections of paved roads, which suddenly ended, and were followed by dirt roads.<ref name="polityka"/> The poor condition of the roads was the result of both long-lasting foreign dominance and inadequate funding. On 29 January 1931, the Polish Parliament created the State Road Fund, the purpose of which was to collect money for the construction and conservation of roads. The government drafted a 10-year plan, with road priorities: a highway from Wilno, through Warsaw and Kraków, to [[Zakopane]] (called Marshal Piłsudski Highway), asphalt highways from Warsaw to Poznań and Łódź, as well as a Warsaw ring road. However, the plan turned out to be too ambitious, with insufficient money in the national budget to pay for it. In January 1938, the Polish Road Congress estimated that Poland would need to spend three times as much money on roads to keep up with [[Western Europe]].

In 1939, before the outbreak of the war, [[LOT Polish Airlines]], which was established in 1929, had its hub at [[Warsaw Chopin Airport|Warsaw Okęcie Airport]]. At that time, LOT maintained several services, both domestic and international. Warsaw had regular domestic connections with [[Gdynia]]-[[Rumia]], [[Gdańsk|Danzig]]-[[Wrzeszcz|Langfuhr]], [[Katowice-Muchowiec Airport|Katowice-Muchowiec]], [[Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Airport|Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny]], [[Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport|Lwów-Skniłów]], [[Poznań–Ławica Airport|Poznań-Ławica]], and [[Vilnius|Wilno-Porubanek]]. Furthermore, in cooperation with [[Air France]], [[TAROM|LARES]], [[Lufthansa]], and [[Malert]], international connections were maintained with [[Athens]], [[Beirut]], Berlin, [[Bucharest]], [[Budapest]], [[Helsinki]], [[Kaunas]], London, Paris, [[Prague]], [[Riga]], Rome, [[Tallinn]], and [[Zagreb]].<ref name="ministerstwa"/>

===Agriculture===
[[File:Libiaz-zniwa1938.a.jpg|thumb|upright|Manual harvesting in Żarki, Lesser Poland Voivodeship in August 1938 (Agfacolor).]]
[[File:PL Ursus Ciągówka.jpg|thumb|upright|''Ciągówka Ursus'' was the first Polish farm tractor, produced from 1922 to 1927 in the [[Ursus Factory]].]]

Statistically, the majority of citizens lived in the countryside (75% in 1921). Farmers made up 65% of the population. In 1929, agricultural production made up 65% of Poland's GNP.<ref name="lex"/> After 123 years of partitions, regions of the country were very unevenly developed. The lands of the former [[German Empire]] were the most advanced; in [[Greater Poland]], [[Upper Silesia]] and [[Pomerelia]], farming and crops were on a Western European level.<ref name="onet1"/>{{failed verification|not enough information given|date=February 2022}} The situation was much worse in parts of [[Congress Poland]], the [[Eastern Borderlands]], and what was formerly [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]], where agriculture was quite backward and primitive, with a large number of small farms, unable to succeed in either the domestic or international market. Another problem was the overpopulation of the countryside, which resulted in chronic unemployment. Living conditions were so bad in several eastern regions, such as the counties inhabited by the [[Hutsul]] minority, that there was permanent starvation.<ref name="przeglad-tygodnik"/> Farmers rebelled against the government (see: [[1937 peasant strike in Poland]]), and the situation began to change in the late 1930s, due to the construction of several factories for the [[Central Industrial Region (Poland)|Central Industrial Region]], which gave employment to thousands of rural and small town residents.

===German trade===
Beginning in June 1925, there was a customs' war, with the [[revanchist]] Weimar Republic [[German–Polish customs war|imposing a trade embargo against Poland]] for nearly a decade; it involved tariffs and broad economic restrictions. After 1933 the trade war ended. The new agreements regulated and promoted trade. Germany became Poland's largest trading partner, followed by Britain. In October 1938, Germany granted a credit of 60,000,000 [[Reichsmark|RM]] to Poland (120,000,000 ''zloty'', or [[Pound sterling|£]]4,800,000) which was never realised, due to the outbreak of war. Germany would deliver factory equipment and machinery in return for Polish timber and agricultural produce. This new trade was to be ''in addition'' to the existing German-Polish trade agreements.<ref name="biznes">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140729024023/http://biznes.pwn.pl/haslo/3883929/celna-wojna.html Wojna celna (German–Polish customs' war)] (Internet Archive), Encyklopedia PWN, Biznes.</ref><ref>''Keesing's Contemporary Archives'' Volume 3, (October 1938) p. 3283.</ref>