Editing Lesser Poland (section)

=== Interwar Poland (1918–1939) ===
In 1918, when [[Second Polish Republic]] was created, whole historical Lesser Poland became part of restored [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]]. The historical area of the province was divided between four voivodeships: [[Kraków Voivodeship (1919–39)|Kraków Voivodeship]] (whole), [[Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939)|Kielce Voivodeship]] (whole), [[Lwów Voivodeship]] (northwestern corner), and [[Lublin Voivodeship (1919–1939)|Lublin Voivodeship]] (western part). Furthermore, in the counties of central Lesser Poland, another administrative unit, [[Sandomierz Voivodeship (1939)|Sandomierz Voivodeship]] was planned, but due to the outbreak of World War II, it was never created. Boundaries between two major Lesser Poland voivodeships – Kraków, and Kielce, were the same as pre-1914 boundaries of Austria-Hungary, and Russia. Nevertheless, in the interbellum period, the notion of Lesser Poland was frequently associated only with former Austrian province of [[Galicia (Central-Eastern Europe)|Galicia]].<ref name="nowamalopolska.pl" /> Therefore, Western Galicia to the [[San (river)|San]] river, was called ''Western Lesser Poland'', while Eastern Galicia, east of the San, with the city of Lwów ([[Lviv]]), was called ''Eastern Lesser Poland'' (voivodeships of [[Tarnopol Voivodeship|Tarnopol]], [[Stanisławów Voivodeship|Stanisławów]], and [[Lwów Voivodeship|Lwów]]). According to a Polish historian [[Jan Pisuliński]], using the term ''Eastern Lesser Poland'' to denomine Eastern Galicia is incorrect, as it has no historical justification, being only a designation of nationalist and propaganda significance (similarly to analogous term ''[[Western Ukraine]]'' used at the same time by the Ukrainian side), which served in the 1920s and 1930s to make a stronger connection of the area between rivers of San and [[Zbruch]] with the Polish state and to emphasize the allegedly indigenously Polish nature of that region.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.desklight-a8ddd8b9-b3cf-41ae-9c61-a5788c4d2f03/c/12._Kozubel_Marek.pdf | title = Przegląd ukraińskiej historiografii dotyczącej obrony Lwowa i wojny polsko-ukraińskiej w latach 1918–1919 | author = Marek Kozubel | publisher = cejsh.icm.edu.pl | access-date = 2021-02-02 | archive-date = 7 February 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210207225351/http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.desklight-a8ddd8b9-b3cf-41ae-9c61-a5788c4d2f03/c/12._Kozubel_Marek.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>

In late 1918, Lesser Poland emerged as one of main centers of fledgling Polish administration and independence movement. According to historian Kazimierz Banburski of Tarnów's District Museum, [[Tarnów]] was the first Polish city which became independent, after 123 years of [[Partitions of Poland|oppression]]. On 31 October 1918, at 8&nbsp;am, Tarnów's inhabitants began disarming demoralized Austrian soldiers, and after three hours, the city was completely in Polish hands.<ref>{{cite web |author=Marek Ciesielczyk |url=http://interia360.pl/artykul/tarnow-byl-pierwszym-niepodleglym-miastem-w-polsce,8913 |title=Tarnów był pierwszym niepodległym miastem w Polsce – Informacje w Interia360.pl – wiadomości, dziennikarstwo obywatelskie |publisher=Interia360.pl |date=11 April 2008 |access-date=8 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818144242/http://interia360.pl/artykul/tarnow-byl-pierwszym-niepodleglym-miastem-w-polsce,8913 |archive-date=18 August 2011}}</ref> On 28 October 1918, [[Polish Liquidation Committee]] was created in Kraków. A few days later, socialist peasants founded the [[Republic of Tarnobrzeg]]. In the night of 6/7 November 1918, ''Polish People's Republic'' was proclaimed in Lublin, by [[Ignacy Daszynski]] and other activists. In 1919, [[Polish legislative election, 1919|the legislative election]] took place in Lesser Poland without major problems.

[[File:Wieliczka salt mine.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wieliczka Salt Mine]], a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]]]

At that time Lesser Poland, like other provinces of the country, faced several problems. Even though major post-World War I conflicts (such as [[Polish–Soviet War]]) did not take place there, it suffered from unemployment, overpopulation, and poverty, especially in towns and countryside. Furthermore, Polish government had to connect parts of the hitherto divided country. There was no direct rail link between Kraków, and Kielce, Radom, and Lublin, and until 1934, when line from Kraków to [[Tunel (railroad station)|Tunel]] was opened, all travelers had to go via [[Sosnowiec]] – Maczki. Lack of rail communication between former Austrian and former Russian parts of Lesser Poland is visible even today. Between Kraków and [[Dęblin]], there are only two rail bridges along the Vistula. Residents of the province tried to improve their conditions using legal means, but when it turned out to be impossible, they took to fighting ([[1923 Kraków riot]], [[1937 peasant strike in Poland]]). As if to exacerbate the desperate situation, Lesser Poland witnessed [[1934 flood in Poland|a catastrophic flood]] in 1934, after which the government decided to construct dams on local rivers.

Even though Lesser Poland's countryside was almost exclusively Polish, its towns and cities were inhabited by numerous [[History of the Jews in Poland|Jews]], whose communities were very vibrant. In Kraków, Jews made 25% of the population, in Lublin – 31%, in Kielce – 30%, and in Radom – 32%. Apart from the Jews, and Gypsies scattered in the south, there were no other significant national minorities in interbellum Lesser Poland.

Since Lesser Poland was safely located in the middle of the country, away from both German and Soviet border, in the mid-1930s Polish government initiated one of the most ambitious project of the Second Polish Republic – [[Central Industrial Region (Poland)|Central Industrial Region]], which was located almost exclusively in Lesser Poland. Even though the project was never completed, several plants were constructed, both in [[Old-Polish Industrial Region]], and in other counties of the province. The brand new city of Stalowa Wola was established in dense forests, around a [[Huta Stalowa Wola|steel mill]]. In the late 1930s, Lesser Poland was quickly changing, as construction of several factories, and job opportunities caused influx of rural inhabitants to the towns. Such towns, as [[Dębica]], [[Starachowice]], [[Puławy]], or [[Kraśnik]], quickly grew, with their population rising. Earlier, in 1927, Lesser Poland's [[Dęblin]] became a major center of Polish aviation, when [[Polish Air Force Academy]] was opened there, and in [[Mielec]], [[PZL Mielec]] was opened, which was the largest aerospace manufacturer in Poland. Central Industrial Region, however, did not affect western counties of Lesser Poland, which had already been urbanized and industrialized ([[Bielsko-Biała|Biala Krakowska]], [[Żywiec]], [[Kraków]], [[Jaworzno]], [[Zagłębie Dąbrowskie]], [[Zawiercie]], and [[Częstochowa]]). The government of Poland planned further investments, such as a major East – West rail line, linking [[Volhynia]], and [[Upper Silesia]], but they never materialized. Desperate situation and lack of jobs caused thousands of inhabitants of Lesser Poland (especially from its southern part) to leave their land, mostly for the United States of America,<ref>{{cite web |author=hlclark |url=http://ellis-island-immigration.com/ellis-island-immigrants-italian-irish-and-polish/ |title=Ellis Island Immigrants: Italian, Irish and Polish – Ellis Island Immigration |publisher=Ellis-island-immigration.com |date=8 January 2010 |access-date=8 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815150029/http://ellis-island-immigration.com/ellis-island-immigrants-italian-irish-and-polish/ |archive-date=15 August 2011}}</ref> but also Brazil, and Canada.

[[File:JohannesPaul2-portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Pope John Paul II]] was born in [[Wadowice]], Lesser Poland, in 1920]]

Lesser Poland remained a center of Polish culture, with Kraków's [[Jagiellonian University]], [[AGH University of Science and Technology]], and [[John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin|Catholic University of Lublin]], which was opened in 1918. Several important figures of interbellum political, military, and cultural life of Poland were born in Lesser Poland. Among them were [[Wincenty Witos]], [[Władysław Sikorski]], [[Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski]], [[Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki]], [[Józef Haller]], [[Władysław Belina-Prażmowski]], [[Tadeusz Kutrzeba]], [[Feliks Koneczny]], [[Stefan Żeromski]], [[Tadeusz Peiper]], [[Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska]], [[Witold Gombrowicz]], [[Jan Kiepura]], [[Stefan Jaracz]]. In 1920, in Lesser Poland's town of [[Wadowice]], [[Karol Wojtyla]], the future Pope John Paul II, was born.