EN
The article consists of two parts. The first one outlines the Polish political relations with the state of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia from the Peace of Thorn (1466) to the Treaty of Cracow (1525), while the second one is the Polish historians’ assessment of action and decisions taken by the Polish political elites in the early 16th c. on the secularization of the Teutonic State in Prussia and turning Prussia into a secular fief of the Polish Kingdom. Some historians have negatively assessed the activities of the King and his advisers in 1525. They pictured the consequences of those decisions in the long-term perspective (i.e. independence of the Duchy of Prussia, creation of the Kingdom of Prussia, participation of Prussia in the partitions of Poland in the late 18th c.). This view was formulated by the following historians: Michał Bobrzyński, Wacław Sobieski, Ludwik Kolankowski, Władysław Pociecha, Jacek Wijaczka. Karol Górski and Marian Biskup presented a more moderate position. Already in 19th c. Joachim Lelewel found positive effects of the Treaty of Cracow (1525) for the Polish Kingdom in 16th c. His view was shared- mainly in the 20th c. – by Bronisław Dembinski, Oskar Halecki, Adam Vetulani, Władyslaw Konopczyński, Zygmunt Wojciechowski, Andrzej Wyczański and Maria Bogucka.