EN
The national question was one of the most complicated problems concerning the internal situation in the Second Polish Republic. This also applied to conflicts within the various political camps. For the period between 1926 and 1939 the most important controversies seem to be those that emerged in the ruling camp. They are evidenced by a document issued on 8 September 1934 by Wacław Kostek-Biernacki, Governor of the Polesia Province. At that time Kostek-Biernacki was regarded as one of the most important figures implementing the ethnic policy in practice. The document in question reflects his views in great detail, particularly taking into account the Ukrainian question. It is a manifesto calling for Polonisation, which he had been implementing in Polesia since 1932. In Kostek-Biernacki’s analysis the most important point of reference was the so-called Volhynia experiment, named after the governor Volhynia, Henryk Józewski. What is also interesting is his criticism with regard to some traditional elements of his own political milieu. For the governor of Polesia, projects that could be termed “federationist” were a threat to the Polish state.