ABSTRACT
Lwow's appearance and ambiance belied the city's tempestuous past. Even its occupation in 1914-1915 by the imperial Russian armies left no visible traces, the military practices of that time still light years away from the future barbarities of the Germans and the Soviets. The term "semiauthoritarian" fails to describe precisely the Polish political system at the time. The authoritarian element originated in the military coup carried out in May 1926 by Marshal Joseph Pilsudski. Like Poland, Czechoslovakia was "protected" by a military alliance with France. Common sense should have urged the Polish government to render at least moral support to the Czechs. In 1990, with the death of Communism and the birth of real if still feeble democracy in Poland, the Lenin shipyard works in Danzig, the birthplace of Solidarity, was named after Pilsudski. But, during his reign, his personal popularity did not extend to the government as a whole.
