HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE EDUCATIONAL WORK IN THE POLISH ARMY IN 1921–1939

The moral and patriotic sentiments of the country’s population are an important element of its military potential. In the interwar Poland, about a third of its population were national minorities, often indifferent and sometimes even hostile to the state. The recruits brought these attitudes to the army, which became a real challenge for the country's military-political leadership in the first post-war years. Educational work was supposed to ensure not only order in the army, but also to promote the assimilation and integration of representatives of national minorities into Polish society. Educational work was not centralized, and the command of military units organized it at their own discretion, periodically receiving recommendations from the General Staff. The most effective form of educational work was lectures, conversations, during which recruits were introduced to various aspects of the country's life: political, socio-economic, cultural, religious, etc. At the same time, the officers conducted lectures on historical topics, introducing the servicemen to the history of the creation of the Polish state, its geopolitical position, borders, the history of relations, struggle with neighboring countries, the activities of prominent Polish princes and kings, significant events in the history of the Polish state. Moreover, the commanders of some units, a large proportion of soldiers in which were representatives of national minorities, also held lectures on historical topics to demonstrate that Ukrainians, like other national minorities in Poland, had long lived in harmony with Poles and jointly defended themselves against external enemies. In the period of “rehabilitation”, the main emphasis of educational work was on “state assimilation”, civic education. Lecturers did not conduct lectures on historical topics, except for those dedicated to state or regimental and divisional holidays. Instead, considerable attention was paid to lectures on the state system, the activities of local authorities, the development of agriculture, cooperation, entrepreneurship, that is, those that were supposed to integrate the private into society as much as possible and gradually assimilate him. Keywords: Polish army, educational work, Ukrainians, Ruthenians, Poles, Eastern Galicia.