Józef Piłsudski in German prisons

Piłsudski and Sosnkowski during their internment in the Magdeburg Fortress, 1918
Piłsudski and Sosnkowski during their internment in the Magdeburg Fortress, 1918

Wesel, 6th to 23rd August 1917


On August 6th, Piłsudski and Sosnkowski were again moved seperately to the fortress in Wesel on the Lower Rhine near the border to Holland. Built around the turn of the 17th to the 18th century, it was one of the largest fortifications in the Rhineland. Today it is used as a cultural centre. Prison conditions were better here. The commander of the fortress even protested on behalf of Piłsudski because he considered it illegal to intern persons who were neither under investigation nor had been sentenced to imprisonment. Years later, in a conversation in Geneva, Piłsudski asked the German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann to send his regards to the commanding officer of the fortress.

Shortly before the two Poles entered the fortress in Wesel, Lieutenant Colonel Nothe, the Chief of Staff to the Warsaw Governor General, made a statement about the reasons for the internment. He wrote:

“(…) the reason for their arrest and internment is that the secret military organization (POW), led by Piłsudski with the aid of Sosnkowski, showed ultranationalist tendencies, and given the circumstances these were also directed against the occupying power.” Furthermore, according to Nothe, “Piłsudski is one of the most important political personalities in Poland, and is regarded by the people as a national hero because he was the founder and leader of the Legions.”

Although both men were not accused of any crime, Nothe ordered Piłsudski to be closely monitored. He warned that he was an adventurous man who was capable of escaping. His blindly devoted aide Sosnkowski must also be held under observation.

Piłsudski stayed for little more than two weeks in Wesel. His premature transfer to Magdeburg is said to have been the work of Poles who were protesting and demanding his release.

 

Media library
  • Flyer: Piłsudski’s Return to Warsaw, 1918

    Flyer: Piłsudski’s Return to Warsaw, 1918
  • Józef Piłsudski and Kazimierz Sosnkowski, 1914

    Commander Józef Piłsudski accompanied by his friend Kazimierz Sosnkowski during their internment in 1914.
  • Flyer: The Regency Council hands Józef Piłsudski the command of the Polish armed forces, 1918

    Flyer: The Regency Council hands Józef Piłsudski the command of the Polish armed forces, 1918
  • Flyer: Commander Piłsudski spends his “name day” in a German prison, 1918

    Flyer: Commander Piłsudski spends his “name day” in a German prison, 1918
  • Flyer to protest against the illegal internment of Piłsudski, 1917

    Flyer: On Sunday 29th of this month we will gather in front of the Adam Mickiewicz Monument at 11 am to protest against the illegal internment of Commander Józef Piłsudski and Chief of Staff of the Fi...
  • Title page of the memoirs of Józef Piłsudski, 1925

    Title page: Józef Piłsudski, Moje pierwsze boje. Wspomnienia spisane w twierdzy magdeburskiej (My First Battles. Memoirs written in the Magdeburg Fortress ), Warszawa: "Bibljoteka Polska", 1925 (Bydgo...
  • Józef Piłsudski and Sosnkowski during their internment in the Magdeburg Fortress, 1918

    Józef Piłsudski and Sosnkowski during their internment in the Magdeburg fortress, 1918
  • The Spandau Fortress Prison

    The Spandau Fortress Prison
  • The main gate of the Citadel in Wesel

    The main gate of the citadel in Wesel, seen from the town side.
  • Title page of the “Kurier Warszawski”, 10th November 1918

    Title page of the “Kurier Warszawski”, 10th November 1918. Powrót komendanta Piłsudskiego (The Return of Commander Piłsudski), special supplement, No. 311, 10.11.1918.
  • The House in the Magdeburg Fortress

    The house in the Magdeburg Fortress where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • The House in the Magdeburg Fortress

    The house in the Magdeburg Fortress where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • A partial view of the Magdeburg Fortress

    A partial view of the Magdeburg Fortress.
  • A plan of the Magdeburg Fortress

    A plan of the Magdeburg Fortress with the house (circled in red),where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Restaurant Hiller in Berlin

    Restaurant Hiller in Berlin
  • A Caricature of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, 1927

    In: Gustaw Rogalski, Album karykatur 1914-1928 Marszałka J. Piłsudskiego: na pamiątkę dziesięciolecia 1918-1928 niepodległości Polski (Caricatures Album of Marshal J. Piłsudski 1914-1928: to celebrate...
  • The House in the Magdeburg Fortress

    The house in the Magdeburg Fortress where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • The House in the Magdeburg Fortress

    The house in the Magdeburg Fortress.
  • The House in the Magdeburg Fortress

    The House in the Magdeburg Fortress.
  • The House in the Magdeburg Fortress

    The House in the Magdeburg Fortress.
  • The House in the Magdeburg Fortress

    The House in the Magdeburg Fortress.
  • The inside of the house in Magdeburg

    The inside of the house in Magdeburg where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • The inside of the house in Magdeburg

    The inside of the house in Magdeburg.
  • Polish guests at the house in the Magdeburg Fortress, where Józef Piłsudski was interned.

    Polish guests at the house in the Magdeburg Fortress, where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Polish guests at the house in the Magdeburg Fortress, where Józef Piłsudski was interned.

    Polish guests at the house in the Magdeburg Fortress, where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Polish guests at the house in Magdeburg where Józef Piłsudski was interned.

    Polish guests at the house in Magdeburg where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Certificate of delivery of the Piłsudski House, 1937

    Certificate of delivery of the Piłsudski House, 1937.
  • Demolition of the house where Piłsudski was interned

    Demolition of the house where Piłsudski was interned.
  • Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned

    Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned

    Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned

    Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Abriss des Piłsudski-Hauses in Magdeburg

    Abriss des Piłsudski-Hauses in Magdeburg.
  • Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned

    Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned

    Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned

    Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned

    Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned

    Demolition of the house where Józef Piłsudski was interned.
  • The Magdeburg House in the Belvedere Park in Warsaw, 1939

    The Magdeburg House in the Belvedere Park in Warsaw where Józef Piłsudski was interned, 1939.
  • Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg

    Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg.
  • Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg

    Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg.
  • Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg

    Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg.
  • Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg

    Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg.
  • Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg

    Today's terrain of the Fortress in Magdeburg.
  • On the way from Magdeburg to Berlin the travelers made a short break in the city Genthin for a breakfast.

    On the way from Magdeburg to Berlin the travelers made a short break in the city Genthin for a breakfast.
  • Gedenktafel an der ersten Wohnstätte in Warschau

    Gedenktafel an der ersten Wohnstätte in Warschau ab 10. November 1918
  • Gedenktafel an der ersten Wohnstätte in Warschau

    Gedenktafel an der ersten Wohnstätte in Warschau ab 10. November 1918
  • Józef Piłsudski - Hörspiel von "COSMO Radio po polsku" auf Deutsch

    In Zusammenarbeit mit "COSMO Radio po polsku" präsentieren wir Hörspiele zu ausgewählten Themen unseres Portals.
  • „Drei Tage im November. Józef Piłsudski und die polnische Unabhängigkeit 1918“

    Von Magdeburg in die Unabhängigkeit Polens - ein Film über einen polnischen Mythos.