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Józef Piłsudski in German prisons

Magdeburg is known in Poland above all as the place where Józef Piłsudski was interned. The fortress there is a frequent reminder of the imprisonment of the leader of the Polish legions and one of the fathers of Polish independence. But the city was not the only one where Piłsudski was held prisoner. Most of the buildings in which Piłsudski was imprisoned no longer exist today. The fortresses in Wesel and Magdeburg were destroyed years ago. The small wooden house in which Piłsudski was interned during his time in Magdeburg, also fell into disrepair before it was handed over to Poland in the 1930s and finally rebuilt near the Belvedere in Warsaw as a precious historical testimony to the work of the man who was already revered as a cult figure during his lifetime. The future Marshal of Poland was detained for almost one and a half years from 22nd July 1917 to 8th November 1918.

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

Public domain

Meanwhile the revolution was also raging in Magdeburg and communications with other parts of Germany were in danger of being severed. Everything happened in a rush. The two Poles only had time to take what they needed. Their remaining belongings were later to be forwarded to them (the manuscript of the book “My First Battles” did not reach Piłsudski until 1924). The liberated prisoners and Count Kessler were picked up in a car by Major Paul van Gülpen, then head of transport. In his report on the event published in 1936, van Gülpen presumably concealed the role of Kessler, because Kessler was no longer welcome in the Third Reich after his exile in 1933 or because he wanted to emphasize his own contribution in releasing the leading icon of the neighbouring country.

It was difficult for anyone to get into the fortress, and here a resolute and courageous female stenographer accompanying van Gülpen, proved to be extremely helpful.

“The streets were full of angry crowds”, recalled van Gülpen. “The stenographer, who tried to lead the vehicle over the river bridge to the citadel, pressed a few pieces of cloth to the car and screamed as if her skin had been burnt off: Move over, move over! We're on our way to the citadel to free political prisoners!”

After meticulous preparation, van Gülpen received permission from the military authorities to travel by car from Magdeburg to Berlin (no train journey was possible because of the revolution). He had spare wheels and firearms with him in his Audi, and the spare wheels in particular were to prove their worth. Travellers often had to stop and change their “war wheels” because they were so poor in quality. Van Gülpen recalled the episode as follows:

“During the journey Piłsudski was given the chance of discovering the glamour and misery of being a motorist. At the time pneumatic tyres were only available as surrogates in Germany, and tyres were said to be filled with a mush of rotten potatoes. As long as they didn't heat up it was very comfortable, but as soon as your speed exceeded 40 km/h, the heat swelled the mash, causing the tyres to burst. The car immediately came to a halt, leaving stinking potato pancakes lying around in the road over the last twenty metres. When such an accident happened in the middle of a village, dogs would run out from all directions and throw themselves on the burnt potato remains, before uttering howls of pain and running away with burnt mouths.”

On the way the travellers had a morning break in the small town of Genthin, before arriving in Berlin on the evening of 8th November where they made a brief stop at van Gülpen's apartment at Reichstrasse 9 for cognac and an entry in the guest book. Here the etiquette of the aristocratic pre-revolutionary world, in which officers, even among enemies, were initially gentlemen, still applied. The former prisoners then moved into an apartment on the first floor of the luxurious Hotel Continental in Neustädtische Kirchstrasse.