Why Poland was Partitioned: A Story of Recovery, Resistance, and Revenge

Location:

The Kosciuszko Foundation
15 East 65th Street New York, NY 10065

Event:

The Partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793, and 1795 are often considered the consequences of the anarchic abuse of liberty by a privileged and myopic nobility. Even some of America’s Founding Fathers saw Poland as a lesson in how not to build a republic, as they framed the Constitution of the United States. They changed their minds as Poland’s own Constitution – of May 3, 1791 – manifested its immense vitality and potential. The threat the rapid recovery of this free and inclusive Polish nation posed to the Russian and Prussian absolute monarchies explains the vengeful invasion and the partition of 1793. The insurrection led by Tadeusz Kościuszko prompted the final destruction of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795 in a vain effort to extinguish the flame of freedom. Historian and author Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski will also reflect on the resonance of this story of recovery, resistance, and revenge in our times.