Józef Piłsudski (1867-1935) is considered the founder of modern Poland, established in 1918 after more than 120 years of partitions, and one of the most important European statesmen of his time.

Wolfgang Templin shows him as a person full of contradictions – from the leader of Polish socialists before World War I to autocratically ruler the Second Polish Republic. But all this time he stayed away from fascist and totalitarian regimes in other countries. He saw Poland as a home for many nations.

At that time, the Polish right accused him of being a native of today’s Lithuania, of religious indifference and closeness to the socialists. This book brings to life the adventurous biography of Piłsudski. At the same time, it tells the tragic history of the country between the great powers.

Wolfgang Templin – activist of the democratic opposition in the GDR and journalist. In 1985 he co-founded the group of human rights defenders Initiative Frieden und Menschenrechte (Initiative for Peace and Human Rights). He participated in the Round Table meetings. In 2009 he was awarded the Dialogue Award of the Polish-German Society.

Source: https://www.christoph-links-verlag.de/index.cfm?view=3&titel_nr=9152