Belarussian and Jewish Issues in the Political and Legal Thought of Polish Groups in Vilnius in the First Years of Independence – Selected Issues

Abstract

The position of Polish groups of interwar Vilnius (in the first years of independence) on the issues presented in this article was varied. National Democracy did not regard Belarusians as an independent nation and denied them the right to an independent state. Democrats, on the other hand, were in favor of equal rights for all nations and granted Belarusians the right to their own culture and education. In a similar vein, the Democrats, along with Vilnius conservatives, also expressed their opinions on the Jewish question. Representatives of National Democracy found a lot of space for this issue in their statements. In the context of the dispute about Vilnius, it was emphasized that the Jews would opt for Lithuania and Vilnius’s membership of the Lithuanian state.