January 1. In
Tarnopol, a process of 51 members of the
Communist Party of Western Ukraine ends. Izrael Wuhl is sentenced to 8 years in prison, Himmelstein Szapse – to 6 years. Altogether, 37 persons are sentenced. According to the government's statistics, as for January 1, 1938, there are 44 200 motor vehicles in Poland, including 9876 motorcycles. In 1937, 194,000 tourists visited the
Eastern borderlands of Poland, with 66,000 of them visiting
Wilno,
January 28. Józef Beck gives a speech at the League of Nations session in Geneva
January 29. Empress of
Iran,
Tadj ol-Molouk, comes to Poland. In southern Poland, in
Drohobycz and
Boryslaw, violent hurricane destroys several oil rigs,
March 11. Herbert Hoover visits the
Jagiellonian University in Kraków. A soldier of the
Border Defence Corps is killed on the Polish – Lithuanian border by Lithuanian troops,
March 13. Józef Beck leaves Rome. On the same day in
Lutsk, the meeting of the Association of Reserve Officers takes place,
March 18. In
Wilno and Warsaw, thousands of inhabitants take part in an anti-Lithuanian demonstration. Among Polish officials present at the demonstration in Wilno, is the commander-in-chief of the
Polish Army,
Edward Śmigły-Rydz, who had come to the city by train at 7:45 a.m.,
March 19. The government of
Lithuania accepts Polish ultimatum,
March 27. In
Lwów, 27 members of the
Communist Party of Western Ukraine are sentenced to several years in prison. Sara Bryn is sentenced to 10 years, Rybka Malinowitzer and Gerdie Zimmer to 7 years, and Dora Eichenbaum to 5 years,
March 27. In
Lwów, and other cities of southern Poland, hundreds of Jewish refugees from Austria arrive (see:
Anschluss),
March 28.
Franciszek Charwat arrives in
Kaunas as the first Polish diplomatic representative in Lithuania,
March 30. President
Ignacy Mościcki grants amnesty to 134 criminal prisoners. On the same day,
Association of Poles in Czechoslovakia issues a statement in which it demands autonomy for the Polish minority of
Czechoslovakia. First telephone conversation between Poland and Lithuania takes place,
March 31. Poland and
Lithuania establish diplomatic relationships,
April
April 1.
Territorial reform of Poland, in which borders of several Western and Central Voivodeships change considerably,
April 19. Inhabitants of Wilno celebrate the 19th anniversary of the city's liberation from the Soviets.
Dar Pomorza returns to the port of
Gdynia, after a 216-day cruise,
April 20. The outbreak of an epidemic of
typhus in the area of Jaworów. In Wilno, eight students of Jewish high schools are sentenced for membership of communist organizations,
April 21. Polish mass-media inform that the population of the country is 34,534,000,
April 23. In Warsaw, 39 communists are sentenced to several years in prison. South of
Muszyna, Czechoslovak border guards shoot a Polish balloon Moscice,
April 25. Minister
Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski visits Polish
Upper Silesia. Local authorities in Wilno allow publication of Lithuanian minority newspapers and magazines,
May 20 Romanian prime minister, Patriarch
Miron Cristea, comes to Poland. A transport of bears from the Soviet Union comes to
Białowieża Forest. Some of
Josephine Baker's possessions are stolen during her stay in Lwów,
May 21. Minister Józef Beck leaves Warsaw for
Stockholm,
May 22. A Ukrainian Congress, planned in
Lwów to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the creation of
Prosvita, is banned by the Polish government. Romanian prime minister visits Kraków. In Warsaw, Polish lawyers present to the army six anti-aircraft guns,
May 25. Large fires destroy about 100 buildings in two villages near Wilno. In Stockholm, Józef Beck meets
Gustaf V. A meeting of
Polish Gymnastic Society Sokół, planned in Lwów, is called off,
May 26. Meeting of Reserve Officers takes place in Lwów, attended by Marshall Edward Rydz-Śmigły. Prime Minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski tours
Greater Poland,
May 31. A new ambassador of Romania comes to Warsaw. Works on the
Warta –
Gopło canal begin in
Kujavia.
June
June 1. Fire in the biggest Polish glass manufacturer, Kara, in
Piotrków Trybunalski. Polish minority parties win local elections in
Załozie, garnering almost 11,000 votes,
June 7. An extraordinary session of the
Sejm begins in Warsaw. A hydrobiological station is opened in
Pinsk, as the third one in Poland, after stations in
Hel, and at the lake
Wigry,
June 8. A Polish delegation flies to
Kaunas, to discuss the opening of air connection between Poland and Lithuania,
June 9. Two planes of the
Luftwaffe enter Polish airspace near
Katowice,
June 11. A train with remains of Saint
Andrzej Bobola comes to the border station of
Zebrzydowice, greeted by thousands of faithful,
June 14. Józef Beck visits
Tallinn, where he dines with Estonian minister of foreign affairs,
Karl Seiter,
June 15. Józef Beck has breakfast with President of Estonia,
Konstantin Päts. The first customs office is opened in
Landwarow, on the Polish–Lithuanian border,
June 19. Marshall Edward Rydz-Śmigły visits Polish Pomerania,
June 21. The school year ends in Poland. Five peasants drown while crossing the
Bug in the village of Orla,
Brzesc County,
June 22. Colonel
Walery Sławek is elected Marshall of the
Sejm. According to government statistics, there are 279,799 registered unemployed in Poland. President Moscicki leaves for vacation in
Opatija,
June 24. A train from Kraków to Lwów derails in Biezanow on the outskirts of Kraków, 25 people are injured.
Gdynia is reported to be the biggest port of the
Baltic Sea,
July 13. Józef Beck comes to
Riga, on a plane from Wilno, with a 20-minute break at Kaunas. Flood warning in southern Poland,
July 14. Józef Beck visits
Jelgava, where he dines with
Kārlis Ulmanis. Five people die when a car crashes with a train in
Sosnowiec. Secret funeral of Stanisław August Poniatowski takes place in his hometown of
Wolczyn,
July 15. The number of bicycles in Poland exceeds one million. A direct air connection between Warsaw and Kaunas is opened. In
Trans-Olza, Czechoslovak police arrest a number of Polish-minority activists,
July 21. Near
Pinsk, a skirmish between local police and a group of communists takes place. The communists wanted to illegally cross Polish–Soviet border,
July 22. Three crew members die in a crash of a Polish Airlines plane near
Cernauti.
July 25. Association of Ukrainian Merchants in
Tarnopol announces a project "Ukrainians buy only at Ukrainian stores",
July 28. After a two-week delay, the Polish government officially informs the public about the funeral of Stanisław August Poniatowski, which took place on July 14,
July 29. The opening ceremony of
Biały Słoń, a campus of the Polish Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory, takes place on the peak of
Pip Ivan,
July 30. Polish press announces that between mid-1935, and mid-1938, only 107 kilometres of concrete roads were built in the whole country.,
August 7. Seventeen people are injured in a rail crash near
Sochaczew,
August 8.
Union of Poles in Germany protests against questionnaires, suggested by the
Nazi Germany government for the German census. The questionnaires exclude the possibility of stating one's nationality. In Łódź, 1600 tailors go on strike,
August 9. A delegation of officers of the French Navy comes to Warsaw. In Gdynia, Józef Beck meets with
Duff Cooper,
August 10. Edward Rydz-Śmigły visits Poznań. Polish press informs that Soviet authorities still have not released three young Polish gliders, who had mistakenly landed in the Soviet Union during a storm on June 26, 1938. The whereabouts and the fate of the gliders are unknown,
August 11. Meeting of General Council of
Camp of National Unity begins in Warsaw. Seven children from
Kowel county,
Volhynia, aged 8–11, died after an explosion of a World War I bomb, found by them in the ground. A fire in the town of
Łosice destroys 25% of the buildings,
August 12. A delegation of three
French destroyers, Chacal, Jaguar, and Leopard, leaves
Gdynia,
August 15. The Day of the Polish Soldier is celebrated across the country.
August 19. Polish press informs that the total cost of
Gwiazda Polski's the stratospheric flight is 360,000
zlotys. A record number of tourists comes to
Hel for summer vacation,
August 20. A delegation of Polish Air Force, with General
Ludomił Rayski, visits
Sofia. Polish government announces plan of construction of a highway from
Sandomierz, the capital of the
Central Industrial Area, to Warsaw,
August 23. Mass anti-German demonstrations in
Gdynia,
Toruń, and other cities of Polish Pomerania, after a group of Nazi activists from
Free City of Danzig threw a Polish railwayman Tadeusz Winnicki under a train, and as a result, the victims' legs were amputated. Sixteen passengers are seriously injured in a bus crash in
Ożarów,
August 24. Polish Government confiscates a letter of Bishop
Andrzej Szeptycki, which criticizes destruction of Orthodox churches,
September 5. According to government statistics,
Gdynia is the most expensive Polish city, while
Wilno is the cheapest,
September 7. Józef Beck leaves Warsaw, and via Berlin goes to
Bern, for a session of the
League of Nations,
September 8. Street clashes between Poles and Jews in
Lida,
September 10. Polish press informs that construction of the new rail line, between Polish
Upper Silesia, and
Volhynia, has already started. The 400-kilometer line will go from
Tarnowskie Góry to
Lutsk, via
Sandomierz, and
Stalowa Wola. Three people die in a motorcycle accident near Lwów,
September 19. In Lutsk, a military parade takes place, to mark the end of the manoeuvres,
September 20. Additional units of the Polish Army secure Polish-Czechoslovak border,
September 21. Polish envoy to
Prague,
Kazimierz Papée, demands from government of
Czechoslovakia solution of the problem of its Polish minority in the same way as the problem of German minority was solved,
September 22. In
Trans-Olza, local Poles fight with Czechoslovakian police and army during street manifestations which demand the cession of the area to Poland. On the same day in
Warsaw, 250 000 people demand the cession of Trans-Olza. It is the biggest demonstration of the
Second Polish Republic,
September 23. The Soviet government states that if Polish troops enter Czechoslovakia, Moscow will void the
Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact,
September 24. At
Warsaw's Royal Castle, the meeting of key Polish figures (Józef Beck, Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Ignacy Mościcki, Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski) takes place, during which the situation in Czechoslovakia is discussed,
September 25. In
Zaleszczyki, a bridge over the
Dniestr, connecting Poland and Romania, is opened,
September 26. A LOT plane from Warsaw to Budapest is not allowed to fly over Czechoslovakian territory. A clash between Czech soldiers and Poles from Trans-Olza takes place near
Zebrzydowice,
September 27. A demonstration in
Cieszyn, during which local Poles demand the cession of Trans-Olza. Construction of a car factory begins in Lublin,
September 28. Land communication between Poland and Czechoslovakia is closed,
September 30. Polish government demands the cession of Trans-Olza.
October
October 1. Czechoslovakian government agrees to Polish demands, and
Trans-Olza is ceded to Poland, and demonstrations take place in several Polish cities,
October 6. Polish press speculates about possible creation of Zaolzie Voivodeship, which besides Trans-Olza, would include counties from
Lesser Poland and Polish
Upper Silesia,
October 7. Annual Wine Harvest Festival ends in
Zaleszczyki,
October 10. Polish Army enters
Bogumin and
Karwina. Minister
Józef Beck visits Trans-Olza. Ten new elementary schools are opened in
Polesie,
October 11. Upon decree of President
Ignacy Mościcki, Trans-Olza becomes part of Poland's
Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Polish press speculates about annexation of
Spis, and
Orava – altogether 2,400 km2., with 120 000 inhabitants.
October 12. Józef Beck is awarded
Order of the White Eagle, by President Ignacy Mościcki. Marshall Rydz-Śmigły visits Trans-Olza,
October 13. In Lwów, Ukrainian rally takes place, followed by Polish counter-demonstration,
October 14. Unsuccessful stratospheric flight of the
Gwiazda Polski balloon. Plans of construction of a motorway Warsaw – Łódź are announced,
October 29. Nazi Germany government expels some 12 000 – 17 000 Jews with Polish citizenship to Poland,
November
November 1. Upon decree of the President of Poland,
Jaworzyna and parts of
Spisz become part of Poland,
November 3. A new, concrete road between
Pinsk and
Kobryn is opened, after four years of construction,
November 4. Due to lack of passengers, all domestic LOT Polish Airlines are closed for the winter, except for the connection Warsaw – Poznań,
November 5. In Prague, a joint Polish-Czechoslovak commission draws the new border between the two countries, in the area of
Jaworzyna,
November 24. All
Freemasons Lodges in Poland are closed by the President of Poland. Prime Minister
Felicjan Sławoj-Składkowski hands his resignation to the president
Ignacy Mościcki, and Mościcki does not accept it,
November 28.
Sejm and
Senate convene in Warsaw for the first time after the
election,
November 29. Opening of a 22-kilometer rail line
Żory–
Pszczyna,
November 30. Polish press informs that only 30 citizens of Poland own their private aeroplanes.
December
December 2. Speaking in
Sejm, Minister
Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski describes a plan of development of Poland for the years 1939–1954,
December 5. Speaker of Polish Parliament,
Vasyl Mudry of Ukrainian minority demands in his parliamentary speech autonomy for the Ukrainians. In the port of Danzig, Polish ship SS Tczew sinks and two people die,
December 8. Three people die in a car crash near
Gniezno,
December 9. In Warsaw, a delegation of Polish civil servants and bank workers presents to the Army a
PZL.37 Łoś, purchased with the money collected by them,
December 12. A movie theatre burns down in
Gdynia,
December 13. Papal Nuncio
Filippo Cortesi comes to Lwów. A seismic observatory of Warsaw University is opened in Warsaw,
December 16. According to the Polish press, there still are around 5,700 Jews, camping in Zbąszyń on the Polish-German border. A cold wave sweeps over Poland, the temperature in Lwów goes down to minus 21 degrees C,
December 18. Local elections in several Polish cities,
December 19. Three miners die in coal mine Kazimierz in
Sosnowiec. A new rail and road bridge over the
Vistula is opened in
Płock,
December 21. Tatra Park of Nature is opened in
Jaworzyna,
December 24. Fire in the left-wing of the
Nieśwież Castle. Primate of Poland
August Hlond addresses the nation through the
radio,
December 27. SS Tczew, which sank in Danzig on December 5 is raised and transported to Gdynia for overhaul. Residents of
Greater Poland celebrate 20th anniversary of
Greater Poland Uprising,
December 28. Four people die hit by a train on a railroad crossing in
Żyrardów,
April 24. In games of the Ekstraklasa, Cracovia Kraków beats at home Warta Poznań 5-2 (att. 3000), ŁKS Łódź ties at home with Wisła Kraków 0-0, Polonia Warszawa loses at home to Ruch Chorzów 0-3 (att. 5000), AKS Chorzów beats in Chorzów Warszawianka Warszawa 3–0, and Śmigły Wilno loses at home to Pogoń Lwów 0-1 (att. 5000). In international lawn tennis game in Warsaw, Poland beats Germany 6–1,
May 3. In several Polish cities and towns, the National Running Day is celebrated to commemorate the
Polish Constitution. The biggest runs take place in
Poznań and
Slonim. Polish national soccer team leaves Poland, heading to
Strasbourg for a World Cup game vs Brazil,
May 22. In an international football friendly, Poland beats in Warsaw Ireland 6-0 (att. 20 000),
May 25. In
Milan, Italy beats Poland 3–2 in the second round of the
Davis Cup,
May 26. In games of the Ekstraklasa, Śmigły Wilno beats at home Wisła Kraków 1-0 (att. 3000), Warszawianka Warszawa beats in Warsaw Pogoń Lwów 2-0 (att. 1500), Ruch Chorzów beats at home AKS Chorzów 3-2 (att. 13 000), Warta Poznań beats at home ŁKS Łódź 6–2, and Cracovia Kraków beats in Kraków Polonia Warszawa 3–2,
May 27. The national football team of Poland begins a training camp in
Wągrowiec, preparing for the
1938 FIFA World Cup in France,
June 15. In Poznań, Polish boxing team beats France 14 -2,
June 19. In games of the Ekstraklasa, Warta Poznań ties at home 3–3 with Warszawianka (att. 4000), Ruch Chorzów beats at home Cracovia 4-0 (att. 10 000), ŁKS Łódź ties at home with Śmigły Wilno 1-1 (att. 4000), and Wisła Kraków beats in Kraków Pogoń Lwów 1-0 (att. 3000). In international track and field-friendly, Poland beats France 119,5 – 91,5.
Ignacy Tłoczyński becomes lawn tennis champion of Poland, after beating
Jozef Hebda,
June 26. In games of the Ekstraklasa, Cracovia beats at home Ruch Chorzów 3-2 (att. 7000), in Chorzów AKS beats Polonia Warszawa 1-0 (att. 6000), in Wilno, Śmigły beats ŁKS Łódź 4-0 (att. 4000), in Lwów Pogon beats Wisła Kraków 2–1, and in Warsaw, Warszawianka beats Warta Poznań 2-1 (att. 4000). KPW Poznań becomes handball champion of Poland, 2nd is AZS Warszawa, 3rd Cracovia, and 4th ŁKS Łódź.
July
July 16. Swimming championships of Poland begin in
Bielsko-Biała,
July 29. International female lawn tennis match Poland – Czechoslovakia begins in Warsaw,
August
August 1. In a two-day track and field match in
Cernauti, Poland beats Romania 96 – 48. In a friendly football match, Ruch Chorzów beats at home
SK Jugoslavija 5–2,
August 2. In a friendly football match, SK Jugoslavija beats ŁKS Łódź 2–0,
August 3. In a friendly football game in Warsaw, Poland loses to
Hungaria Budapest 1-3 (att. 6000),
August 5. In a friendly football match in Łódź, Poland beats Hungaria Budapest 1–0,
August 7. In an international boxing match in
Venice, Poland loses to Italy 4–12. In semifinal games of
President of Poland's Football Cup, Lwów beats at home Łódź 3–2, and Kraków beats Warsaw 3-2 (in Warsaw). Syrena Warsaw becomes team cycling champion of Poland,
August 10. In an international track and field match in
Oslo, Poland beats Norway 95–93. In
Rimini, Poland ties 8–8 with Italy, in the second leg of a boxing match,
August 21. In games of the Ekstraklasa, Warta Poznań beats at home AKS Chorzów 4–3, Cracovia beats ŁKS Łódź 6–2, Wisła Kraków beats Warszawianka Warszawa 3–2, Polonia Warszawa beats Śmigły Wilno 3–0, and Ruch Chorzów beats Pogoń Lwów 3–1,
August 29. In an international lawn tennis game in
Žilina,
Czechoslovakia ties 3–3 with Poland. In games of the
Ekstraklasa, ŁKS Łódź ties with Warta Poznań 0-0, Ruch Chorzów beats at home AKS Chorzów 4-2 (att. 15 000), Pogoń Lwów beats Warszawianka Warszawa 3-0 (att. 3500), Wisła Kraków beats Śmigły Wilno 4–1, and Cracovia ties with Polonia Warszawa 2-2. In qualifiers to the Ekstraklasa,
Garbarnia Kraków beats at home
Union Touring Łódź 2–1, and in
Luck, local team PKS loses to
Śląsk Świętochłowice 1-4 (att. 3000),
November 1. In a postponed game of the Ekstraklasa,
Cracovia loses at home to
Polonia Warszawa 0-2 (att. 4000),
November 5. In Poznań, Poland loses to Italy 1–6 in a wrestling match,
November 13. In international football game, which takes place in
Dublin, Poland loses to Ireland 2–3, with goals by
Ernest Wilimowski and
Leonard Piątek. In Breslau, in a double boxing game, Germany beats Poland 12–4. In Toruń, Polish "B" boxing team beats Latvia 12–4,
Final matches of Polish boxing championship begin, with such teams, as Elektrit Wilno, IKP Łódź, Lechia Lwów, Okęcie Warszawa, Wisła Kraków, LSW Lublin, HCP Poznań, Goplania Inowrocław, Warta Poznań, Strzelec Janowa Dolina and IKB Świętochłowice. The championship is won by Warta Poznań,