kingdom · Poland, Lithuania and Russia

Kingdom of Poland (1916-1918)

1916 CE – 1918 CE · capital Warsaw

A kingdom without a king, created by Germany and Austria-Hungary in occupied Poland during the First World War, which handed power to Pilsudski in 1918.

Origins

After driving the Russians out of Congress Poland in 1915, the Central Powers proclaimed an independent Kingdom of Poland by the Act of 5 November 1916, hoping to recruit Polish soldiers. Its borders and future king were left undecided.

Rule and society

A Provisional Council of State, including Jozef Pilsudski, was set up in 1917, but real power remained with the German governor-general in Warsaw. When Pilsudski's legionnaires refused an oath of loyalty to the Central Powers, he was interned at Magdeburg. A Regency Council of Archbishop Aleksander Kakowski, Prince Zdzislaw Lubomirski and Jozef Ostrowski then governed, building Polish courts, schools and offices.

Decline and legacy

As Germany collapsed in November 1918, the Regency Council handed command of the army and then all authority to Pilsudski, freshly released, and dissolved itself. Its institutions passed to the Second Polish Republic.

Lineage

Kingdom of Poland (1916-1918)Second Polish Republic 1918 CE – 1939 CE

Connections (2)

Kingdom of Poland (1916-1918) was a protectorate of German Empire1916 CE – 1918 CE
Kingdom of Poland (1916-1918) was a protectorate of Austro-Hungarian Empire1916 CE – 1918 CE

More states of Poland, Lithuania and Russia →

Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Poland (1916-1918). In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-poland-1916-1918
MLA: “Kingdom of Poland (1916-1918).” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-poland-1916-1918. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Poland (1916-1918).” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-poland-1916-1918.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Poland (1916-1918)’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-poland-1916-1918 (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻