Wiwat Konstytucja! Niech nas uczy nadal: An Analysis of the Interpretation of Poland’s Constitution of 3 May on the Eve of its Bicentennial

Abstract

Since its adoption in 1791, the Ustawa rządowa (Government Act) of the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth, colloquially referred to as the Konstytucja 3 Maja (Constitution of 3 May), has been at the epicenter of debate. Just as with similar paramount legislation, the intentions and interpretation of the document have been in question since its conception. This phenomenon was especially present within the Polish context because, for most of its history following the adoption of this Constitution, Poland did not exist as an independent and sovereign nation. The largest contributing factor to the historic memory surrounding the May 3rd Constitution can be attributed to the subsequent partitions and foreign occupations of Poland, which suppressed, and in some cases actively banned, celebrations of the Constitution.2 This interdiction guaranteed that, with every passing anniversary of May 3rd, the Constitution was elevated to an almost martyr-like status. Therefore, the vision of Poland the Constitution promised has not only been repeatedly interpreted throughout Polish history, but has arguably become representative of a mysticized, unattainable ideal.

This paper will explore the May 3rd Constitution, and what it represented to the Polish people, in 1991—the bicentennial of its inauguration. 1991, however, represents much more than just the two-hundred-year anniversary of the Constitution. Only five months earlier on December 22nd, Lech Wałęsa, co-founder and leader of Solidarność (Solidarity), the first non-Communist labor union in the Eastern bloc, was sworn into the office of President of Poland—an event many consider the formal end of the Communist People’s Republic of Poland (PRL), and the beginning of today’s Republic of Poland. 1991 was therefore a crucial year in Poland’s postcommunist development. Because the bicentennial of the Constitution was occurring simultaneously with this development, many influential figures began employing the document to further their own vision of a post-communist Poland. By analyzing articles regarding the May 3rd Constitution from three contemporary prominent Polish newspapers, each representing a different segment of Polish political ideology (Christian democratic, left-wing, and centrist), this paper will demonstrate how, by 1991, the Constitution symbolized a venerable Polish tradition, and how the rhetoric of this tradition was used during this pivotal stage of post-Communist development.