The Kingdom of Poland declared on this day, 1916

 Flag of the Kingdom of Poland.

Poland, as a monarchy, was declared to be independent by the Central Powers during World War One on this day.

One of the oddities of history is that it was Germany and Austria that created a Polish state, albeit one of somewhat questionable independence, during the First World War, out of territory that had been part of Polish Imperial Russia.  The Poles themselves were divided in loyalty during the war, including those who favored independence but opposed the Central Powers.  The Poland that would emerge after the war would do so after a tense period of time in which German forces continued to have an influence in the immediate postwar period as the Polish factions worked out their differences.

The Act of November 5, 1916.

Germany and Imperial Austria, in the Act of November 5, promised to create an independent Polish Kingdom out of Congress Poland.  The declaration was not entirely genuine, in the case of Germany, which actually promised to annex some of the territory which it seemed to be promising to a new Polish state.  No Polish government was created following the act and an effort by German authorities to recruit for a Polish army devoid of a government met with protests in Warsaw.

By this point in the war nearly every combatant was promising Poland some sort of independence following the war, and both the Allies and the Central Powers would soon be fielding some sort of Polish forces.

Movies In History: The Grand Budapest Hotel

It may seem odd to some to see this film listed here, but it shouldn't.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is an Academy Award nominated film that was a bit of a surprise hit last year.  At least its a surprise to me, as it's the sort of unusual "small" story that we don't see get much attention anymore. The film itself almost recalls movies of the 1930s, during which it is set, more than contemporary movies.  And perhaps its a bit of a tribute to those films really.

It's masterfully done as well. Set in a fictional Eastern European country that we're lead to believe must have been part of the defunct Austro Hungarian Empire prior to its World War One collapse, the movies does a surprisingly good job of capturing the feel of those countries which had only lately entered into independence.  The Austro Hungarian Empire being multinational in nature, the mixed culture of those countries and those in its influence and orbit, such as Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and so on, is very well captured.  The film features a fair amount of the use of the German language. French shows up as well.  Last names are Slavic, German and perhaps Turkish.  The depiction of the cities is appropriately ornate.  The uniformed services shown in the film are also appropriately late Austrian in appearance. 

This film is in many ways truly odd, and very well done.  It is funny, but some of the humor is really off color and not appropriate for younger audiences. That comment would also apply to some of the things depicted in the film. But an American film pitched at a modern audience which features an Eastern European theme, set in the very early 1930s, is a real surprise, and that it did well is an even bigger surprise.