Act of 5th November

The Act of 5th November of 1916 was a declaration of Emperors Wilhelm II of Germany and Franz Joseph of Austria.

Even though the act itself expressed very little in concrete terms, its declaration is regarded as one of main factors in the Polish efforts to regain independence.

[1][2][3][4][5][6] Following the declaration, on 6 December 1916, the Provisional Council of State was created, with Waclaw Niemojowski as its president, and Józef Piłsudski as chairman of its Military Commission.

At the same time, US President Woodrow Wilson also publicly expressed his support of a free Polish state.

Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918 ending the World War I, in spite of the previous initial total dependence of the kingdom on its sponsors, it ultimately served against their intentions as the cornerstone proto state of the nascent Second Polish Republic, the latter composed also of territories never intended by the Central Powers to be ceded to Poland.