Pamiętniki Macieja Rataja jako źródło poznania II Rzeczpospolitej. Historia rękopisu i jego wydania

Maciej Rataj “Memoirs 1918–1927” is one of the main sources of learning about the political history of interwar Poland. This article presents the biography of Rataj, the history of the publication, the nature and content of the diaries, including the new, supplemented and revised edition of the Polish History Museum from 2021, prepared by the author of the paper. Rataj’s notes do not have a uniform form, and the various years resemble both a diary and a diary. Due to its character, “Diaries” is a very reliable source which gives you a chance to look behind the scenes of the work of the parliament, which is deprived of a permanent majority, and subsequent, frequently changing offices. The “Diary” allows us to learn about the mechanisms of exercising power in that epoch as heroic as it is chaotic. It is a testimony to Rataj’s sense of observation and his often backbreaking efforts to strengthen the young state.