Prussian Arsenal. Ludwik Mierosławski waved the Black-Red-Gold flag of the German Revolution and the prisoners were celebrated by the public. Speeches during the demonstration were made about a joint fight against the Russian Empire for a free and united Germany and an independent Poland. Karol Libelt noted from Berlin that he was under the impression that the whole people wanted a free and independent Poland to serve as a German shield against Russia and that the Polish question would soon be resolved. Volunteers from Berlin tried to join this legion and support the Polish struggle for liberty as it was expected, the Legion would fight against the Russian rule in Congress Poland, but these volunteers were rejected. Polish emigrants to France, like Adam Czartoryski, who returned to join that legion were allowed to use Prussian railways for free and often received with cheers, e.g. by the revolutionary committees in Cologne French politicians granted money for those trips hoping to remove Polish influence from France, for fear of revolutionary actions. Additionally the French incited Poles to start uprising, as they wanted to secure a diversionary element in case the Holy Alliance would turn its forces against France. Initial phase The uprising in Poznań had started on 20 March 1848, inspired by the events in Berlin, a demonstration in Poznań was organized. As the authorities agreed to creation of delegation that would bring proposals of Polish side to Berlin and to the Prussian King, the Polish National Committee was created in Poznań. The Polish historian Jerzy Zdrada wrote that the delegates postulated independence of Polish territories but arriving in Berlin decided to remove that part of demands and replaced it with “national reorganization”, removal of Prussian military and turning the administration to Poles. Zdrada notes that those demands were to the liking of the Berlin Revolutionary Committee which wanted Poles as a force to fight Russia. According to the English historian Norman Davies, the political demands of the committee were for effective autonomy, not for independence. The organized militia was intended for use not against Prussia but against the threat of Russian intervention. The Committee represented various political orientations and social classes, in order to achieve a coalition character. Its overall character was liberal-democratic, and among land-owners and intellectualists it included a Polish peasant Jan Palacz. Polish Committee restricted its membership to Poles and demands from Germans and Jews to be represented