Poles in Belgium and the question of rebirth of an independent Polish state

Abstract

The issue of the participation of Polish political emigration in the struggle for freedom and its comprehensive activity in the political, scientific and cultural spheres are reflected in the Polish (European) history, thus providing valuable research material for future generations. Polish post-partition emigres, especially after the major national uprisings, was concentrated mainly in France, England and Belgium. Polish emigration in Belgium, similar to some extent to emigration in France – albeit smaller in number – was constituted by the Polish colony, represented, among others, by soldiers seeking refuge after the November Uprising (including several dozen officers, e.g. Ignacy Kruszewski, Feliks Prot de Pruszyński, Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki, Władysław Zamoyski) and representatives of culture and science, Joachim Lelewel (an outstanding Polish historian, spiritual guide in an exile democratic camp), Stanisław Worcell (thinker and social activist of the Great Emigration) and many other outstanding Poles. The aim of this article is to present the role of Polish emigration in Belgium, its contribution to the struggle for Poland’s independence, and to draw attention to the scholarly dispute surrounding the Great Emigration between Polish and Belgian historians regarding the effects of “politics in exile” and the question of the heroism of Polish patriots in exile. These considerations are a contribution to a broader discussion and an encouragement to a deeper penetration of the literature (source materials) on the Great Emigration, especially, if it concerns Belgium, available in foreign languages – French and Dutch.