Warsaw Uprising Research Articles

Czesław Miłosz wobec przemocy i wojny

This article reviews Irena Grudzińska-Gross’s book Miłosz i długi cień wojny [Milosz and the Long Shadow of War], which was published by Pogranicze in 2020. The reviewer analyses the definition of violence and its relation to Polish narratives of wartime solidarity seen as heroism. To this end, she examines the work of Czesław Miłosz, written during the Second World War, and later texts thematising the war experience. An additional layer of the publication is the poet’s take on the Jewish question – both in the context of Miłosz’s poetic works and the subsequent discussions they provoked. The author, taking into account Miłosz’s autobiogeographical predispositions, also analyses the changing images of Warsaw in his works as a space where the poet spent most of the war. For this reason, she examines the poet’s attitude to the Warsaw Uprising and the public perception of his decision not to join the cause.

Memories of Lev Bykovski about the Warsaw uprising: biographical and local lore dimension

The article analyzes the memoirs of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, written by one of the most prominent Ukrainian bibliologists, librarians and bibliographers – Lev Ustymovych Bykowski (1895–1992), who also joined the librarianship of Czechoslovakia and Poland and served as director of the Warsaw Public Library in the most dramatic moments in the history of the Polish capital – the anti-Nazi uprising. Among the figures mentioned in the memoir are: Janina Peszynska (1887-1949) – head of the Arts department of the Public Library and an active participant in the Warsaw Uprising; Regina Tchaikovsky – daughter of famous writer Alexander Sventokhovsky; Professor Jerzy Kowalski (1893-1948) – classical philologist, writer, professor of Lviv and Wroclaw universities; writer Maria Dombrovska (1889-1960); Mayor of Warsaw Julian Kulski; Prince Victor Viktorovich Kochubey (1893-1953); former minister of UPR Stanislav Stempovsky – former minister of UPR and others. In the context of local lore, the events around the Warsaw Public Library and the situation on Marshalkowska, Koszykova, Poznanska, Emilia Plater, Goza, etc. are most noted. There is also a lot of evidence in the memoir of Warsaw’s cultural institutions and their condition after the uprising.

Nieopiewani bohaterowie tragicznego pokolenia

Praca jest rozszerzonym zapisem wykładu wygłoszonego podczas II Międzynarodowej Konferencji Związku Lekarzy Polskich w Chicago pt. „Patriotyzm. Dziedzictwo. Medycyna”, zorganizowanej 30.09.2019 r. z okazji 80. rocznicy wybuchu II wojny światowej i 75. rocznicy Powstania Warszawskiego [1]. Autor, syn polskiego małżeństwa lekarskiego, emerytowany profesor Columbia College Chicago, na przykładzie biografii swoich rodziców przedstawił walkę o ocalenie człowieczeństwa i humanistycznych wartości zawodu lekarza w warunkach nazistowskiego i komunistycznego totalitaryzmu. Opisał drogę życiową ojca – oficera wojska polskiego, psychiatry, więźnia sowieckich łagrów, uczestnika bitwy o Monte Cassino, organizatora pomocy psychiatrycznej dla polskich żołnierzy i weteranów wojennych we Włoszech oraz w Anglii i Stanach Zjednoczonych. Podobnie opisał drogę życiową matki – lekarza pediatry w Domu Baudouina w Warszawie, która z narażeniem własnego życia ratowała żydowskie dzieci przed zagładą. Zmuszona do opuszczenia stolicy, wraz z 6‑letnią córką nielegalnie przekroczyła kilka granic, by we Włoszech, w Weronie, połączyć się z mężem. Dzieląc jego żołnierski los, troskę o powiększającą się rodzinę postawiła ponad własną pracę zawodową lekarza. Tekst uzupełniają kopie dokumentów, m.in. odkrytych przez autora w Rosji podczas realizacji filmu „Children in Exile” o losie polskich dzieci zesłanych do sowieckich łagrów.

Elżbieta Zawacka – pedagog niezłomna

The article presents the socio-professional activity of Elżbieta Zawacka (1909–2009). She was an out- standing figure in the recent history of Poland. The heroine of the underground 1939–1945, participant in the Warsaw Uprising, prisoner of the Stalinist times, university professor, founder of the archival and scientific centre in Toruń. She was decorated with the Order of the White Eagle, the Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari, and the Cross of Valor (five times). Regardless of the time, area and form of activity, Zawacka remained faithful to the “ethos of indomitables” – people acting in the name of humanistic and humanitarian values for the good of the country and other people.

A FORGOTTEN HERO: JAN MORAWIŃSKI (1907–1949)

Notes of a Curator at the National Museum published in 1970 in the second volume of the book Struggle for Cultural Goods is the only generally available testimony to saving the Wilanów historic monuments by Jan Morawiński, a forgotten hero from the times of WW II. Additionally priceless because of Morawiński documenting the looting of 137 paintings belonging to the pre-WW II Branicki collection at Wilanów. The above-mentioned Notes were published by the Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy after the manuscript kept in the private archive of the author’s daughter Agnieszka Morawińska. The notes, however, resemble pieces of paper torn from a notebook in which an earlier chapter is missing. The missing chapter does exist, yet for unknown reasons was omitted in the two-volume Struggle for Cultural Goods. Warsaw 1939–1945 edited by Prof. Stanisław Lorentz. The present paper is based on Morawiński’s hand-written testimony, supported by archival sources and recollections of his colleagues from the National Museum in Warsaw (MNW). From August 1939 to August 1944, Jan Morawiński, together with others, was involved in saving precious museum exhibits in the Museum building, but also throughout Warsaw. He was involved in packing the historic monuments into crates which were to help them survive the toughest times, and he helped to put out fires at the Museum, risking his own life. Moreover, he rescued the Royal Castle collections during the hardest bombing of Warsaw, transporting them to the storages in Warsaw’s Jerozolimskie Avenue. For his dedication he was awarded the Virtuti Militari Cross of the 5th class by Gen. Juliusz Rómmel. After Warsaw’s surrender, he was assigned Head of MNW’s storerooms and inventories: when Director Lorentz was absent, he acted as his deputy. In the first period of the Nazi occupation he courageously faced German officials. Furthermore, he headed the clandestine action of inventorying and documenting German destructions and plundering. The knowledge amassed in this way was extremely helpful in the restitution of the looted historic monuments, not only museum ones. He also contributed to documenting the destruction of the Warsaw Castle. Imprisoned by the Nazis, he went through Gestapo’s hands at Daniłowiczowska Street in Warsaw. Later on, he became manager of the Museum of Old Warsaw in the Old Town, at the same time acting as a guardian of the Wilanów collection. Following the defeat of the Warsaw Uprising, he participated in the so-called Pruszków Action in whose course he was badly injured.

Walki SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger o Wolę a egzekucje zbiorowe ludności cywilnej

The participation of the SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger in the pacification of the Warsaw Uprising is one of the many unresolved problems relating to the events that took place from August to October 1944 in Warsaw. The purpose of this article is to present the most recent state of research on the actions of this controversial German unit during the first days of the German pacification, i.e. during the Wola Massacre (Genocide Wola 44).

Radio Błyskawica (Lightning) during the Warsaw Uprising and its Meaning in the Memories of its Creators and Listeners

Radio ‘Błyskawica’, broadcasting during the Warsaw Uprising from the capital city of Poland, was the Second World War phenomenon - it was the only case during the war that from the occupied country a regular programme was broadcast. In the present article we try to show its activity from the human perspective, taking into consideration those who had a chance to broadcast but also listen to the station. Based on the personal testimonies gathered directly from around 95 witnesses of the Warsaw Uprising and indirectly via around 100 press articles published after the Second World War about this radio station, we describe the understanding of the mission of the station as well as the meaning of the station for the creators and the Warsaw insurgents.

Books Across Borders: UNESCO and the Politics of Postwar Cultural Reconstruction, 1945–1951

Books Across Borders: UNESCO and the Politics of Postwar Cultural Reconstruction, 1945–1951

Playing in the Dark with Ali: Portraiture, Race, and Remembrance in Karol Radziszewski’s Painting of August Agboola Browne

ABSTRACT August Agboola Browne (1895 – 1976) was a Nigerian-born jazz musician who resided in Poland from 1922 to 1956. Since the discovery and initial publicisation in 2010 of archived documents Browne submitted in 1949 for membership in a veterans’ association, on which he declared that he had been an insurgent in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 under the code name ‘Ali’, he has been heroised rhetorically and memorialised formally by individuals and institutions in Poland across the political-ideological spectrum as ‘the only Black participant in the Warsaw Uprising’. The present article explores the cultural, discursive, historical, and representational implications of one such project: a portrait interpreting Ali by the queer artist Karol Radziszewski (b. 1980) in a style influenced by Pablo Picasso’s African Period. The article deploys Morrison’s literary-critical concept of ‘playing in the dark’ to engage with this visual art object, analysing, through an optic of racialisation, what it proposes to do as an act of remembrance, an artefact of portraiture, and a discourse on race, particularly Blackness, specifically Black masculinity.

Historia zabudowań zajezdni przy ulicy Łazienkowskiej 8 w latach 1920–1975

The History of the Depot Buildings at 8 Łazienkowska Street (Warsaw) in the Years 1920–1975 As a result of World War I, the Polish lands were severely destroyed, and the population was poor. The widespread poverty, supply problems, and high prices led to the establishment of the Warsaw Municipal Supply Facilities (Miejskie Zakłady Zaopatrzenia Warszawy/MZZW). The task of the MZZW fleet was to ensure the supply of food and essential goods to the poorest social groups. Thus, the municipality bypassed intermediaries and their high margins. The articles were distributed through a network of municipal stores. The article describes the history of the buildings at 8 Łazienkowska Street, erected over a hundred years ago, now no longer extant. It was one of the first facilities built by the Capital City of Warsaw shortly after regaining independence. The described complex of buildings was designed from scratch, as the first such facility in Warsaw, meant only for trucks and not for horse traction vehicles. The second owner of the described development was the Municipal Tram and Bus Company, which took over the depot along with the rolling stock. The change of ownership was caused by the seemingly unrelated crash of the New York Stock Exchange. Before the war, Warsaw buses were parked there, the fleet of which was growing rapidly. The defensive war in September 1939 and the occupation removed buses from the streets of Warsaw. After the war, the depot – destroyed in 45% during the Warsaw Uprising – was rebuilt, becoming a symbol of the new socialist Poland. Following the example of the cities of Soviet Russia, with the help of their specialists and trolleybuses, the same service was launched in Warsaw. The depot became the first public transport base to be rebuilt after the war. A trolleybus network plan for the city of Lublin was created within its walls. Before the buildings were demolished, it was once again briefly a bus depot, and, in the end, it played a somewhat important role in the construction of the Łazienkowska Route, becoming the construction base No. 5 for the aforementioned investment.

Działalność parlamentarna Michała Łazarskiego (1928–1939)

Michał Łazarski (1896–1944) was born in Sztabin in Suwałki Governorate. His parents were Teofila and Józef. He was a deputy of Sejm of the Republic of Poland in the years 1928–1938 and subsequently a senator from 1938 until 1939. He was also a well-known local government activist in the Białystok Voivodeship. He was interested in agriculture and the military. Before he started his career in the Parliament, he had fought for his Motherland as a member of The Polish Military Organisation as well as during the Polish-Soviet War. Michał Łazarski died at the time of the Warsaw Uprising on 1st of August 1944. The main point of this publication is to present his parliamentary activity. The biography of Łazarski was a subject of research by H. Majecki, J. Rółkowski, G. Ryżewski, W. Batura, A. Makowski, J. Szlaszyński and others. The majority of information about the deputy was gathered in a publication called “Aktywni w codzienności: z dziejów instytucji i stowarzyszeń gminy Sztabin”. The main resources of Łazarski’s parliamentary activity of the interwar period are Sejm and Senate documents located in the Sejm Library’s website (https://biblioteka.sejm.gov.pl). I have also used press materials and publications describing the history of Polish parliamentarism. The point of this publication is also to present how the Sejm and Senate in II Republic of Poland operated. The parliamentary activity of Michał Łazarski in the interwar period is a good way to realise this intention. It was a very intense period in the history of polish parliamentarism.

Między upamiętnieniem a rewizjonizmem. O dwóch portretach Jana Rodowicza „Anody”

The aim of the article is to compare two ways of introducing the poetics of reportage in biographical writing, using the method of comparative biography, described by Richard Holmes. The author compares two biographies of Jan Rodowicz “Anoda” by Barbara Wachowicz and Piotr Lipiński in aspects like: the use of the poetics of reportage, the selection of archival materials and the approach to it. As a result, she describes two ways a poetics of reportage can be introduced in biographical writing. The first one is described using the example of the book by Barbara Wachowicz, in which a portrait of a national hero is being constructed with archival materials provided by his own family and statements made by the members of the anti- system memory community, that were responsible for keeping the memory of the Warsaw Uprising and the post-war lives of its participants undisturbed by the state’s propaganda. The second one is represented in a book by Piotr Lipiński that uses the biography of “Anoda” to deal with the problem of transitional justice as an unfulfilled dream of Polish society. From this comparison a conclusion can be drawn that there are many ways that biographers can introduce the poetics of reportage in their writing, depending on their aims and the role they want to play in their books.

Polish History In the Sermons of Bl. Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko’s

There was a number of recurring themes appearing in Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko’s (1982–1984) sermons. Patriotism, however, is a chief one. The martyr priest wanted to form the national awareness, promote the love for the Country and present the Polish past. The historical examples include the 19th-century uprisings, the world wars, the Battle of Warsaw, the restoration of independence in 1918, The Warsaw Uprising, the anti-Soviet guerrilla warfare and the working-class strikes spanning till 1980. The preacher did not include the historical references just to present facts, although this would have made sense in the context of the Communist propaganda. The main purpose was to show to the fellow Poles the meaning of self-sacrifice and suffering as a price which had to be paid in the struggle for national liberty over centuries. Moreover, the preacher intended to keep up the spirits of the nation terrorised by the martial state and to give hope stemming from the religious and patriotic values. In Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko’s mind they would eventually pave the way towards Polish freedom and independence.

Władza nad dyskursem w narracji wspomnieniowej. Przypadek Archiwum Historii Mówionej

The article analyzes communication strategies that reveal the knowledge of and power over a memory narrative connected to The Warsaw Uprising – one of the most crucial events for Poland, and in the history of World War II. The interviews carried out with insurgents and civilians – participants of the 1944 events, constituted the base for the research. Over 1,900 verbal activities of people conducting meetings with witnesses of history were subjected to a detailed review. The authors of the article were primarily interested in these activities’ influence on the shape of the memory narrative. The interpretation of the collected material is accomplished within the confines of critical discourse analysis which focuses on the relationship of knowledge and power as manifested in specific ways language is used.

Kolokacje pronominalne jako źródło tożsamościowych odniesień (na materiale relacji świadków powstania warszawskiego)

The authors of the article present the results of (quantitative and qualitative) research on narrative interviews from the Oral History Archive – more precisely: memories of the Warsaw Uprising witnesses (its active participants). The main subject of the analyses, which align with the trends of reflections on the phenomenon of studies on social archives and follow the premises of memory linguistics, are the elements of the lexical level, i.e. collocations of the possessive pronouns mój, nasz (my, ours). In the discourse on the events of August 1944, they can be considered to be some of the significant determinants of individual and/or collective identities of the subjects. The search for answers to the questions about how the identity of the Warsaw Uprising participants is revealed at the level of selected biographical narrations, whatelements dominate there and how it is determined, allows for drawing some conclusions, including the final one: despite the expected predominance of individual identity (and personal views of the past), the examined relationships show a strong expansion of the sense of community which is evident even in the areas that fall within the domain of individual memory.

Życie i praca Piotra Bańkowskiego (1885–1976)

Archivists, librarians and historians remember Piotr Bankowski (1885–1976) chiefly as the expert and member (later on vice-president) of the Polish delegations in Soviet Russia for reclaiming Polish cultural goods, during the interwar period. Heis also associated with the Polish National Library, where he served as custodianof manuscripis, as the editor-in-chief of the journal Archeion, and finally as one of the organizers and donors of the Łomza Scientific Society. In 1912, Bankowski graduated from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, with a doctorate in philosophy. Thanks to a fellowship granted by the Mianowski Fund, he continued his education in France, where he stayed until 1915. Returning to Poland through Russia, had to pause for a longer period in St. Petersburg, where he earned his living teaching Polish literature and history in high schools, and at the Polish Higher Courses. In 1918, after his return to Poland, first he was appointed assistant and then director of the State Archives in Lublin. In 1924, he moved to Warsaw to take part in the archival works on the materials of the former Orthodox Church Consistory. During the years 1927–1936, he was part of the Joined Polish-Soviet Special Commission for Re-evacuation of Polish cultural goods in Moscow and St. Petersburg. From 1935 until 1940 he was employed by the Polish National Library in Warsaw. During the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, he remained with the most precious archival collections deposited at the Sokolnicki Fort, guarding the materials. After the war, from 1951 until 1976, he was the editor-in-chief of the archival journal Archeion Apart from professional responsibilities, Bankowski was an activist devoted to the Łomza region, from which his family originated, and to the professional organizations of Polish archivists, librarians and historians.

Antoni Tuchendler i Leon Plocker – twórcy polskiej powojennej szkoły gastrologicznej

The origin of gastrology as an independent field of internal medicine began in the second half of the 19th century. The so-called “Polish gastrological school” of the first half of the 20th century was composed of, among others: Edward Korczyński, Walery Jaworski, Antoni Gluziński, Józef Wacław Grott, Ludwik Justman, Wilhelm Rubin, Anastazy Landau, Antoni Tuchendler and Leon Plockier (vel Plockier, Płocker, Płockier). Dr. Antoni Tuchendler, after graduating from the University of Dorpat, trained at the Charitè Clinic in Berlin. He worked in Warsaw and was a member of the prestigious Warsaw Medical Society. Before the outbreak of the war, Dr. Leon Plocker worked at the Czyste Jewish Hospital in Warsaw. In 1939 he took part in the defensive war and was taken prisoner by the Germans. In 1940 both doctors were forcibly relocated to the Warsaw ghetto. From 1942, Dr. Plocker hid after the so-called on the Aryan side under the false name of Konstanty Szustowski. He took part in the Warsaw Uprising as the commander of one of the field hospitals. The article is devoted to the fate of two of the above-mentioned doctors: Antoni Tuchendler and Leon Plocker. The first one dealt with the etiology and diagnosis of habitual constipation, the second focused his scientific work on issues related to the stomach cancer.

60th Anniversary of Warsaw Uprising and its Influence on Poland-Germany Relations

The main idea of upon article is “a closing eyes” on the historical problem in mutual relations between states, what is leading for the problem. Such situation had place in Polish-Germany relations at the end of 90th. The research in this field is more than important, obviously in the angle of Poland-Ukraine relations. The 60th anniversary of Warsaw Uprising is the point of changes in historical narrative in Poland and German as well. Firstly, it was first official visit on the level of the Prime Minister. Prime Minister tried to appease hot discussion about the question of German people restitution by Polish Government, obviously Union of Expelled. On the other hand, H. Schröder told clearly, that the government isn’t support the demands of expelled people to Polish Government. And his participations are arguments for this. Polish Government also, gave any support to the Statement of Sejm. Prime Minister noted clearly about that. Such situation is very interesting, because the public persons had more clear view of state`s interest, and they could sometimes more effectively reduce the mutual tensions. Moreover, the Euro-Atlantic integration of Poland showed that Poland was having historical claiming to Germany. And after accession, Poland started using history in mutual relation more actively and as some researchers wrote like a tool of pressure on partner. Germany, due to its political system has strong linkage with the Expelled people. Crucially, linkages have the roots in the influences during voting, in which every party tries to find support by the environment of expelled. The roots of problems in the Polish-German relation can be located also in the support of Germany for pipeline, which tries to build Russian Federation. On the Poland point of view, it`s the threat for security of energy complex. So, we can objectively note, that additionally the historical policy can be some tools of influences to vis-à-vis. It can be truly, that Poland are using historical memory for some pressure for Germany.

O (nie)widoczności prowadzącego spotkanie ze świadkiem historii – wstępna typologia ról inicjujących wywiady narracyjne

ON THE (IN)VISIBILITY OF THE LEADER IN A MEETING WITH A WITNESS OF HISTORY: A PRELIMINARY TYPOLOGY OF ROLES THAT INITIATE NARRATIVE INTERVIEWS
 The paper reflects on sender-recipient relations characteristic for the participants of a narrative interview with a witness of history. The research material comprises 1931 verbal activities, collected in the Archive of Oral History of The Warsaw Rising Museum, of people who conducted 32 meetings with participants of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. The application of the interactive concept of text allowed us to create a preliminary typology of the activities of meeting leaders, viz. to identify four types of initiation: the opening, the complementary, the deepening and ordering, and the reactive one. Further analyses led to the identification of roles taken on by people who conduct meetings with witnesses of history, which we named the journalist, the researcher, and the friend.

Diplomacy of the Polish Republic before and during the Second World War

The Article is devoted to the activities of the foreign policy system of the Polish Republic before and during the Second world war. Special attention is paid to the activities of the Polish government in exile (1939–1945) and its participation in the preparation of the Warsaw uprising.