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Nationalities Papers
The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity
Volume 28, 2000 - Issue 3
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Original Articles

Folk, faith and fatherland: Defining the Polish nation in 1883

Pages 397-416 | Published online: 19 Aug 2010

References

  • 2000 . "Identity and the State: Nationalism and Sovereignty in a Changing World" . paper I presented at the ASN Fifth World Conference . April 13-15 2000 , New York . Research for this article was supported in part by a grant from the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) with funds provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the United States Department of State which administers the Title Vin Program. None of these organizations is responsible for the views expressed. I would also like to thank Roman Szporluk, Tim Snyder, and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions, as well as those who commented on the
  • D'Abernon , Viscount [Edgar Vincent] . 1931 . The Eighteenth Decisive Battle of the World: Warsaw, 1920 , 11 London : Hodder and Stoughton .
  • Dabrowski , Patrice M. 1999 . "Reinventing Poland: Commemorations and the Shaping of the Modern Nation, 1879-1914" ” . 109 – 192 . Harvard University . (Ph.D. dissertation.; For more on other monuments erected in Sobieski's honor in 1883, see
  • L[ouis] , J. 1883 . "Pierwszy obchód zwyciestwa pod Wiedniem w Krakowie" . Czas , 28 February
  • Dabrowski . "Reinventing Poland" ” . 109 – 192 . For a fuller treatment of the 1883 celebration, see
  • Himka , John-Paul . Religion and Nationality in Western Ukraine: The Greek Catholic Church and the Ruthenian National Movement in Galicia, 1867-1900 [Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1999] 8 I agree with John-Paul Himka that the nationally neutral term Ruthenian permits us "to make a distinction between the ethnic group as such and the alternative constructions of its nationality."; While Himka presents two alternative identities-the pan-Russian and the pan-Ukrainian-I focus here on manifestations of what one might term a pan-Polish identity that was intended to embrace the Ruthenians as well
  • Bienkowski , Wieslaw . 1987 . "Rok 1883 w Krakowie (uroczystosc 200-lecia odsieczy Wiednia)" . Rocznik Krakowski , 51 : 109 As shall be seen, the degree of independence of the peasants in attendance may be debated, however
  • Pigon , Stanislaw . Z Komborni w swiat: Wspomnienia mlodos'ci [Kraków: Spóldzielnia wydawnicza "Wies," 1946] 98 While sources on peasant impressions are generally limited to the popular press, one peasant-turned-university-professor noted the importance of this trip for his father, who reminisced about the anniversary celebration with pleasure for years
  • Galos , Adam . 1990 . "Obchody rocznicy odsieczy wiedenskiej w Galicji w 1883 r." , Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis, No. 1108, Historia 75 135 139 Wroclaw
  • Slomka , Jan . 1941 . From Serfdom to Self-Government: Memoirs of a Polish Village Mayor 1842-1927 , Edited by: Rose , William John . London : Minerva . This term of folk identity, used by Slomka
  • Ekes , Janusz . 1994 . "Mazurzy" ” . In Encyklopedia historii Polski: Dzieje polityczne , Edited by: Dziegielewski , Jan . Vol. I , 422 Warsaw : "Morex" & "Egross" . and others, should not be confused with the regional identity of Mazuriansthat is, of residents of Mazuria, far to the north in the formerly Polish territories. Apparently the term was also used by the Ruthenians of Volhynia in reference to the Polish-speaking population of the Commonwealth
  • Chwalba , Andrzej . 1992 . Sacrum i rewolucja: Socjalisci polscy wobec praktyk i symboli religijnych (1870-1918) , Warsaw : Universitas . Activists less enamored of Rome also often ended up availing themselves of the religious connection when trying to engage the peasantry. Even socialists were not immune to religious terminology, as shown by; The argument for linking Polishness and Catholicism was bolstered by other similarities, such as shared territorial base and linguistic foundation
  • Dabrowski . "Reinventing Poland" ” . 168 – 169 . 178 – 189 . Two other events were also coordinated to occur within the same week as the Sobieski anniversary: the twenty-fifth jubilee of painter Jan Matejko (13 September) as well as the first congress of Polish writers and artists (14-15 September). These are discussed in
  • Himka . Religion and Nationality 57 – 64 . 73 – 78 . The next two paragraphs are based on; any distortion or oversimplification of this fine scholarship is my fault alone.
  • Weeks , Theodore R. 1996 . "The 'End' of the Uniate Church in Russia: the Vozsoedinenie of 1875" . Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas , 44 : 32 Ibid., p. 60
  • Krawczak , Tadeusz , ed. 1994 . "Zanim wrócita Polska": Martyrologium ludnosci unickiej na Podlasiu w latach 1866-1905 w swietle wspomnien , 7 – 8 . Warsaw : Neriton .
  • Wasilewski , Leon . 1911 . Chelmszczyzna i sprawa jej oderwania [Krakow: nakl. wydawn. "Zycie" , New York : The Polish Book Importing Co. . While Poles have traditionally assumed that the forced conversion was part of a master plan; Theodore Weeks has argued that Gromeka, the governor of Siedlce province, "essentially presented a skeptical and cautious St. Petersburg with a fait accompli." (Weeks, "The 'End' of the Uniate Church," p. 33.)
  • Szujski , Józef . 1882 . "Przed rocznica Odsieczy Wiedenskiej" . Czas , 26 May
  • Feldman , Wilhelm . 1933 . Dzieje polskiej mysli politycznej 1864-1914 , (2nd edition) , 240 Warsaw : Instytut Badania Najnowszej Historji Polski . on the importance of Rome, see the confiscated leaflet "ZaIe Unitów Polskich i ich nadzieje pomocy z Rzymu" (Archiwum Glówne Akt Dawnych, Oddzial II, Prok. Warsz. Izb. Sad. 854, fols. 3-4)
  • Again, this is chronicled in Himka, Religion and Nationality.
  • 1883 . "Kronika miejscowa i zagraniczna" . Czas , 7 September A number of toasts, for example, were recorded at the various banquets for the distinguished clergymen which seemed to demonstrate much good will on both sides
  • 1883 . "Kronika miejscowa i zagraniczna" . Czas , 11 September
  • Bienkowski . "Rok 1883" ” . 108 They were the Uniate bishop of Przemysl, Ioann Stupnytsky; the Armenian archbishop of Lemberg, Izaak Mikolaj Issakowicz; and Adam Stanislaw Krasinski
  • 1883 . Wieniec , 9 ( 18 ) 30 August : 137
  • Bienkowski . "Rok 1883" ” . 109
  • 1883 . "Kronika" . Nowa Reforma , 11 September
  • 1883 . "Posiedzeme tutejszej komisyi jubileuszowej Sobieskiego wspolnie z przybytymi delegatami Iwowskimi" . Czas , 26 June Zoll's words, as noted in
  • 1883 . "Kronika miejscowa i zagraniczna" . Czas , 13 March From a speech given at the Ruthenian Boarding-School (Internat Ruski) run by the Resurrectionists in Lemberg, reported in
  • 1883 . Pamiatka pielgrzymki ludowej do Krakowa urzgdzonej staraniem Redakcyi pism ludowych "Wienca" i "Pszczólki" w wrzesniu 1883 na uroczystosce koronacyi cudownego obrazu N.P. Maryi na Piaskach i na uroczystosce obchodu dwuchsetnej rocznicy zwyciestwa króla polskiego Jana III. pod Wiedniem , 5 Lwów : z drukarm Towarzystwa imienia Szewczenki . This was likewise noted in the pamphlet
  • Polkowski . "Kronika dni wrzeshiowych" ” . 68 – 69 . These include the shape of Sigismund I's crown and the lily motif from the crown of Boleslas the Brave
  • Ibid., p. 68.
  • According to statements made by Fryderyk Zoll, taken from the minutes of the meetings of the Sobieski anniversary committee (Komisya juvbileuszu Sobieskiego), 22 June 1883 and 15 November 1882, Archiwum Panstwowe w Krakowie (hereafter APKr), IT 1023/14.
  • 1883 . Pszczótka , 9 ( 18 ) 5 September : 139
  • 1883 . "Kronika paryska, dokonczenie" . Nowa Reforma , 2 September Mention of the censorship is made in
  • Tarnowski , Stanisfaw . 1883 . "Obchód wiedenskiej rocznicy" . Przeglad Polski , 18 October : 8 – 9 .
  • Peasants were bedded in the monasteries, on straw, wherever possible; others ended up sleeping out-of-doors, which cannot have been pleasant, given the rain. (Pamiatka pielgrzymki ludowej, pp. 19-20.)
  • 1883 . "5236 wloscian" . Pszczólka , 9 ( 17 ) 23 August : 129
  • 1883 . "Kronika" . Nowa Reforma , 11 September
  • Pamiatka pielgrzymki ludowej, p. 21.
  • 1883 . "Kronika miejscowa i zagraniczna" . Czas , 15 August
  • Bierikowski . "Obchody 200-lecia" ” . 159 As the city had no power plant, special arrangements had been made for this impressive showing through a Budapest firm. Steam engines were lent for the occasion by city councilor and factory owner Ludwik Zieleniewski, landowner and local brewer Jan Götz, and landowner Pinkas Attesländer
  • Bak-Koczarska , Celina . 1982 . "Rada Miejska orgarrizatorem obchodu 200-lecia Odsieczy Wiednia w Krakowie" . Zeszyty Naukowe Muzeum Historycznego Miasta Krakowa: Krzysztofory , 9 : 46
  • Lichonczak , Grazyna . 1982 . "Pomrrik króla Jana III Sobieskiego w Ogrodzie Strzeleckim w Krakowie" . Krzysztofory , 9 : 57
  • Tarnowski . "Obchod wiedenskiej rocznicy" ” . 11 – 12 . The upper classes made much of the proper demeanor of the waterlogged peasants, who uncomplainingly withstood the elements, even though most of them had spent the nights out of doors as well. Tarnowski touted the peasants' "innate instinctual gravity" and "desire to behave itself seriously."
  • 1883 . "Kronika" . Nowa Reforma , 11 September
  • Tarnowski . "Obchód wiedenskiej rocznicy" ” . 10 – 11 . 13 This image of the peasantry is discussed in the first chapter of a stimulating book by
  • Ziejka , Franciszek . 1977 . W krggu mitów polskich , Krakow : Wydawnictwo Literackie .
  • Pamiatka pielgrzymki ludowej, pp. 27-28.
  • 1883 . "Jubileusz Sobieskiego" . Nowa Reforma , 23 August
  • Bienkowski . "Rok 1883" ” . 110
  • 1883 . "Kronika" . Nowa Reforma , 11 September
  • 1883 . "Jubileusz Sobieskiego" . Nowa Reforma , 15 August The organizers were initially divided as to whether they should coordinate their actions with Stojatowski. (Report from the meeting of the previous day, reported in
  • 1883 . "Kronika" . Nowa Reforma , 12 September
  • A speech prepared for a Ruthenian has been preserved in the papers of Kazimierz Bartoszewicz (ArcMwum Panstwowe w Lodzi, Arcrriwum Bartoszewiczów, 1737, fol. 1). Whether it was actually used by any of the visitors cannot be determined, although its existence raises additional questions as to the "independence" of the participating peasants.
  • 1883 . "Jubileusz Sobieskiego" . Nowa Reforma , 24 August The plans for the peasant celebration were given in the report on the committee meeting of the previous day, presented in
  • 1883 . 'Obchód uroczysty jubileuszu Sobieskiego w Krakowie" . Nowa Reforma , 12 September Among the speakers at the folk gathering was Wladyslaw Kolodziejczyk, a peasant from Mogila; Jakob Kot, a Ruthenian from Olesko, where Sobieski was born; Michal Ostrowski, a Ruthenian merchant from Ruda; and Ruthenian villager Hrehory Skoblik (vel Skablyk) of Daszowa in the province of Stryj
  • 1883 . Czas , 13 September The texts of their speeches are in
  • 1883 . "Ostatnie wiadomosci" . Czas , 22 August These quotations are taken from the letter of Pawel Popiel to the Cracow mayor, published in; The original letter, dated 18 August 1883, is in APKr, IT 1023/14
  • Tarnowski . "Obchód wiedenskiej rocznicy" ” . 20 Minutes of the committee meeting, 23 August 1883, APKr, IT 1023/14. This last item still infuriated some conservatives, who both objected to the representation of only one class while suspecting that the villager's speech was inspired by the democrats
  • 1883 . "Uroczystosc Sobieskiego" . Czas , 26 August Reportedly they had not been given advance notice of the citizens' committee's plans. (See the note of the society's board [Zarzad Towarzystwa] in
  • 1883 . "Jubileusz Sobieskiego" . Nowa Reforma , 31 August
  • Pelczar . Kazanie 1883 3
  • Nowolecki , A. 1883 . Uroczystosci ku uczczeniu pamieci Jana III w dzielnicach polskich i za granica: Na pamiatke 200-letniej rocznicy odsieczy Wiednia 1683 r. , 3 Krakow : staraniem "Wydawnictwa Czytelni Ludowej" .
  • 1990 . Odsiecz wiedenska 1683: Wystawa jubileuszowa w Zamku Królewskim na Wawelu w trzechsetlecie bitwy , Vol. 1 , 17 Krakow : Panstwowe zbiory sztuki na Wawelu .
  • Rodkiewicz , Witold . 1996 . "Russian Nationality Policy in the Western Provinces of the Empire During the Reign of Nicholas II, 1894-1905" ” . Harvard University . That Poles continued to be perceived as a threat is demonstrated by the work of Ph.D. dissertation
  • 1998 . Russian Nationality Policy in the Western Provinces of the Empire (1863-1905) , Lublin : Scientific Society of Lublin . published as
  • 1883 . Rachunek polskiego sumienia: Rozmyslanie w niewoli; w 200-letnia rocznice zwycieztwa pod Wiednem , 75 83 27 82 – 84 . Krakow : nakladem ksiegarni K. Bartoszewicza . Stefan Buszczynski, writing under the pseudonym "Servant of liberty and faith" (Sluga wolnosci i wiary) on the anniversary of the Siege of Vienna, claimed that Austria was more Slavic than Russia (he argued that blood of the Jagiellons [one of Poland's ruling dynasties] flowed in Habsburg veins). He also saw the Poles' "union with the southern Slavs, under protective hegemony" of the Habsburgs as a "blessing for all Europe" that would correct the balance of power "and guarantee universal peace."
  • 1883 . "Obchód jubileuszowy we Lwowie" . Nowa Reforma , 14 September From a speech by Dr. E. Czerkawski in Lemberg on 11 September, cited in
  • Dabrowski . "Reinventing Poland" ” . 174 Leopoldians were particularly interested in raising the international profile of the celebration
  • Florkowska-Francic , Halina . 1984 . "Emigracyjne obchody dwóchsetnej rocznicy wiktorii wiedenskiej" . Przeglad Polonistyczny , 10 : 72 Even the governor of Illinois recognized the Poles as defenders of human rights and freedom during the 1883 celebration, the first time Poles assembled in a visible demonstration of unity on the streets of America (Chicago). One of the main organizers of the Chicago festivities was Karol Chlapowski, husband of actress Helena Modrzejewska
  • Galos , Adam . 1980 . "Obchody rocznicy wiedenskiej w XIX w." . Slaski Kwartalnik Historycyty Sobótka , 35 : 437
  • 1883 . "Uroczysty obchód jubileuszu Sobieskiego w Krakowie" . Nowa Reforma , 13 September These facts were noted by a Ruthenian villager, Hrehory Skoblik of Daszowa, speaking to the peasants, as reported in
  • 1883 . "Komitet jubileuszowy dla Komitetu jubileuszowego dla uczczenia 200-letniej rocznicy Wiednia" . Nowa Reforma , 1 May This information comes from a Gazeta Narodowa report on the committee meetings of 10 and 21 April, mentioned in
  • 1883 . Nowa Reforma , 13 September Words of Director Maciolowski, cited in
  • 1883 . "Obchód uroczysty jubileuszu Sobieskiego w Krakowie" . Nawa Reforma , 12 September
  • 1883 . "Kronika" . Nowa Reforma , 15 September From the speech of Jan Czesak, a villager from Szczurowa, at the farewell to the village delegates
  • 1883 . "Uroczysty obchód jubileuszu Sobieskiego w Krakowie" . Nowa Reforma , 14 September
  • Walicki , Andrzej . 1982 . Philosophy and Romantic Nationalism: The Case of Poland , Oxford : Clarendon Press . That the Polish nation prior to the partitions had been a political, not an ethnic, nation has been convincingly shown by; New York: Oxford University Press
  • The Ukrainian paper DiIo said the jubilee had the character of a Polish national manifestation (per Nowolecki, Uroczystosci, p. 51); Prolom and Slovo were also opposed. For other views of the siege, see the "Ukrainophile" Stefan Kachala's book on 1683, reviewed in Reforma, 23 June 1882.
  • 1883 . "Kronika" . Nowa Reforma , 12 September Such figures as Platon Kostecki and Father Jan Guszalewicz wrote poems
  • Szaraniewicz , J. 1883 . "Jubileusz Sobieskiego" . Nowa Reforma , 31 August
  • 1883 . 'Obchód Sobieskiego: Lwów, 12 czerwca" . Nowa Reforma , 15 June
  • Galos . "Obchody rocznicy odsieczy" ” . 142 more on him in Adam Galos, "Wladze pruskie wobec obchodów rocznicy wiedenskiej w 1883 r."
  • 1981 . Slaski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka Vol. 36 , 273 – 274 .
  • 1883 . "Jubileusz Sobieskiego" . Nowa Reforma , 4 September Indeed, the organizers of the 1883 anniversary, seeking to gain as many volunteers for a certain aspect of the festivities, resorted to playing on the Poles' patriotism: they suggested that Poles ought to desire a successful celebration in 1883 at least as much as during the emperor's visit in 1880
  • 1883 . "Przeglad polityczny" . Przeglad Polski , 18 October : 158
  • Tarnowski . “ 'Obchód wiedenskiej rocznicy" ” . 34 Bobrzynski in Czas

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