An exemplary landowner, organizer of social and cultural life. A man who introduced unprecedented farming methods in Kresy. Who is this? Of course Witold Pilecki. We present the unknown face of the captain.
The Sukurcze estate belonging to the Pilecki family was located about 100 kilometers south of Vilnius. It was in the hands of the family since the 19th century, but since the January Uprising it has been systematically falling into disrepair. Everything changed dramatically when Witold Pilecki started saving him.
The future "volunteer to Auschwitz" already at the threshold of his adult life wrote down a glorious card during the Polish-Bolshevik war, the best proof of which is the Cross of Valor awarded to him twice. After demobilization, he passed his high school diploma and began studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius. In the face of increasingly black clouds gathering over the family estate, he decided to quit his studies and return home.
People get rich by hard work
It was the last call, as his father Julian was having a hard time managing the estate. In the first half of the 1920s, he leased it for literally nothing. Nevertheless, our hero did not give up easily. In 1926, after a long court battle, he finally managed to cancel the unfavorable contract. Now Witold could show what he could do.
Witold Pilecki at the age of 23 ((source:Andrzej Pilecki's private archive).
As his son Andrzej recalls in the book “Pilecki. In the footsteps of my dad ":
When my father took over the estate, the local population was completely stagnant. With hard work, he brought this dilapidated farm to a state where it could be called a gem . He caressed our Sukurcze. Not because he was the owner's son and so knowledgeable.
Realizing that he did not have the appropriate education, he began studies at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry of the University of Poznań by correspondence. Month by month, his home library was expanding with more and more new books on modern farming. This quickly resulted in a significant increase in yields.
The Pilecki family with friends in front of the manor house in Sukurcze. This world. which the Pilecki family had to abandon, today it is only an empty field (source:Andrzej Pilecki's private archive).
You can't just think of yourself
Witold did not stop at increasing his own fortune. As a born social worker, he was active in the Association of Agricultural Circles. He organized lectures for the local population, during which he passed on the acquired knowledge. We didn't have to wait long for the effects. As Andrzej Pilecki emphasizes:
What he did in the area for several years of activity was a small revolution . Everything came to Kresy with a considerable delay, and he tried to transfer modern farming methods from Greater Poland and central Poland. Crop changes, eight poles - hardly anyone has heard about such things before.
The article is based on the book by Mirosław Krzyszkowski and Bogdan Wasztyl entitled “Pilecki. In the footsteps of my father "(Znak Horyzont 2015).
Although the people of Kresy were suspicious of such news as a rule, in this case it was completely different. Pilecki was able to win over his neighbors with hard work and honesty . Additionally, he did not tolerate exploitation and injustice. He noticed that competition among local hosts was forcing them to sell the fruits of their hard labor at very low prices, and decided to do something about it.
Unity is strength
This is how the idea of creating a dairy cooperative was born. It bought agricultural produce from peasants at higher prices, and then, as a larger entity, negotiated the resale on good terms. As Andrzej Pilecki notices: everyone benefited from it. The cooperative developed and its products became known not only in Lida, Nowogródek, but even in Vilnius.
Fire training course in Lida. Witold Pilecki and his neighbors also founded a fire brigade (source:public domain).
The cooperative is not over yet. The young landowner, together with his neighbors, founded an agricultural club and a fire brigade, which at that time was a real sensation in the Borderlands. In addition, together with Lieutenant Achmatowicz, he organized the Konne Military Training, i.e. a squadron of Krakow, in the Lidzki poviat.
As Andrzej Pilecki emphasizes, his father spent a lot of money on the maintenance of the formation, because the sons of local farmers could not always afford to buy the necessary equipment . Witold was also involved in training the squadron, therefore he was [he] the best in the Lidzki poviat, he won numerous competitions.
Witold Pilecki leads a military parade in Lida on horseback. Photo and caption from the book “Pilecki. In the footsteps of my dad. ”
All these successes had no effect on the attitude of the future hero of World War II. He was still the same modest and disciplined man who never took advantage of his social position. He worked hard and willingly shared his knowledge with others.
All this paid off in September 1939. After the Soviets entered, the local population did not allow themselves to be incited against the "landowners" , on the contrary. The local peasants took great care of Witold's wife and children, paying tribute to his many years' efforts.
Source:
Mirosław Krzyszkowski, Bogdan Wasztyl, Pilecki. In the footsteps of my dad , Znak Horyzont, Krakow 2015.