The biographies of the people of Sanacja, who took power in Poland after the May coup in 1926, still evoke emotions. And what was their youth like? And how did it translate into a later career with Józef Piłsudski?
Professor Paweł Samuś writes in the book “Minister Józef Beck. Family home and adolescence ":
As you know, childhood and adolescence usually play an important role in human life. It is then that the person's specific mental features and disposition are formed, their individualities and innate abilities developed in adult life are revealed.
Is it possible to find signs of their future greatness in the earliest period of life of Sanacja politicians?
Son of a non-commissioned officer. Edward Śmigły-Rydz
The future Marshal of Poland, Edward Śmigły-Rydz, was born and raised in a small Galician town near Stanisławów. His father, Tomasz Rydz, was a professional NCO in the Austro-Hungarian Army , mother Maria Babiak - daughter of the local postman.
The parents did not get married until two years after their son's birthday. Apparently, they waited for Tomasz's promotion to the rank of chieftain. The wedding took place in an Orthodox church because my mother's family was Greek Catholic.
Edward Śmigły-Rydz during the rebirth of the Polish state.
The childhood of the future marshal was not happy. Father died of consumption when the boy was only two years old, his mother orphaned him eight years later. My grandparents took care of their upbringing. Although they did not pamper the grandson, they took care of his education - they sent him to a gymnasium in Brzeg, although it was a big expense for them.
Little Edzio studied well. He was especially interested in the history of Poland and the Napoleonic era. In junior high school, he revealed his painting talent. He stood out as a good draftsman and painter - I remember that during lessons he often sketched physiognomy colleagues and gave them on a piece of paper to those interested - recalled years later a companion from the school bench, attorney Dr. Milche.
Artistic soul of the marshal
At school, Edward became known as ... a nice actor! It is said that he brilliantly played the title character in "Konrad Wallenrod" and the king in Przybyszewski's "Eternal Fairy Tale". He also had literary ambitions , after which there is a small novel "Old, tattered military banner".
Edward Śmigły-Rydz showed artistic talent from his youth. Here is a sample of the future marshal's painting (source:public domain).
Edward's artistic abilities and romantic soul caused a minor scandal. In 1911, as a student of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, at the request of the local renovation committee, he agreed to paint the image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception on the facade of the Armenian church in Brzeg.
Instead of the classic Madonna Śmigły-Rydz painted ... his friend's sister! A charming girl with chestnut hair, floating in the background of clouds, stars, the moon and the sun. The committee and the church authorities did not like it, which ordered that the blasphemous image be painted over with lime ...
Prophetic Vision
Financial assistance to young Edward was provided by the widow of a professor at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv, Michalina Widmanowa. She was famous for her gift of clairvoyance . Once, in 1912, when Edward came from Krakow to Brzeżany, at a party at the Barzykowski family, Mrs. Michalina fell into a trance and began to announce:
I can see blood everywhere. Full of blood. Conflagration! Conflagration! I can see the Polish army. Goes in long lines. National signs above it. It's a whole army. And at its head is Edward Rydz - great general and commander. Yes, I can see it clearly…
Baptized in the church. Józef Beck
The future Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Józef Beck, was born in Warsaw, but raised in Galicia. His father, Józef Alojzy Beck, was a social and independence activist . Her mother, Bronisława Łuczkowska, came from a Uniate family and was recognized as Orthodox in accordance with the then strict Russian regulations. Józef and Bronisława had to get married in the church, their son was also baptized in the church.
Little Józef spent his childhood in Limanowa, where his parents moved. He grew up in a loving and respected family. The pre-war biographer of Beck, quoted in Paweł Samuś's book, wrote: The relationship between father and son is based on friendship and mutual respect for the distinctiveness of characters . There is a deep tenderness towards the mother.
It was then that Joseph's strong personality was already marked. He was different from his father, so it was the mother who developed his intellectual abilities and shaped the emotional sphere of his personality. The boy was also influenced by the atmosphere of the family home, the guests visiting it (mostly socialist and independence activists from the Kingdom) and their values.
Glider constructor from Limanowa
In 1908, Józef began studying at the First Real School in Krakow. As Paweł Samuś emphasizes, in the book already quoted Beck was a little primate - his grades were very good, and in the 5th grade he even belonged to a small group of "gloriously gifted". He passed his high school diploma with the grade "mature unanimously", which is good according to today's nomenclature.
Interestingly, in high school, did not belong to any independence or paramilitary organization. However, he had other interesting interests. With the help of a carpenter's apprentice he built… a glider in Limanowa!
Józef Beck as an artillery officer in 1914
He even tried to fly it (probably to the despair of his mother), but the adventure soon ended with the crash of the machine and the sprain of the leg . Following the blow, in 1912 Beck entered the Machine Building Department of the Lviv Polytechnic. However, he interrupted his studies and transferred to the Export Academy in Vienna.
The strongest in the class. Ignacy Mościcki
Ignacy Mościcki, the President of the Republic of Poland in 1926-1939, belonged to the older generation of Piłsudski. He was born on December 1, 1867 in Mierzanów to a landed gentry family, using the Ślepowron coat of arms. In addition to the coat of arms, the family of Ignatius was distinguished by something else - supernatural strength.
At the age of fourteen Ignaś killed the first boar, weighing 120 kilograms, and picked it up by his own legs! Thanks to this strength, I felt confident everywhere; in high school, being always the strongest in the class, I was not subject to terrorism and bullying of my classmates - he recalled years later.
Ignacy Mościcki 1907
After graduating from high school, Mościcki wanted to study at the Riga Polytechnic. But it wasn't that simple. First, he had to pass the matriculation examination again, because the matura exams from private schools were not recognized. For four months he studied for sixteen hours a day!
During the exams, look at your paper!
Then he took the exam for college. According to the custom in Russian schools, he was prompting one of his friends. Only Riga had more Western patterns. The helpful Mościcki was excluded from the exam.
In the fall, he returned to Riga, but again an unexpected obstacle arose:the Russian Ministry of Education forbade universities to accept graduates from private secondary schools. After many pleas, a one-time approval was given, and the math entrance exams were supposed to be hellishly difficult. Several dozen candidates died, but not Ignacy Mościcki!
Energetic and stubborn. Józef Piłsudski
And what was the childhood of the most important figure in this circle - Marshal Józef Piłsudski? The father of Polish independence was born in the family estate of Zułów in Lithuania on December 5, 1867. As a child, quickly became distinguished by energy and stubbornness , surpassing his older brother Bronisław and the rest of his siblings in this respect.
There was a cult of the January Uprising in the house in which most of the family participated. Mother, implacable patriot , she did not even try to hide the pain and disappointments from us because of the fall of the uprising, yes, she brought us up by stressing the need to continue fighting with the enemy of the motherland - Piłsudski wrote years later.
Józef (left) and Bronisław (right) Piłsudski during their childhood.
Maria Piłsudska taught her children the poems of Słowacki, Mickiewicz and Niemcewicz, organized patriotic evenings, and talked about the uprising. Józef received his patriotic formation and attachment to the idea of fighting for Poland from her.
Ziuk has no panties
In 1874 a great fire destroyed the manor house and farm buildings in Zułów. The family then moved to Vilnius, and Józef began his education in the 1st gymnasium, then located in the university building. He didn't do much to Russification injunctions at school. He ran away, for example, from obligatory church services.
His studies were easy for him, he achieved satisfactory, though not the highest grades, without much effort . The teenage Piłsudski, like many of his friends, made extra money by tutoring. We also know that already at the age of sixteen he fell into the ugly addiction of smoking.
Interest sufficient
The farm fire significantly worsened the family's financial situation. On March 15, 1882, brother Bronisław wrote in his diary: Ziuk did not go to classes, because there are no panties .
In 1885, Józef took the written and oral matura exams. The certificate read:
it was generally excellent, skill in attending and preparing lessons, and completing written assignments sufficient, diligence sufficient and interest in all subjects sufficient.
Piłsudski received the best marks in history and geography, foreign languages were the worst for him . But the results were so good that he was able to start medical studies in Kharkiv in the fall.
Bibliography:
- Leżeński Cezary, Quarter 139. A story about marshal Rydz-Śmigły , vol. 1, Ed. Lubelskie, Lublin 1989.
- Mościcki Ignacy , Autobiography [online], in the collection of the Józef Piłsudski Institute in America [accessed June 24, 2016].
- Samuś Paweł, Minister Józef Beck. Family home and adolescence , Publishing House of the University of Lodz, Lodz 2015.
- Urbankowski Bohdan, Józef Piłsudski. A dreamer and strategist , Ed. Zysk i Ska, Poznań 2014.