During the Polish-Bolshevik war, life in Warsaw had to go its own way. On the one hand, full mobilization and passionate patriotism, on the other - the prose of life. What was Warsaw like on the eve of the 18th most important battle in the history of the world?
At the beginning of July, the troops of the Western Front by Mikhail Tukhachevsky begin their offensive against Warsaw. On the orders of Józef Piłsudski, the eastern front begins to retreat. Refugees from the east follow the fleeing Polish army to the country.
"[...] among the darkest nights and days in life, we were moving towards the borders of Poland," wrote Kazimierz Wierzyński, who, as an officer of the Press Office of the Supreme Command, was returning from Kiev to Warsaw these days.
"To arms!"
The capital solemnly celebrates the holiday of America on July 4. The Polish-American Children's Aid Committee, headed by Herbert Hoover, has been feeding Polish children since the end of the First World War, and it also helps soldiers and repatriates.
On July 10, Władysław Grabski travels to Spa in Belgium to talk with Entente representatives. The Entente tries to persuade Poland to negotiate peacefully with the Bolsheviks. General Maxime Weygand, at Spa at the time, notes:
"[...] Poles do not want to listen to anyone, they act according to their whims, they fuel the hatred around them. Under these conditions, will their few friends be able to enlighten them and guide these blind pegasi who cannot stand any bit? "
The article is an excerpt from Joanna Rolińska's book Summer 1920 , which has just been released on the market by Bellona
General Józef Haller becomes the commander of the General Inspectorate of the Volunteer Army at the Ministry of Military Affairs. Over 90,000 soldiers apply for the ranks of the army. A patriotic current runs through the whole of Poland. Various universities, schools, associations, groups and guilds try to answer Piłsudski's slogan:"To arms!".
Private individuals donate to a volunteer army. Maria Dąbrowska, who collaborates with the Central Committee for the Propaganda of Artistic Unions, notes on July 14:
The streets of Warsaw resound with a march of volunteers, with the sound of trumpets, every passerby [...] now has three signs:the white cross, the red cross and the state loan.
Thursday 1st July
A supra-party State Defense Council is established, i.e. a temporary legislative and executive power concerning peace and war. In the evening, the Belweder Palace debated on the need to create a general volunteer recruitment and to publish appeals to the public on this subject in the near future. The issues of compensation for Poland were also discussed and the law allowing the death penalty for usury and pasture was passed. There was no unanimity on the latter issue, the deliberations were stormy and different proposals were made, one of them was flogging.
Grabski:
We are faced with an issue greater than what constitutes the improvement program in Poland, we are faced with the necessity to take care of the very existence of the state. For the last year and a half we have been under this delusional assumption that this existence is no longer shaky, that only some tiny lines in the picture are missing, that it is only about finishing everything that is the basis for the existence of the state forever, that there are some border differences, for the certainty of peace. [...] Today is the time for our nation to shake off some, one might say, reckless
treating the greatest fundamental issues of one's being.
General Józef Haller
People play more than slowly, walk around calmly, make demands, only think about enriching themselves temporarily, not remembering that this wealth can be lost when the state building fails. This is happening not only in the capital and in the cities, but feasting, premature joy is evident everywhere, while the nation is not allowed to rejoice until it is safe. [...] ... the whole nation has not yet experienced the thrill that leads man to a victorious battle with violence waiting to destroy the existence of the nation.
We have not experienced all this as a whole yet. […] How are we supposed to do this? Haven't we got used to it for the past year and a half to think more, criticize and act less.
The command of the general district of Warsaw calls on the inhabitants to offer their sabers for the army , "Be it German or Austrian or Russian." They can be submitted to the armaments department at 7 Saski Square on the 2nd floor.
Classified announcements
"Collection of Polish postal brands for sale in Franciszek Englert's bookstore, Świętokrzyska 36". It is worth pausing for a moment with this announcement, as Franciszek Englert is slightly better known from various sources than other antiquarians from Świętokrzyska.
Among other things, the bibliophile Jan Michalski writes about him in his memoirs of 55 years among books:“The oldest Polish antiquarian I dealt with was Englert; I still remember him when he had a shop at Ordynacka Street. From there he moved to Świętokrzyska, between Szkolna and Jasna. He marked the zeal of the neophyte by hanging a painting of the Virgin Mary with a burning lamp in the shop. Over time, Englert took up philately and oil prints.
Świętokrzyska - this is where the pulse of the life of Warsaw antiquarians beats On both sides of the street there are narrow and cramped bookstores run by Jewish family clans, where all of Warsaw is buying - rich collectors, poor bibliophiles, students, writers, artists and intellectuals.
Świętokrzyska Street before 1939, view to the east
Individual antiquarians specialize in specific publishing areas, they can get more than one book out of the ground, you can bargain with them, they have their own quirks, likes and dislikes, they are remembered for years by many Varsovians. When the blast of the Second World War blows them off the ground, they will remain on the pages of memories, among others Juliusz Wiktor Gomulicki, Zuzanna Rabska, Paweł Hertz. Gomulicki:
As far as the eye can see, along the whole Świętokrzyska Street from Nowy Świat to Wielka Street, bookstores and antique shops stretched side by side, filled to the ceilings with thousands of various Polish and foreign prints, downloaded here literally from all over the country […].
Jan Michalski:
The antiquities of the older generation were, with very few exceptions, Hasidim, wore long gowns and special-cut hats, wore long beards and solemnly celebrated Saturdays and Jewish holidays. […] It was a growing clan of several families:Salcstein, Rosenwein, Rubinstein, Kleinsinger, Baumkoler, Miller ”8. Closer to Marszałkowska, also on Świętokrzyska Street, there was Joachim Babecki's antique shop, who will later take over the bookshop after his father-in-law, Englert. Michalski about Babecki:"I remember his figure:with the pipe constantly in his teeth and always in a good mood.
The pages of elegant weeklies, such as Tygodnik Ilustrowany or Świat, also advertise Abe Gutnajer's antiquarian shop, located at 16 Mazowiecka Street on the first floor - it is a completely different type of antiquarian shop, which is rather an art salon, promoting high-class painting and attracting the artistic, intellectual and financial elite of the city inside.
The salon on Mazowiecka Street is a new place, Gutnajer is just beginning to be set up there, previously he ran an antiquities shop at 35 Świętokrzyska Street, where he traded in Polish painting for several years, downloaded works by Boznańska, canvases by Chełmoński, Matejko, and enriched the Polish collection with a collection of paintings by the Gierymski brothers. He organized painting exhibitions and picture auctions.
[...] he specialized in 19th-century painting, which was surprising among collectors, as Jewish art dealers were understanding and inclined to deal with the Russian avant-garde. Antoni Słonimski even coined in his "Weekly Chronicles" the word "abegutnairism" for dealing with past times. "
In 1924 Gutnajer will buy works from the collection of Count Korwin-Milewski (the National Museum will not be interested in the collection then, but after many years it will start buying individual paintings from Gutnajer, including Chełmoński's Babie Lato). He will die tragically in the ghetto on July 21, 1942, his son Lucek will escape from Soviet captivity and enlist as a volunteer to serve in the Polish air force in bomb squadrons. "The Gutnajer family did not renounce their Jewish identity, but they were completely assimilated, their homeland was Poland
- says Eve Gutnajer Infanti, Ludwik's wife, in Włodzimierz Kalicki's text.
Everyday life
In the Nowości Theater, a platinum bracelet with an emerald and diamonds worth 30,000 sq m was stolen from the dressing room of the artist Lucyna Messalówna during the performance. It happened on the artist's name day, during the performance of Kálmán's Duchess of Czardaszka (under the title at that time), which is performed almost every day in the Nowości Theater:
Whenever the poster in Nowości introduces a melodic operetta by Kálmán with Mr. Messalówna as a representative of the title creation, based on Puccinian music, the room is always full to the brim; This was the case yesterday at the 25th performance of the Duchess with the unparalleled prima donna, who was the subject of a warm ovation:enthusiastic applause rang out after each aria, and the scene in the second act turned into a colorful flower garden.
The correspondent of Kurjer Warszawski does not miss the truth for a moment. Messalka, the daughter of a carpentry master from Warsaw, an excellent dancer and singer, has been loved by her city for many years, from the day the capital saw her - also in Nowości - dancing Argentine tango. It took place in 1913 during the performance of Victor Jacobi's operetta Targ for girls. To the theater located between Hipoteczna and Długa, at ul. Bielańska, there were endless lines. "If, in this most fashionable dance, you lost sight of even the whole world - we would not really lose too much.
The article is an excerpt from Joanna Rolińska's book Summer 1920 , which has just been released on the market by Bellona
The world of dance is worth more than any other world! " - wrote the critic Wacław Grubiński. Those years were the time of the splendor of the Nowości theater and the time of the reign of operetta in Warsaw. When Messalka plays in Księżnej Czardaszka - the genre is already withering, it cannot withstand competition with the cinema and cabaret popular in twenty years, the building of the Nowości Theater itself will be modernized over time and adapted to cinematographic performances. However, the fame of Messalka, who will be surrounded by the love of Varsovians until her death, will not fade away.
On the 50th anniversary of artistic work on November 25, 1946 in Roma, the room was packed to the last seat, there were also crowds of people standing. The tearful birthday girl was applauded standing up, and after the song Only Be Young and Still 20, flowers were showered. When she died on December 10, 1953, it was impossible to enter the church. She had a set even after her death - as it was said in the theater in the past
- many years later her much younger theatrical colleague Witold Sadowy will write.
Victims
For a Polish soldier:"Instead of flowers on the name day of Lucyna Messal by the great artist with a heart of gold Henryk Kramerna - 300 sq m."
On the Polish White Cross:"As compensation for an ugly act committed by me, K.B. consists of 25 sq m. ”
Accidents
Accidents - from the city:"Buses that were overcrowded during the last strike are now circulating almost empty.
Undoubtedly, the reason is too high the price of the toll. The audience does not understand why they should pay 5 sq m for a bus ride, since the tram ride costs 2 sq m. It cannot even be argued that the bus ride is more comfortable. On the contrary, Viennese buses shake impossible, tilt from side to side and, due to their design, discourage the public who prefer trams. "
Source:
The article is an excerpt from Joanna Rolińska's book Summer 1920 , which has just been released on the market by Bellona