Wounding his relatives came easily to Piłsudski and probably even brought him unhealthy satisfaction, as if he liked to pump his ego at the expense of other people's feelings. He proved it many times during his youthful stay in Siberia. And Leonarda Lewandowska learned about it painfully.
Leonarda Lewandowska, the daughter of a noble family from the former Polish Borderlands, was exiled to Siberia for anti-Tsarist activities. She met Józef Piłsudski, who was slightly younger than herself, through mutual acquaintances. They liked each other quickly. It wasn't a passing affair that brought them together, but a constant feeling that gave rise to a serious relationship.
They lived together for several months, just like the spouses - this is how they treated each other, predicting that the relationship would be legalized when they returned from Siberia. The separation was only due to the fact that Leonard's sentence had ended earlier and the girl returned to her hometown, promising to wait patiently for her unofficial husband's arrival.
She kept her word, but the same cannot be said of Joseph.
A lazy parasite on a woman who loves him
Several dozen letters exchanged between lovers have survived. They shed valuable light on both the nature of their relationship and the gradual breakdown of the relationship.
Leonard from a distance, but she still cared for Ziuk. She inquired about his (always leaving a lot to be desired) health, was interested in every detail, even the tiniest detail of everyday life, and emphasized that she loved him invariably. And he?
Józef Piłsudski (third from the left) in a photo from his youth together with his brother and friends
He quickly began to notice that he lacked not even the company of the closest person, but ... her readiness to clean up after him, wash his pants and spend time over his pots. He missed Leonarda as a housekeeper, not a wife. And he wasn't hiding it from her at all.
In one of his letters he boasted that he was temporarily forced to prepare regular meals, but he did not like this activity very much, because "he got used to living in this respect at the expense of someone else's work."
"What to do, one must humbly bear the cross, which God sends us from heaven," he whined, as if putting a pot of water on him, and at the same time succumbed to the whip with a whip. In another letter he complained that cleaning was an overwhelming job for him.
"My quarters are a peak of disorder and mismanagement, sometimes awkward at times, but what can you do with yourself when it is really so difficult to tidy up, sweep away" - he grumbled, fondly returning his thoughts to the times when someone was tidying up all this mess for him. And once he happened to move his lazy hands and sweep the room (because "it was so dirty that it was scary"), he immediately reported this immortal success of Leonarda, as if he had obtained a university diploma or defeated the overwhelming enemy forces at the head of the army.
Learn about the fate of women who won independence for Poland, and for themselves - freedom, voting rights and the dignity that have always been denied them. You can read about them in the book by Kamil Janicki “Niepokorne damy. Women who won an independent Poland ”
At the same time he also complained - and frequently - about the addressee of his epistle. Not even because she left him, but ... because she was characterized by obvious and apparently more and more irritating defects.
A sadist with no tact or pity
Józef knew perfectly well that Leonarda grew up in Russified Ukraine; that she had never had the opportunity to learn the Polish language, and spoke at best a border dialect in which words taken from Russian were mixed with Ukrainian influences and scraps of Polish. Nevertheless, the girl felt Polish and tried to teach her mother tongue as much as she could.
Józef - speaking a language that left something to be desired and weeded with mistakes - instead of cheering her on and supporting her, understanding the difficult situation, mercilessly ridiculed her mistakes and scored her shortcomings.
"You belong to a group of people who find it difficult to express many of their feelings and views, and it is peculiarly difficult for you in Polish" - as if it was stated by the fact, but in a way that must have hurt Leonarda like a prick with an ice pick. He had a grudge even when she showed concern for him.
Irkut in winter in a painting from the beginning of the 20th century
Supposedly Piłsudski himself kindled her fears, groaning left and right on what this unjust world stands, but when he achieved the result that was to be expected, he would turn the cat over with its tail. And if anything is surprising, it's just that he wasn't screaming out loud to the accompaniment of a mocking cackle:"I've got you!".
" I know that you cannot live without anxiety. That when you absolutely have nothing to worry about and fear about who, then you will be in an abnormal state "- mocked the self-grown master of psychoanalysis. In another letter he added, clearly irritated:“Indeed, your anxieties are just one fantasy, and you never take into account any circumstances. Eh, Leosieńko, it's hard to live with such character in the world ”.
At the same time, he did everything to not only throw on the girl new worries about his condition, but also about the prospects of their relationship.
A bastard who bragged about his "beloved" with his own romances
He boasted with great passion and boastful fervor that, despite the separation, he did not complain about the lack of female company. While Leonardo had a pure and unconditional love for him, he added peculiar reservations to every tender confession.
Maria Piłsudska, mother of Józef Piłsudski
For example, he wrote:"Mileńka, I love my Olesia too much for me to deal with deceptive guys, if I deceive you, believe me, without any particular desire on my part ". But it did not prevent him from emphasizing that more and more women are attracted to it and ... if only out of boredom, he allows himself more or less obliging flirting.
He wrote about a certain Gubarewa that she had already had a crush on him and that he could easily turn her head to the rest without any effort. As proof, uninvited but apparently wanting to prove his irresistible male charm, he told Leosieńka how he spent the whole night sitting with a woman when she was sick, and "the guy was still laughing despite the pain and apparently I was very contented" .
He also added (because there was still a risk that it would be favorable in the eyes of his beloved) a few chauvinistic comments about what his mother supposedly taught him:"Thank God, my parents raised me so well that I can tell Compliments to the babes. And women, oh my God, how sensitive they are to compliments! Seriously, don't be angry with me for such a sentence. ”
When, in response to Leonard, quite exceptionally, she decided to reproach him, the gallant Józef dismissed them, assuring him that nothing had happened with Gubareva, because in this case "the victory would be too easy". But that didn't stop him from describing other conquests at all.
Learn about the fate of women who won independence for Poland, and for themselves - freedom, voting rights and the dignity that have always been denied them. The latest book by Kamil Janicki, 'Niepokorne damy. Women who won an independent Poland ”now available for sale!
He also reported on a second woman, Lidia Łojko, who allegedly started emulating him herself, which he - a settled man, reportedly just waiting to be reunited with his unofficial wife - received with undisguised satisfaction. "Obviously, it is very pleasant for me," boasted Leonard, "nice guy, and besides, I'm used to feeling anyone close to me."
He also stressed that "so far no one has scolded him for catching a cold, and now he cannot get a slight runny nose, so as not to receive a severe excuse and feel that it worries a person". And he probably did not notice that he was scolding Oleś herself for similar reproaches, infuriating him.
Finally, Ziuk did not hesitate to even boast that one of his neighbors "seems to be in love with a guy for good". "I feel that it is unpleasant for him to get a guy close to me," he stuck out his chest proudly. Leonarda, meanwhile, read such letters and became more and more worried about what was also happening over the frozen Irkut.
A bastard who relished breaking her heart
Each message took six weeks. It took the same time for the letter of return to reach Joseph, busy with amours. Meanwhile, the news came less and less. Ziuk repeatedly admitted that he forgot to cross the card in time. After that, he gave up his excuses and just kept on writing. And finally he announced:"I have not written you for so long because I did not have the strength and heart to tell you that our relationship as it was, still cannot remain. Goodbye, maybe forever, Ziu ”.
Maria Juszkiewicz, née Koplewska. Józef Piłsudski's first official wife
When Leonarda, instead of being silent as he wished, demanded an explanation, he already bluntly boasted to her that he had "acted very badly" and that he had "committed himself to the other person." However, the new relationship did not work out, and he was inclined to rethink his relationship with Leosieńka.
They exchanged a few more letters, but more and more dry. Leonarda was ready to forgive him everything, meanwhile he ... reproached her for letting go of mistakes so easily.
The intervals between successive messages grew, even up to several months. When Joseph's exile ended, he did not even think about going to Ukraine. Only one letter has survived, sent by him to his former beloved after his return from Siberia. There, however, he no longer called her "Oleś" or "Leosieńska", but "Dear Mrs. Leonarda". And he did not hide that although it would be "nice for him to know from time to time what about you and your family", he did not intend to bother and organize face-to-face meetings.
He thought the relationship was over and he didn't care much about the opinion of the other party. We know nothing about how Leonarda accepted the final parting. She died a few years later, around 1901. According to family tradition, she committed suicide. According to some historians, she was prompted to take this step by the information about the wedding of Józef and Maria Juszkiewicz.