The article attempts at a presentation and an interpretation of a relatively unknown text by Joseph Conrad, namely, his Memoriał w sprawie polskiej [Note on the Polish Problem], written in Zakopane in 1914. The author of this article by interpreting the text of that document proves that it was created – to a great extent − under the influence of trialist conceptions of Galician conservatives, predominantly, an eminent lawyer from Kraków, Ph.D. Teodor Kosch.
PL
Artykuł stanowi próbę prezentacji i interpretacji stosunkowo mało znanego tekstu Conrada, jego Memoriału w sprawie polskiej, napisanego w Zakopanem w roku 1914. Autor artykułu, interpretując treść owego dokumentu, dowodzi, że powstał on w dużej mierze pod wpływem trialistycznych koncepcji konserwatystów galicyjskich, a przede wszystkim wybitnego adwokata krakowskiego, doktora Teodora Koscha.
The goal of this article is to depict an important episode in a biography of an outstanding Polish poet, a representative of “the generation of Columbuses” – Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński. This episode was the military service of the poet. Baczyński consciously resigned from the Polish studies at the secret Warsaw University and in June of 1943 joined the Assault Groups of the Gray Ranks. He went through all the training stages on the cadet level and took part in assault actions, including detonation of a train transporting German soldiers. On 1st August 1944 he took part in the Warsaw Upraising and on the 4th day of said month he died in the Blank Palace at the Theater Square. The motives of Baczyński’s actions were the family tradition as well as the model of the soldier-poet preserved in the Romantic culture.
PL
Celem niniejszego artykułu jest przedstawienie ważnego fragmentu biografii wybitnego poety polskiego, przedstawiciela „pokolenia Kolumbów” – Krzysztofa Kamila Baczyńskiego. Fragmentem tym była służba wojskowa poety. Baczyński świadomie zrezygnował ze studiów polonistycznych na tajnym Uniwersytecie Warszawskim i w czerwcu 1943 roku wstąpił do Grup Szturmowych Szarych Szeregów. Przeszedł przez wszystkie etapy szkolenia w podchorążówce i brał udział w akcjach zbrojnych, w tym także wysadzeniu pociągu z żołnierzami niemieckimi. 1 sierpnia 1944 roku uczestniczył w powstaniu warszawskim i czwartego tegoż miesiąca poległ w Pałacu Blanka przy placu Teatralnym. Motywami postępowania Baczyńskiego była zarówno tradycja rodzinna, jak i utrwalony w kulturze romantycznej wzorzec poety-żołnierza.
This article presents 2 valuable Polish texts on Conrad, published in Polish Catholic guarterly review „Verbum”. First article, by Rafał Marceli Bluth, presents important event in Conrad`s biography – his decision to leave his native country – Poland for ever. The second article,,by Konrad Górski, offers original interpretation of famous Conrad`s novel – Lord Jim.
This article discusses Joseph Conrad’s links with Cracow, the historic capital of Poland and a major centre of Polish culture. Conrad fi rst came to Cracow in February 1869, accompanied by his father Apollo Korzeniowski, who - after several years of exile in northern Russia - had become gravely ill. Conrad visited the city a second time in the summer of 1914, having accepted an invitation from the young Polish politician Józef Hieronim Retinger, and (not without some diffi culty) eventually managed to get himself and his family safely back to Britain after the outbreak of World War I. Both of these sojourns in Cracow played an important role in Conrad’s life - and, one might say, in his creative work as a writer. One of the most vivid memories of his fi rst stay in Cracow was the hero’s funeral given to his father, who had been a victim of tsarist oppression. It was from Cracow that the young Conrad set out for France in order to take up a maritime career in Marseilles. During his second stay in Cracow (and Zakopane) Conrad made the acquaintance of many members of the Polish intellectual elite and took the decision to become actively involved in the cause of Polish independence.
The goal of the article is to show how activities of the communist censorship tried to block, and when this proved impossible, to diminish the social resonance of one of the most important historical works of documentary character – the book 1859 dni Warszawy by Władysław Bartoszewski (Kraków 1974, “Znak” publishing house). When this chronicle had been released, a number of positive reviews was restricted and some of them were not admitted to print. There were attacks on this book in communist party and military periodicals, however it found defenders among scholarly and moral authorities and was valued by the Polish emigration press.