PDF

Transkrypt

PDF

Fight under every banner, except the white flag…
Dorota Strojnowska
In the history of Poland, the rustle of silk dresses has often mingled with the rustle of silk banners
– fabric intended to be used for clothing was often used to produce insurrectional banners. Our
history has been written by crossed sabres hung on Persian fabrics in mansions belonging to
noblemen, and by gorgets placed on whitewashed walls. In palaces and manors the symbols of
the past were tournament armours and horse tacks, while at small cottages and huts there were
modest peaked cups (Polish: konfederatka) and upright placed scythes, when there was a need to
support Tadeusz Kościuszko. All hearts beat for the homeland, no matter if they were hidden under
the buckler of a knight, the sheepskin coat of an insurgent or a legionary, or the shirt of the Home
Army’s soldier. However, they have not always been beating amicably. It just so happened that
they brought harm to the Most Serene Republic of Poland.
The Poles fought under various banners, e.g. shoulder to shoulder with Napoleon who, as we
believed, would reinstate freedom for our homeland, though he was cursed by almost all of
Europe. Jan Henryk Dąbrowski was
the general fighting in service of Prussia, while Prince Józef Poniatowski in service of Austria.
Additionally, he was also a bon vivant (nowadays we would call him a celebrity). However, they
were national heroes who gave their service to Poland, for which Poniatowski even sacrificed his
life… Each banner has two sides.
Nowadays, from a time perspective, it is easier for us to decide which path was a good one, the
one that should have been chosen. Preserved armours, weapons, banners and uniforms are
witnesses of the past: sometimes glorious and sometimes miserable – and that is what we should
remember, caressing and paying them respect. The more knowledge of the past we have, the
wiser we are when looking at the present and the future.
TADEUSZ KOŚCIUSZKO’S COAT
National Museum in Krakow
(Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie)
There is no piece of clothing more symbolic than a coat worn by peasants (Polish: sukmana),
one which has become so very popular. It has become the symbol for the fight for free Poland
inhabited by equal Poles. “Under this pear tree Kościuszko you could see.” Everyone bragged
they knew the Commander. In more modern times, another such figure was Commander Józef
Piłsudski – it would be very good to say that “he once slept on this very couch, in this very living
room…” We have already forgotten that Kościuszko wore a Russian uniform; some of us know
that he also wore an American one. He used to wear a sukmana coat for a short time, but it
became such a precious relic for the family of Jan Burzyński using the Trzywdar coat of arms that
it was worth risking a life for. A nobleman wearing such a coat must have been shocking for other
noblemen, who wore pleasantly smelling clothing of a completely different style. High society
accepted it quite fast. Nowadays, a sukmana-type coat is a part of the folk outfit, but it is worth
remembering that it used to be a uniform.
HUSSAR SITTING ON A HORSE
Monuments are usually cast in bronze, or sculptured in marble. In the Jan Matejko House there is
a monument of a heavy cavalry rider with wings – made not of gun metal or stone, but of gypsum,
as it is only
www.muzea.malopolska.pl
a monument dummy. It has never been cast or sculpted. It might have been found weird that Leon
Wyczółkowski showed the tiny painter Jan Matejko as a huge hussar. However, there is nothing
strange about that at all – a hussar represents the glory of the Polish art of war, praised by Master
Jan’s brush. Wings made of eagle or vulture feathers fitted to an armour or saddlebow scared
away the enemy’s cavalry with their noise, and an estoc covered with tiger or leopard skin made
him more splendorous. Hussars have been widely recognised as those who assured the victory
in the Battle of Vienna. Matejko has his monument in Warsaw and Wiśnicz. His bust can also be
seen in Krzesławice and Jordan Park in Krakow. But his greatest monument is still the Jan Matejko
House being a witness of his art, and his paintings at the Wawel Castle and the National Museum
in Krakow.
TOURNAMENT ARMOUR
A knight tournament was a very important event in the lives of medieval knights. Only the most
wicked people could compare it to present pre-arranged hooligan fights. Such a tournament
was limited by strict rules of the knights’ etiquette that no one was allowed to break or omit. The
rules were binding for warriors as well as for spectators, especially dames. The skill to throw an
opponent off the horse or to harm him so badly that he would not be able to stand up again, that
is to overthrow him, was not the only important thing for knights. During the tournament a knight
had to literally shine with his armour. Do not even try to imagine how he must have felt dressed in
armour in the warm summer sunny weather… especially that a typical armour weighed over twenty
kilos…
Well-known European armourers earned plenty of money, but the effect of their craftsmanship
required great knowledge, skill and aesthetics. Ordered armours had to be customised to the size
of the owner and resistant to enemy blows as well as to draw attention by their ornaments. Thus
it is obvious that such an armour was very expensive. Good armourers were respected by their
principals, although it once happened that an argument between an armourer from Krakow and
Andrzej Tęczyński had tragic results.
HORSE TACK BELONGING TO HETMAN STANISŁAW JABŁONOWSKI
National Museum in Krakow (Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie)
“A horse tack for the one who…” Not everyone knows what was really given by saying these
words. A horse tack consists not only of a saddle and a bridle, the practical elements needed for
the rider’s comfort and horse’s safety. A horse tack is also the rider’s pride and the evidence of his
wealth. Elegant horse tacks contained golden stirrups, saddles studded with semi-precious, and
sometimes even precious, stones and richly embroidered saddlecloths. The trend of having a
beautiful horse tack was spreading throughout all of Europe and they were extremely expensive,
thus those who had not gained a spectacular saddle, a bridle and stirrups overthrowing enemies
– for example during the Battle of Vienna – and had not been rich enough, had to run up a
debt, often on very significant amounts. A spectacularly tacked horse was ridden by an equally
spectacularly dressed and proud rider. In this case, the rider was Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski using
the Prus III coat of arms, a field crown hetman, the castellan of Krakow, the voivode of Rus, one of
the richest Polish magnates. He fought with the Tatars, the Cossacks, and the Ottoman Turks. He
supported the army with his own funds, which brought him fame and friendliness of the Poles.
THE GOLDEN MACE
In Poland maces were used by rittmeisters, colonels, lieutenants and standard-bearers. Initially
they were used as a weapon and then as a symbol of authority. One of the types of mace is a
bulawa – the power symbol of a hetman. The mace and bulawa differed in shape and ornaments.
Within a mace’s handle there was often a hidden dagger that could be twisted off and mounted
at the mace’s end if needed. Maces were also used during court ceremonies, e.g. they were being
carried before arriving legations. This mace belonged to Hetman Stanisław Jabłonowski and
served as a symbol of his authority.
THE SOKOL UNIFORM
City Museum in Wadowice (Muzeum Miejskie w Wadowicach)
The Sokol (English: falcon) Sport Movement (named the Polish Association of Sokol Movements
after 1892) was a paramilitary organisation based on the ideas of positivism. Its official statutory
activity was sport, but in fact its goal was to maintain national awareness and to prepare its
members for a military fight. The Sokol headquarters, sometimes very spectacular, like in Krakow,
were in almost every city. The society had its symbol – a flying falcon – and the anthem, it spread
its publications and local branches had their own orchestras. The Sokol Movement also took
patronage over scouting. Many photographs depicting gymnastic exercises of Sokol members
have remained until the present day. These activities often took place in public in order to
encourage potential members to join the society and to show to the gathered public that the
sentence “A sound mind in a sound body” is not just idle talk. The members of the movement
also did horse-riding, cycling and rowing. They also took part in national ceremonies wearing
ceremonial uniforms. Mockers were laughing: “A sound body ends up bloody”, but the year of
1914 proved that organisers of the Sokol movement were right as plenty of its members joined the
Polish Legions in World War I.
SHEEPSKIN COAT OF MAJOR WYRWA
Museum of the Home Army (Muzeum Armii Krajowej)
Between WWI and WWII, Józef Wyrwa Furgalski, vel Old Man, was the school principal in the
village of Lipa, near Radoszyce in the Kielce Voivodeship. During the Polish Defensive War
of 1939, he fought in the National Defence Battalion of the Fourth Legions Regiment. After
coming home he joined the “Limba” Division (operating near the town of Końskie) of the Union
of Armed Struggle and had contact with Major Henryk Dobrzański vel Hubal. His son, Tadeusz
Wyrwa vel Little Eagle, was sworn as a member of the division on 15 March 1940. After the war,
afraid of being arrested, they both departed for Western countries. While in the USA, Tadeusz
Wyrwa declined to participate in the Korean War as it could not free Central European countries
from Soviet occupation and could not support the process of acknowledgement of the Polish
government-in-exile.
Józef Wyrwa buried Hubal’s diary he had been given in the ground. After World War II, Wyrwa’s
daughter smuggled this precious document to France and his son, Tadeusz Wyrwa, a historian
specialising in contemporary times, donated it to the Museum of the Home Army in 2009.
In the Museum’s collection there is also a sheepskin coat for protection against the winter cold, the
thing every partisan should have had.
THE SHIRT OF A RUSSIAN CAPTIVE
Ethnographic Museum in Krakow (Muzeum Etnograficzne w Krakowie)
While thinking about officers and soldiers, we usually think about uniforms, boots, rifles. However,
we seldom reflect upon their underwear. Not many people remember that during World War I
footwraps were much more popular than socks… The same was with underwear, which looked
different than nowadays and was not always easy to acquire. In his letters sent home, one of the
legionaries, Stanisław Szarski, a rich man from Krakow, wrote that he felt perfect and everything
was going well, but the one thing he was missing was silk underwear… Thus, the shirt is a symbol
of all these ordinary elements that soldiers seldom mention. At the same time, it reminds us that
during the war not all soldiers fight and die; some of them become captives.
Captivity is a very difficult experience for every officer and soldier. It is also not an easy situation
for the other party, which is obliged to provide good enough conditions for captives. Usually,
propaganda also played its role in such circumstances: in newspapers from the time of World War
I and photo albums of former legionaries, we can often find sets of photographs: the first one
depicting Russian soldiers just after being taken captive and the second one – showing the same
people, but after some hygienic activities.
A RAF UNIFORM
Almost all little boys dream of becoming a pilot. In the interwar period, the greatest fulfilled
wish for many was to fly planes labelled with a white and red chequered pattern defending their
country. The pilot’s uniform was often replaced by a bomber hat, which was still trendy even after
the war. Pilot leather jackets, so-called battle-dresses, were in demand as they were elegant and
warm. Unfortunately, it often happened that their owners (not numerous, in fact) had to report to
public security authorities and explain where they had got them from as participation in Polish
military formations in the West was perceived very negatively in the period of the People’s
Republic of Poland. After the plane of this uniform’s owner was shot down, the pilot and the
uniform were carefully hidden in case the Nazis found him or any traces leading to the pilot. This
would have put many people in grave danger. The plane of this uniform’s owner was shot down
over the village of Cekinia, in the Świętokrzyskie region. Despite the danger of pacification, the
pilot was kept hidden until he could safely return to the United Kingdom, whereas the uniform was
carefully stored as a precious exhibit.
THE UNIFORM OF MAJOR GENERAL TADEUSZ BÓR-KOMOROWSKI
The importance of this jacket uniform of the general is related to its owner, Major General Tadeusz
Bór-Komorowski, Polish Army officer since November 1918, among others, the commander of
the 9th Regiment of Małopolska Uhlans and the commander of the Cavalry School in Grudziądz
as well as a horse rider and participant of two Olympic Games. During WWII, he was an active
member of the underground movement as – among others – deputy commander of the Union
of Armed Struggle and finally as a commander of the Home Army. He took the decision to start
the Warsaw Uprising. After the defeat he was held captive and then after released from captivity
in the German oflag (prisoner of war camp) he departed to London. In exile he was a member of
the unacknowledged Polish government and the community of the former Home Army. For his
achievements he was rewarded with the Order of the White Eagle, the Commander’s Cross, the
Knight’s Cross, the Golden Cross and the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari, the Grand
Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Cross of Valor thrice and the Cross of Merit thrice.
ARQEBUS
District Museum in Tarnów (Muzeum Okręgowe w Tarnowie)
“I can still see fuming arquebuses…”. That is the part of Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński’s historiographic
poem. In the poem, he describes history written not by commanders and great heroes, but by
nameless infantry soldiers using such a type of rifles since ca. the 15th century. As arquebuses were
very expensive and soldiers not very rich, there were not many of these rifles in Poland; especially
that in the Polish history infantry has not been of such great importance as cavalry. In the 17th
century, riders – so-called reiters – also used arquebuses. They were of greater importance in
Western European countries, where they were used by numerous, well-skilled divisions.
HOME ARMY ARMBAND
ARMBAND FROM “ŻELBET” (FERROCEMENT) HOME ARMY DIVISION
The Home Army did not have its own uniforms. Many partisans that served as Polish Army
soldiers before World War II wore their former uniforms or their parts. Among younger partisans
– generally secondary school and university students – it was trendy to wear at least knee-boots
and a side cap. Such elements of dress exposed them to the threat of uncover and subsequent
consequences, but many of them did not bother. During fights they were labelled with armbands
with the letters “AK” on them. Special importance was given to armbands used during the Warsaw
Uprising when they were the sole emblem for many insurgents as they did not have any uniforms.
That is how the insurgent was shown on the Warsaw monument: wearing too large a helmet and
an armband. Nowadays, after all the Home Army soldiers uncovered themselves – some of them
had been waiting to do so until the 1990s – an armband is the symbol of the largest world-wide
underground army of the Polish Underground State.
VIRTUTI MILITARI CROSS OF GENERAL BENEDYKT KOŁYSZKO
The Order of Virtuti Militari was established by King Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski on 22 June
1772. Its motto is “Honour and Homeland.” Among the rewarded there are commanders, officers,
soldiers and even towns. One of those awarded with the Cross of War Order of Virtuti Militari
was Benedykt Denis Kołyszko (b. 1750 in Serwuki in Volhynia; d. 1834 in Lviv), who received it for
bravery in the Battle of Zieleńce. During the Kościuszko Insurrection he took command over the
2nd Ukrainian Brigade of the National Cavalry. In 1794 he was promoted by Kościuszko to the rank
of general major. After the collapse of the uprising, he departed to Venice and then came back
home to take control over his lands. Finally, he came back to the army and on 5 May 1831 was
appointed the commander of the Podolia Uprising; however, quite soon, on 26 May, he was held
captive by the Austrians.
The Cross of War Order of Virtuti Militari is one of the most precious patriotic exhibits. It proves
bravery of the rewarded persons and their dedication to the Homeland. Every reward is recorded
and the lists of all rewarded are published, thus we can find out where the very cross of General
Benedykt Kołyszko was manufactured and how much it cost. The possibility to watch this
distinction lets us witness great history that is within the reach of our hands.
VIS P 35 (p) PISTOL
“Pistol Vis – deadly kiss.” This is a verse from a song popular in the time of Nazi occupation. The
Polish Underground State took advantage of the fact that the Germans kept producing the 35
semi-automatic pistol designed by Piotr Wilniewczyc and Jan Skrzypiński in 1930. It was called
WiS, taken from the initials of the pistol designers. However, it was soon renamed to Vis, which
in Latin means “strength”, “power” and also “bravery”. Many weapon experts think that this
pistol was one of the best ones. Manufactured in the Arms Factory in Radom, it was implemented
into the weaponry of the Polish Army and used by regular soldiers. During the occupation, the
Germans moved some of the manufacturing units to other locations, but some pistols were still
manufactured in Radom. Pistol parts were stolen and mounted together undercover in order to
provide the Home Army with complete pistols. This pistol is not manufactured anymore, but it still
remains in the hearts of the Home Army soldiers, in the song and in the legend.
DOG TAG OF KAZIMIERZ PIOTROWSKI FROM THE WARSAW UPRISING
Among the existing exhibits from the Warsaw Uprising is Kazimierz Piotrowski’s dog tag – it is
a little plate enabling the identification of a dead soldier. The first dog tags were used during the
American Civil War in 1865. In Europe, their first application took place during World War I. Their
appearance and use were defined by two acts of humanitarian law, the Hague Convention and
the Geneva Convention. In Poland, dog tags were implemented in 1920. Since 1931 there had
been a new design and dog tags contained the following information: names, last name, the
abbreviation for the soldier’s religion (on the dog tag’s face), filling card number, the first letter
of the soldier’s district, the name of the relevant military recruitment office and the year of birth.
The dog tag, worn under underwear, was not allowed to be taken off. The little perforated plate,
easily breakable into two halves after death or being wounded in a battlefield, was the part of the
soldiers’ identification system thanks to the information it contained. This dog tag was produced
during the Nazi occupation and belonged to Kazimierz Piotrowski vel Kazik, a participant of the
Warsaw Uprising and a soldier of the Third “Konrad” – KRYBAR division, who after the Uprising
was sent to the Fallingbostel XI B Stalag camp. It is not just a souvenir, but also a specific type of a
distinction.
A HUSSAR SABRE
The hussar sabre is one of the most typical elements of the Polish “Sarmatian” culture. A sabre –
long, cold steel and edged weapon – has a single-edged curved blade that distinguishes it from
a sword whose blade is straight and double-edged. It was meant to perform slashes and stabs.
The first sabres were probably invented in China. In Poland, they appeared e.g. during the Battle
of Legnica in 1241, but they had not been used much until the end of the 15th century. Their
popularity in Poland may be attributed to the Tatars and the Ottoman Turks. Not so long ago in
every traditional Polish house, there were crossed sabres hung on a rug (kilim), sometimes they
were inherited from ancestors and sometimes bought at antique markets. Sabre masters were
praised by diarists and writers – among these heroes was Michał Wołodyjowski, “the greatest
sabre of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth”. The generations of followers rearranged the duel
between Sir Michał and Bohun, and even nowadays we can hear the famous words: “Finish that,
spare me this disgrace”, said in various situations. A sabre had also some practical importance as it
made it possible to identify the military assignment of its bearer. In more modern times, the title of
the “sabre fencer of the universe” was given to Jerzy Pawłowski, the Olympic and world champion.
We could talk about sabres endlessly and though many of them, old and worn, were devoured
by rust and forgotten, those from the present still do not surrender and go with the flow, used as
sports accessories and collected as souvenirs.
Dorota Zofia Strojnowska – Polish language and literature specialist, expert in cinema studies,
journalist, member of the Polish Journalists Association, author of the following publications:
Bracia Hniłkowie (Hniłko Brothers) and Warto pamiętać. Patroni krzeszowickich ulic (Worth
Remembering. Famous People the Streets of Krzeszowice were Named After) and web
information on Krakow facilities commemorating the fight for independence during WWII. She
is the editorial assistant of Ziemia Krzeszowicka (Krzeszowice and its Surroundings) magazine
and managing editor of Informator Stowarzyszenia Żołnierzy Armii Krajowej (The Home Army
Association Bulletin). She is working on her three new publications. She is engaged in the societies
of Krakow and Krzeszowice.

PDF

Transkrypt

Podobne dokumenty

PDF

PDF

PDF

Natural History Museum

The Orient – so far, so near

Surviving WZT-1 Armoured Recovery Vechicle

Sarmatism

www.polishengineers.org - Polish American Engineers Association