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183 the Establishment of Pomeranian Cities at the Threshold of Inde Wojciechowski M., Powrót Pomorza do Polski 1918-1920, Warszawa-Poznań- Toruń 1982. Wojciechowski M., Powrót Torunia do Polski w 1920 r., Rocznik Toruński, 1971, t. 5, s. 5-29. Wojciechowski M., Rady Chłopskie i Robotników Rolnych na Pomorzu Gdań- skim w latach 1918-1920, Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Ko- pernika w Toruniu. Nauki Humanistyczno-Społeczne, z. 46: Historia VII, Toruń 1972, s. 5-28. Wojciechowski M., Toruń w latach rewolucji listopadowej (1918-1919), Rocznik Toruński, 1966, t.1, s. 103-129. Wojciechowski M., Toruń w latach 1914-1920, [w:] Historia Torunia, red. M. Biskup, t. 3, cz. 1: W czasach zaboru pruskiego, Toruń 2003, s. 431-481. The Establishment of Pomeranian cities at the threshold of inde- pendence for the Second Polish Republic was not limited merely to petty-bourgeois, clerical or intellectual spheres. From at least the mid- nineteenth century, the local landed gentry was also a permanent ele- ment thereof. Earlier, due to its privileged political and economic posi- tion, this group played a leading social role, without becoming overly involved in urban circles. Under the influence of the changes brought by the Spring of Nations and the modernisation processes of the Prus- sian state, the rapprochement of various environments, social groups and the elites began. In turn, in the 1870s, the intensifying Germanisa- tion policy – contrary to the intentions of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck – consolidated the Polish community. The combination of economic, social and political factors also influenced the high-profile activity of Polish landowners in the urban environments of the Prussian partition1. It was no different in Toruń, which played the role of an important regional centre. Polish landed gentry activists – precisely in this city – convened the economic assembly every year, created financial institu- tions that served their countrymen in increasing the value and competi- tiveness of their enterprises. Starting from the slogans of economic development, they instilled the idea of organic work in the Polish so- –––––––––– 1 Sz. Wierzchosławski, Orzeł czarny i orzeł biały. Problemy modernizacji społe- czeństwa polskiego prowincji Prusy Zachodnie w XIX i na początku XX stulecia, Toruń 2011, pp. 170-172. 183 ciety, which over time became a political paradigm based on national solidarity. An important issue was to improve the level of Polish edu- cation, which is why the Academic Assistance Society was founded in nearby Chełmno, which subsidised talented youth, and a few years later in Toruń, the Association for Moral Interests. In the following years, the Academic Society was founded in Toruń, patronising the development of science and national culture in West Prussia. The pri- mary activity of landowners in rural areas – in agricultural circles, folk societies, trade cooperatives, financial institutions – could not be over- estimated, changing not only the face of the countryside, but also the mentality, awareness and intellectual level of the peasants2. All these initiatives put forward, implemented and financed by the Pomeranian landed gentry contributed to the formation of a Polish in- telligentsia aware of their own nationality – largely comprised of land- owners personally. The inevitable result of these processes was the birth of modern political movements, which over time broke the mo- nopoly of the landed gentry for the political representation of Poles in the representative bodies of Prussia and the German Reich3. Paradoxi- cally, the landowners themselves – though unintentionally – contribut- ed to their own marginalisation in favour of the participation of the intelligentsia, the petty bourgeoisie and representatives of other social groups in public life. However, they did not cease to occupy manage- rial positions in previously created organisations and institutions, still playing the role of local authorities. –––––––––– 2 J. Borzyszkowski, Ziemiaństwo pomorskie a inteligencja i stan średni na prze- łomie XIX i XX wieku, [in:] Szlachta i ziemiaństwo na Pomorzu w dobie nowożytnej XVI-XX wieku (Przemiany struktur wewnętrznych), edit. J. Dygdała, Toruń 1993, pp. 125-132; A. Bukowski, Oświata i nauka w programie pozytywistycznym toruńskiego Towarzystwa Moralnych Interesów (1869-1884), Rocznik Gdański, 1983, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 5-58; B. Osmólska-Piskorska, Pomorskie Towarzystwo Pomocy Naukowej. Pół wieku istnienia i działalności 1848-1898, Toruń 1948; K. Wajda, W dobie zaboru pruskiego 1875-1918, [in:] Dzieje Towarzystwa Naukowego w Toruniu 1875-1975, vol. 1, edit. M. Biskup, Toruń 1977, pp. 11-110. 3 Sz. Wierzchosławski, Ziemiaństwo wśród elit polskiego ruchu narodowego w Prusach Zachodnich w drugiej połowie XIX i początkach XX wieku, [in:] Szlachta i ziemiaństwo na Pomorzu w dobie nowożytnej XVI-XX wieku, edit. J. Dygdała, Toruń 1993, pp. 115-118. 184 The outbreak of World War I, in addition to the Poles’ understand- able fear of the ravages and uncertainty of tomorrow, also unleashed hopes for the resurrection of the Polish state. Along with subsequent appeals and later more specific declarations by the partitioning coun- tries, the conviction about the inevitability of this process grew. Of course, the perspective was still a bit vague, and the intentions of the emperors were calculated and cynically focused on acquiring new, combative recruits to join the army. However, the upheaval in Russia, the deadlock of Germany on the Western Front, and finally the inter- nationalisation of the Polish cause, in 1918 gave grounds to link the end of the war with the restitution of the Republic of Poland. Among the circles of people aware of the international situation, nothing was more present in the discussion than the perspective of regaining inde- pendence. The good news for the Poles spread quickly, at first thanks to the press (despite censorship blocking information on Germany’s failures), and later in private correspondence and oral communication. At the beginning of October 1918, Polish newspapers reported on the peace proposal of Prince Maximilian of Baden’s new German gov- ernment, based on the January message of the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson. They cited the statement of Władysław Sey- da – chairman of the Polish Circle in the Reichstag – who, referring to point 13 of this address, made lasting peace dependent on the creation of a united Polish state4. A few days later, first-hand information came to Nawra, near Toruń, via correspondence. Izabela Skórzewska, who witnessed those days in Berlin, gave her brother, Jan Sczaniecki, de- tailed reports. She left no doubt as to the emotions of the German par- liamentary circles: the “despair, anger and indignation of the Germans is indescribable”, and at the same time she talked about her own joy, hopes and actions: “Poznań and Royal Prussia with Gdańsk, Silesia are sure for Poland. We immediately began preparing the organisation –––––––––– 4 Propozycja pokojowa Niemiec. Stanowisko Polaków, Kurjer Poznański, 8 Octo- ber 1918, no. 231; Koło polskie domaga się odbudowania niezależnej Polski, obejmu- jącej wszystkie ziemia polskie z własnym wybrzeżem morskiem, Dziennik Bydgoski, 9 October 1918, no 230; Odrodzenie Polski, Pielgrzym, 12 October 1918, no. 123. 185 for the time of handing over the Prussian partition”5. The package addressed to Nawra included one more letter – of Władysław Seyda to “Dr. M”6 – unfortunately not preserved. It was a common practice to convey important third party correspondence to family or loved ones for better orientation. Thanks to this, the circulation of direct reports expanded. In this way, Sczaniecki could give his neighbours fresh and confirmed news. At that time, the German local administration was no longer una- ware of the fact that Poles were happily awaiting the fall of the Reich. Chełmno Landrat, probing the moods of the opinion-forming Polish landed gentry, however, came to the conclusion that some of them (es- pecially the wealthier) were still expectant7. If one were to give faith to this opinion – although it should be emphasised that it was a subjective assessment of the landrat – it might have been related to the progressive radicalisation of social moods resulting from poverty, prolonged war and famine. Waves of strikes and demonstrations had been haunting the German Reich since 1917. They also took place in Toruń and the surrounding area. The most famous ones occurred in Chełmża, where they also took on a nationalistic character. The progressive decomposi- tion of the German state in the autumn of 1918 led to an increase in sentiments against the system that might result in Bolshevik conflagra- tion, already known from the Russian territories. However, as the fol- lowing weeks showed, Polish landowners were able to join in dynamic social movements – on the one hand, counteracting radicalisation, and on the other, directing the protest against the German authorities8. –––––––––– 5 The State Archives in Toruń (referred to as: SAT), Sczanieckis of Nawra Archives, ref. no. 486, letter of Izabela Skórzewska nee Sczaniecka to Jan Sczaniecki, undated. 6 It was probably about a letter to Dr. Władysław Mieczkowski – a Poznań lawyer and national activist, a member of the Reichstag, a member of the secret Citizens’ Committee, originating from the Pomeranian landed gentry, related, among others to Donimirski, Ślaski, and Sczaniecki families. 7 State Archives in Gdańsk, Kwidzyn Regency, ref. no. 10158, a letter from Chełmno Landrat to the president of the Kwidzyn Regency on October 8, 1918.
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