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Activities of Fr. Zygmunt Kaczynski – Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Education in the Government-In-Exile (1943–1945)

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Activities of Fr. Zygmunt Kaczynski – Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Education in the Government-In-Exile (1943–1945) 196 KATARZYNA LIWAK Przegl d Historyczno-O wiatowy 2016, nr 34 PL ISSN 0033-2178 KATARZYNA LIWAK Uniwersytet Wroc awski DOI: 10.17460/2016.3_4.11 ACTIVITIES OF FR. ZYGMUNT KACZYNSKI MINISTER OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE GOVERNMENT-IN-EXILE (19431945) ZYGMUNT KACZYNSKIS LIFE IN THE YEARS 18941943 The Roman Catholic Church was actively involved in the political life of citizens from 1918 to 1939 through the labour of its priests. Zygmunt Kaczynski (b. 1894) was an example of such a priest. He graduated from the seminary in Warsaw and the Theological Academy in St. Petersburg1 and became highly involved in community life. He worked in trade unions. He served as Secretary General of the Association of Christian Workers (Stowarzyszenie Robotników Chrze cija skich) and director of the Catholic News Agency (Katolicka Agencja Prasowa). Twice, he was elected to parliament as a member of the Christian Workers Party (Chrze cija skie Stronnictwo Pracy). Later, he joined the Christian-National Labour Party (Chrze cija sko-Narodowe Stronnictwo Pracy). He was one of the founders of the Christian Democratic Party (Chrze cija ska Demokracja) and participated in the meetings of the Front Morges. After the outbreak of World War II, he became a member of the Citizens Committee for the Defence of Warsaw, founded by President Starzynski (Oby- watelski Komitet Obrony Warszawy Prezydenta Starzynskiego). Due to his activities during the invasion of Poland in 1939, he had to hide in Zakopane, where he took part in the creation of the clandestine organization Active Fi- ght (Czynna Walka). At the end of September 1939, when the Labour Party (Stronnictwo Pracy) was established in Paris, Kaczynski arrived in Romania2. 1 R. Bender, Kaczy ski Zygmunt, w: Encyklopedia Bia ych plam, Radom 2002, s. 105107. 2 T. Tarnogrodzki, R. Tryc, Polskie organizacje konspiracyjne w latach 1939, Wojskowy Przegl d His- toryczny 1966, t. 4, s. 267. ACTIVITIES OF FR. ZYGMUNT KACZYNSKI MINISTER OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC 197 In a short period he became active in the ranks of the Central Committee of the La- bour Party3. He left Romania on an Italian passport in March 1940 for an audience with Pope Pius XII, where he presented his report on the situation in the occupied country4. After that, he escaped to Angers, where he showed the same report to President of the Republic of Poland, Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz, who assigned him new tasks in the government-in-exile in France5. In April 1940, Raczkiewicz ap- pointed Kaczynski as his personal chaplain6. This was met with disapproval by Bishop Joseph Gawlina, whose relations with gen. Sikorski had begun to deterio- rate. He was afraid that the same could happen to his relationship with President Raczkiewicz. The German defeat of France resulted in the evacuation of the Po- lish government-in-exile to the UK. Kaczynski was there in October 1940. He was committed to working with the Ministry of Information and Documentation7. He also worked as a journalist and wrote articles for the weekly newspaper The Issue-Common Cause (Sprawa). The newspaper was issued by the Polish Catholic Institute as part of the Polish Catholic organization Sword of the Ghost (Miecz ducha), led by Bishop J. Gawlina and General Joseph Haller 8. Kaczynski aspired to form an organization in exile similar to the pre-war Catholic News Agency. This task was realized during his trip to the US in 1942 with Prime Minister General Wladyslaw Sikorski. On this journey, he was delegated the post of Deputy of the Ministry for Information and Documentation. In New York, the Polish Catholic Press Agency began to function, headed by former member of parliament Waclaw Bitner of the Christian Democrats, who recruited employees and was organizationally under Z. Kaczynski9. Kaczynski contacted the London branch of the organization at the beginning of 1943 and was active in the distribution of the Polish Catholic press in the UK. He aroused anxieties of different political environments. The socialists, led by Adam Romer, were surprised that the statutory position of deputy ministers had been abolished and, in fact, had even existed. The socialists claimed the large salary Kaczynski had received for his work10. The most important function that Kaczynski performed was that of the Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Education, which was founded by the government-in-exile in London, and was a recast of 3 P. Dubiel, J. Kozak, Polacy w II wojnie wiatowej kim byli co robili, Warszawa 2003, s. 6566. 4 Archiwum Akt Nowych (dalej: AAN), Akta Ministerstwa Informacji i Dokumentacji Rz du RP w Londynie, sygn. 135, Sprawozdanie nr 187; Sprawozdanie nr 189, k. 17. 5 R. Gajewski, Ks. Zygmunt Kaczy ski. Kapelan i polityk, Lublin 2013, s. 180183. 6 AAN, Akta Ministerstwa Informacji i Dokumentacji Rz du RP w Londynie, sygn. 135, Sprawozdanie nr 174, k. 2. 7 Instytut Polski i Muzeum gen. Sikorskiego (dalej: IPMS), Akta Prezydium Rady Ministrów 19391991, sygn. PRM 58/B ró ne sprawy polityczne, Dokument nr 26, k. 1. 8 S. Lewandowska, Prasa polskiej emigracji wojennej 19391945, Warszawa 1993, s. 77. 9 R. Gajewski, Ks. Zygmunt Kaczy ski , s. 195. 10 J. Myszor, J. Konieczny, Korespondencja prymasa Augusta Hlonda i biskupa Józefa F. Gawliny w latach 19241948, Katowice 2003, s. 229. 198 KATARZYNA LIWAK the Of ce of Education and School Affairs (Urz d O wiaty i Spraw Szkolnych) directed by General J. Haller, which had been established by the government-in- -exile in Angers. THE SITUATION OF POLISH EDUCATION IN FRANCE UNTIL THE EVACUATION OF THE AUTHORITIES TO THE UK The development of Polish education during the war was only possible outside the occupied homeland. This was made possible by the evacuation of the government, who escaped through Romania to allied France. The President of Poland and the government-in-exile was under pressure from the Nazis and Soviets. However, it was possible to establish a new authority in Paris at the end of September 1939 and the head of the new government was gen. Sikorski. The new government consisted of four political parties: the National Party (SN), Polish Peoples Party (PSL), the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) and the Labour Party (SP). Representatives of the Labour Party tried to take positions in the Ministry of Education. The formal leader of this party was Karol Popiel, but a leading position was occupied by gen. J. Haller the famous blue general who founded and commanded the Polish Army in France between 1917 and 1919. He entered the government appointed by gen. Sikorski as a minister without a portfolio11. In the autumn of 1939, restoration of the pre-war Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education had not yet been considered. This was because in its early stages the government-in-exile had a symbolic meaning. It soon became much more as a result of the endless matters of waging war and the increasing number of immigrants. The creation of a Ministry of Education proved necessary and this occurred in Paris in 1939. The matters of schooling and education were from that point on of cially guided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, where politicians from the Polish Socialist Party had the casting vote. Politicians felt the temporariness of this situation, which had been caused by the war, but still did not accepted Karol Popiels nomination. Popiel did not have suitable exper- ience in education. Therefore, his function was limited only to symbolic cases12. In France, Polish people were centred around the Polish Catholic Mission (Polska Misja Katolicka), which was led by priest Franciszek Cegielka. With the support of monks, the rst school was founded in Amiens in 1939. However, its development was prevented by the outbreak of war. It was decided to change the location of the school to Paris, and it opened in late October / early November 1939. The school was named the Cyprian Kamil Norwid Secondary School 11 R. Dzwonkowski, Szkolnictwo polskie we Francji w czasie II wojny wiatowej (19391945), Studia Polonijne 1981, t. 4, s. 188; R. Wapi ski, W adys aw Sikorski, Warszawa 1978, s. 87. 12 W. ladkowski, Szkolnictwa polskiego nad Sekwan wzloty i upadki, w: Szkolnictwo polonijne na wiecie. Zarys syntezy, red. A. Koprukowniak, Lublin 1995, s. 160. ACTIVITIES OF FR. ZYGMUNT KACZYNSKI MINISTER OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC 199 for Boys. Initially, 40 students were enrolled, although this number rose to over 400 during the rst six months. The school was co-educational, with four classes of high school and two classes of gymnasium. The syllabus implemented corresponded to schools in Poland, with advanced pupils and students taught only in French. The rst headmaster of the school was father Cegielka until December 1939, when the Polish government-in-exile nominated Kazimierz Fabierkiewicz to that position. In early June 1940, before Germany entered Paris, the rst A-level (matura) exams were taken at the school, which were passed by 43 graduates. When the Po- lish government and a huge part of the population evacuated to the UK, the school had to stop educational activities. It re-opened after a short time (still operating under the same name) in Villard-de-Lans, near Grenoble. The new headmaster was prof. Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski, an educational delegate in France who had co- operated with the French Academie de Grenoble. This made recognition of Polish school certi cates by the French educational authorities possible in the future13. Among the staff working in the new venue in Paris there were only 2 teachers: Z. Lukasiewicz and K. Gerhard. The school was nancially supported by the Polish government in London and the Society for the Care of Poles in France (To- warzystwo Opieki nad Polakami we Francji) until 194214.
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