Poli sh Genealogcal Soc ie&t NEWsLffiof Mlmcsota
VOLUME 7 AUTTIMN 1999 NUMBER 3
G'trfigr. Crras s - -N ob d l^aureate Gelrwttm Comsci ence or Polish Patri ct? by Paul Kulas
Gflnter Grass, the German novelist, poet, and artist, was named winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize for Literature in September. Grass is considered the most prominent post-war German writer to confront his countrymen about their Nazi past. He was bom in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdafsk, Poland) n 1927 and he lived there until he began military service n 1944. He served in a tank cotps, was wounded and hospitalized, and later intemed in an American POW camp. His widely acclaimed "Danzig Trilogy"- Die Blechtommell (1959, English translation: The Tin Drurn, 1962); Katz und M aus ( 1 961, C at and M ouse, I 963); Hundejahre ( 1 963, The Dog Years,1965)-are regarded as his most important works.
Grass writes with Rabelaisian humor and a fascination for the bizaffe and grotesque. He is at times, beautifully poetic and at others, starkly graphic. His most famous work, Die Blechtommell [The Tin Drurn], was also made into a popular movie. The novel is a vivid description of the horror of the Nazi years. Set primarily in Danzig/Gdafisk, it covers the years 1899 to 1954 though it concentrates primarily on the years 1933 to 1945. Events are seen through the eyes of Oskar Matzerath (or is he Oskar Bronski?), a dwarf who refuses to grow and mature and to take part in the absurdities of war. Though Grass writes in German, the novel at times seems to have been written by a Polish patriot. Indeed, if the book is auto- biographical (and many critics think that it is-though probably not in its genealogical details) Grass himself is partly (or wholly) of Kashubian ancestry.
There are many examples of Polish themes and imagery throughout the novel.l In one memorable scene, (page 21) Oskar's grandfather, Joseph Koljaiczek, has a confrontation with his German boss:
(Ilaving) . . . gone to work in a sawmill at Schwetz, he had had a bit of trouble with the boss over a fence which he, Koljaiczek, had painted a provocative white and red. Whereupon the boss had broken one white and one red slat out of the fence and srnashed the patriotic slats into tinder over Koljaiczek's Kashubian back. To Koljaiczek this had seemed ground enough for setting red fire to the brand-new, resplendently whitewashed sawmill the very nexr night, a starry night no doubt, in honor of a partitioned but for this very reason united Poland.
Thus began Koljaiczek's short career as a arsonist in which German- owned sawmills went up in glorious blazes of red and white.
I Page numbers in parentheses refer to the Fawcett Crest paperback edition, 1!)62. GrasS: continued on page 74 Autumn 1999 Page2 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota
Po lis t Ge n e alogica I Eo c ie tY ofMinncmta
A Branch of ttre Minnesota Genealogical Society
5768 Olson Memorial HwY' Golden Vallev MN 55422 $LD s$s-e347 http://www.m tn. orglmgs/branches/polish.html http:7/www.rootsweb.com/- m npolgs/pgs-m n.htm I Offiers: President's Letter by Greg Kishel President...... Greg Kishel Rajgrdd parish S umm e r / lY int er addr ess es ? you so promptly sending missing issues As a new member of the Polish Genealogical Thank for read them cover to Society of Minnesota I received my first issue of the of the PGS-MN Newsletter.I've society's newsletter and thoroughly enjoyed its con- cover as I do with every issue! So many of the nalnes tents. I look forward to receiving future issues. me familiar with my people being from Steams and I am researching my patemal grandparents who Morrison Counties (after a period in St. Louis Co.) but lived in Virginia, Minnesota from about 1908 to 1912. still haven't found the breakthrough I need to go past My grandmother supposedly came from Wosnawies in my great grandparents. Anyway, I appreciate getting Rusiian Poland, and I'm trying to acquire information the iisues. While our summer address remains in so I can correspond with the appropriate entity for that Burtrum, from October to May we are in Lakeland FL. area, be it a Catholic church, a church mchive, or a Helen Richard [email protected]> national or regional archive. Editor's note: All of you snowbirds out there: We Therefore, 1 would like to order two back issues of need bothyourwinter and summer addresses. Again, the society's newsletters: Polish Genealogical Society the Post Office will not our Newsletters and Newsletter, v. 5, no. 4 (Winter 1997 -98),"Se1ected forward them you either. Villages in Rajgrod Parish." and v. 6, no. 2 (Summer apparently they don't save for 1998), "More Villages in Rajgrod Parish." I hope I can obtain information that will lead me in Missing issue ! the right direction, as I understand that the post office Enclosed find a check for membership renewal. I location for Wosnawies was Rajgrod, so I presume that have not received a Summer issue of the Newsletter. also in the Catholic Church for Wosnawies was Might a copy be sent to me. My entire family loves Rajgrod. each and every issue. Every article is discussed many I am looking forward to receiving these newsletters. times over. So keep up the fantastic work! Yince Zotkiewicz,3l.00 Timber Brook Drive, Suzanne Greenslit, Merrifield MN Plano, TX75074-8742 Editor's note: Metnbers: If you ever miss receiving Father Piotr Chowaniec a issue,please let us know.Wewill immediately send what you are nissing via regular first-class US mail. I'm undertaking research on Father Piotr Chowaniec who, accordlng to Rev. Waclaw Kruszka, was known North Prairie, Opole as "the missionary of Minnesota" since he was respon- sible for the founding of seven parishes and the build- In the Spring 1997 issue are mentioned two books: ing of parish churches in your state. Father Chowaniec (l) History of the Parish of North Prairic, and (2) came to Baltimore in 1887 and died here in 1892. Any Opoliana (pp. 5-6). Where are these books available information your membem can provide would be great- and what is the cost? I'm in North Carolina so I do not ly appreciated. have a PGS type library available. tom hollowak, Archives & special collections Jerry Orazem (giorazem@ gridusa.net> Nipustraszpny!! Thatword is Polish; in English it means intrepid and that certainly describes what the earlv Polish settlers were when they immigrated to Browervitle in Todd county in about 1869. The first three were, very likely, Thomas MUNDRY, Anton WIESHALLA, and John MORCINCZYK.I A search of the 1870 US census for Hartford township, which includes Browerville, only produced an entry for Anton Wieshalla. Polish immigrants arriving in Browerville came from Upper Silesia, near the present city-o! Opole (Oppeln in German), ryhich wag a p11t of the German gmpire. The area was Polish ethnrgally and one rea$on for^emigration was the attempted Germanization of the regron. -When I visited this region in May 199'7, in a quest to find my roots, I had the good fortune to actually set foot within the old homestead of my grandparents. These good people left Opole and emigrated to Minne- sota, ai area where climate and geography greatly re- sembled their binhplace in Silesia. Interestingly, by. 1880 there were a signincant number of Polish fami- lies in the US census for Hartford and surrounding townships.2-- tn itre'ir great concem for a place of worship, the in- habitants diciaeA to establish a construction program Browerville. At this time, to build a Catholic church in Ch,rist dre King Catholic Church in Browervillg MN 1882, the area Catholic families were evenly divided (formedy Si JosepHs--a Polish national parish) between Polish and German PeoPle. of St. Cloud had not yet been formed' The Diocese lTh" nam" spellings are reproduced from the source data here the seat of the Vicarate of However, St. Cloud was and in later references. Vicarate included the entire Northem-Minnesota. This 2Nuro", in the 1880 celsus are: Polinski, Opitz, Peplinski, permission of found itate north of the Twin Cities. With the Saciq S;gan, Olik, Marzinzek, Glisande, Baron, Weisqh4[,- Bishop Seidenbush, the firstforrnal-meeting w?s held G;iil, da;'k, Feiit, Lamoska, Hosalla, John, Mundry, Miodek' on Mirch 5, 1882, resulting in the formation of an Ad- 3John Marcinczyk, John Bartylla, Peter Larnuz-ga, Thomas Feist, and John Becker visory Group,3 a Building Committee,l *d a Socielt' Ignatius Baron, Joln'Stevens, J6seph Cygan to pr&ide niarerials for the building o!*re church. In 4Joseph Luke, John Stevens, Peter Hermes,lhomas Feist, John John Becker' adiition, monetary donations totaling $600.00 were AafiyUq Ignatius Baron, Peter Lamuzga and 5John Joseph Jon, Ignatius Baron, the Polish6 parishioners matched by Becker, Peter Lamuzga, contributed by 1gj{ Fiank Lamuzga, John Schneider, St. Church was Thomas Feist, John Stevens, their Germantounterparts. Joseph's Goniior, Francis Bafiyllal John Bartylla, dedicated ft4-utni* Hager, Joseph successfully completed in 1883 and formally fvfrrti, Uso6et, ttoriras Mocko, Joseph Poplinski, AlbqlLyson' in April 1884. ior"pU Cygan, Joseph Luke, Francis Miodek and Peter Fischer' The early parish, as one might expect, had great dif- 6John Marcinczyk, $30; Thomas Feist, $31; Martin Wrobel, $20; Francis Buhl, $15; ficulty obtiining a priest, especially one who was nocnus-S.tanlei Czecn, $30; Francis Miodek, $20; Cygan,^$3O; fluent in both p6tish and German. During 1885, the Cuiie,'$ro; frederic Poplinski, $20; Joseph losepl GbnsiorJ3O: Albert Lyson, $25; served monthly by Father Urban Tfioilt Mfidrt, $tq . oarish was a mission p"i"r-G*u, Jon, $30; Thomas Mocko, $30; Norbert Abbey at Collegeville' ei$ZS,iosepf, Fischer OSB of the Benedictine M*to, $3O;"Fiancii Bafiyla, $30; Stanley Stach' $2o; Rq"hE records reveal a robust, busy $l-Q; Ignatius.s'19*, Research of early church ii"r"o/i.i,-S3q $to;lol, nartyua $30: John Cygal: monthly scheduie awaiting Father Fischer at the new ,;;"'ih- Foptiotti, $do; lonn Warzec6a, Sl0l t'ouis Pollak' $101 church. He officiated at the first two Polish baptisms: Michael Ulik, $10. Autumn 1999 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Page 9 1. Mathilde Lukasz, bom 14 March 1885 and Acknowledgement baptized Z?March 1885. Parents: John Lukasz and AgreatbigThankYou goes to Father Gerald Dalseth and Magdal. Szydlo. Witnesses: Paul G4siar and Susannah his wonderfirl staff at Christ the King Church in Brorrer- M4czka ville for all their help. They are terrific- They provided the 2. Agnes Pawolek, bom27 Nov. 1884 and baptized earlyVital Records and the copyof my rnothefs original 2ZMarch 1885. Parents: Ludov Pawolek and Marian birth record shorrn belorr. I also appreciate the vely helpful Adamiec. Witnesses: Albert Adamiec and Hedwiga editorial consultations with Mrs. Mae Brenan- Adamiec -HarryMcOuat He also performed the first two weddings: On24 April 1885: Albert Lyson, son of Joseph o infrascrfithu baytit avi-...... Lyson and Maria Salanczyk and Maria Kubica, fu daughter of Joseph Kubica and Francis Jurek and on naLq*:*.d-L!-f/**'Ffr 24May 1885:Paul UIik, son of Stephen Ulik and Josephine Dgobieske and Regina Trun, daughter of John Trun and Victoria Karsz The first available funeral records date from July 1890, while Father Methodius Slatinsky was pastor. His term ranged from 1887 to 1895. From July 1, 1890 to March 31, 1891 there were just three adult funerals: 1. Augustin Smolka, died 30 July 1890 and buried 2 August 1890. He was 40 years o1d and bom in Silesia. 2. Barbara Ligan, died 12 January 1891 and buried 14 January 1891. She was 43 years old and bom in Silesia. 3. Maria Bieniek, died 28 March 1891 and buried 31 Original Birth Record of VeronicaJakubik March 1891 She was 54 years old and bom in Lasko- wice, Silesia St. Peter's, standing only two blocks apart. During the above time interval there was also one The next parish project, the building of the rectory adult German funeral, two teenagers, four children for St. Joseph's, was completed during Father Joseph between one and three years of age and seven infants. Dudek's tenure l;:ll,g2.It is a substantial structure, ad- lnterestingly, for me, Maria Bieniek (nee Gmyrek) was jacent to the church, still functioning today. It is diffi- a first cousin by marriage to my grandmother, Johanna cult to comprehend today that the construction cost for Jakubik. Johanna did not even arrive in Browerville the rectory was only $4000.00. until October of 1893. Father John S. Guzdek arrived as pastor in June While Father Slatinsky was pastor, the first parochi- 1906 and remained until 1933. At the time Father al school in the St. Cloud diocese was built in Brower- Guzdek arrived, the church building was overcrowded, ville. It was completed in 1891, but only after a good thus began a new construction project to replace the deal of turmoil. In Europe the custom was to reappor- first church. In May l9O7 abuilding committeeT was tion tax moneys and thus parochial schools received formed. The funding would be generated by assessing government support. This is not the case here in Amer- each oarish familv. A sroup of assessors8 was estab- ica. When voluntary support lagged, Father Slatinsky lished, who made asselsmdnt allocations of five levels, assessed the parishioners. The resulting dissatisfaction varying frcrm $100 to $3ffi. Parishioners would be re- was resolved when Bishop Zardetti was ready to close sponsible for providing and hauling building materials both the church and the school. The parish surmounted such as stone and brick. Those who did not participate this and other difficulties while the new immigrants in this activity faced an additional monetary underwent their Americanization process. assessment. The next crisis occurred in 1895, when the parish The following is an excerpt from a letter my Aunt had become predominantly Polish. The German people Mary wrote to her brother, who was working for the decidedthey would construct their own church. Great Northem railroad in Havre, Montana at the time. Bishop Marty OSB, chaired a meeting in April 1895, The letter is dated January 15, 1908. at which time separation was agreed upon. Ultimately, 7Rev. the Polish members accepted the current parish debts. J.S. Guzdek, Martin lYrobel, Robert Holig, John Sobota, Stephen Berczyk, Simon Kaluza The German members then organized their own St. Vincent Maj, Valentiue Brenny, and Peter Wodarz. Peter's parish. For quite some time following this deci- 8P"t", Buhl, Charles Hadash, Marth Hudalla, Theodore John, parishes shmed the old physical assets. I re- sion both Frank Jambor, Mike Motzka, John Morcinczyk, Paul Pampuch, member, as a youth, how terribly impressed I was by Casper Pietron, Joseph Schenk, Jacob Spychata, John Salawa and these two lovely Catholic churches, St. Joseph's and Paul Waleczka Page 10 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Autumn 1999 We are gohg to build a new church in summer. They have hauled some bricks and stones already. We have to haul four Origins of the loads of bricks and about seven loads of stone. If we would not haul that we will have to pay, and besides that we have WARZECHA surname to give $150, halfthis year and the rest next year. Ben9 has by Paul Kulas to pay $125 and Frank has to pay the same. Some have to pay $175 and some got $200. There are about five who got $300. PGS-MN member, Veronica S. Freihammer of Papa wants to give this year to Alex thar $200 that they bor- rowed, so I don't know if they will have enough when they Rice MN, requested the following sumame search. She sell wheat and rye. writes: Assuming a4Vo rnflation rate, their $150 assessment becomes in today's dollars a whopping $530O for a Enclosed is a check for sumame research. The family. Our hardworking forebears courageously narne to be researched is my maiden name, showed true generosity for their faith. The new church WARZECHA. was blessed on April2l,lg09, marking the parish Silver Jubilee. I have another question: How do I go about I have wonderful memories of the church with its finding what parish in Poland my ancestors were magnificent interior so omately decorated. The registered at? I visited the Church of Jesus of striking Corpus Christi celebrations with their outdoor Latter Day Saints and they informed me I needed altars and grand processions were glorious events. The this information before they could help me fuither. churchyard was also very lovely, with a simulated The area was German. On the immigration paper? Garden of Gethsemane. The statues therein were the town was Dammratsch, county of Oppeln in sculpted by Joseph Kiselewski, the most famous parish the state of Silesian. son. He attended Holy Angels school and studied art in Minneapolis, Paris and Rome. After achieving intema- Also, does the MGS Library loan out material tional renown he spent his twilight years back home to other libraries, such as the Great Regional where he died February 29, 1988 in his 87th year. Library of St. Cloud? You may contact me at my Vatican II, in the early 1960s, brought cataclysmic e-mail address : 9Ben, Frank and Alex are Uncles of mine. References Drayna O.S.B., Sister Elvan. The History of Saint Joseph's Church . . . In 1978 Renamed Christ the King C hurcft . [Unpublished]. Fuller, Clara K. A History of Morrison andTodd C ountie s. Indianapolis, Indiana: B.S. Bowen Co., 1915. T o dd C ounty H i st o r ie s. Todd County Bicentennial Committee in conjunction with the US Bicentennial 1776-1976. Yzermans, Father Vincent A.The Spirit in Central Domaradz (Dammralsch) is circled.It is probably Minnesota: A Centenruial Naruative of the Church of in the parish at Fahowice--or else in Strzelce. St. Cloud 1889-1989, 2 vols. Saint Cloud, Domaradz is located about 30 km. north-northwest Minnesota: The Diocese of Saint Cloud, 1989. of Opole. I Autumn 1999 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Map at right: Zr,-' '\. Distribution '\ of the Suxcf,i O WARZECHA surna \ according to Slownik nazwisk. - - 63 1 Olticr*ln o\. We continue our offer Blrryoto.( to research your i 1 Polish surnarnes , in 'o .') William F. Hoffman's Polish Sumames: o'\ glol. .r Origins and Meanings Poar*e I SalmrG6!. f and in o 9 ,*\ Kazimierz Rymut's i 42 Slownik nazwisk i wspdlcz**nie w polsce uiywanych. !as [" (. Send your request to: ./^*..,"' OZrmotc Paul Kulas, editor u-q. ) PGS-MN Newsletter 12008 West River Road, (e3 36r Champlin MN 55316, prloryil/. lnclude $10.m per sumame. Make check payable to: tluf,oill- O l(rorrc t ,-.-,d NoirySqcr .)'7\ PGS-MN. \.t' ''.',18Q.'-'-- --{.: ( q^./ \-. \,. showing the provinces where the Warzecha sumame One final question: Are you related to Zachand Mike was found in 1990 is shown above. Warz,echa? They are my uncles. Both married sisters of my dad. Zachmaried Mary Kulas and Mike married As_you can -. see, the Warzecha sumame is widely Teresa Kulas. Zachfarmednear Elmdale in distributed.throughout Morrison Poland but it is by far the niost County and Mike near Opole in Steams County. numerous in the Silesian provinces of Opole and Kato_ wice. But you already know that your W'arzecha an- cestors came from Opole (Oppeln in German). This About my Warzecha relatives: search verifies Silesia as the-most likely origin of your Warzecha ancestors. Zacheus Warzecha married Mary Kulas (bom 26 Dammratsci is now Domaradz (see map at left). It {ugust 1895) at Immaculate Conception Caiholic looks like it is in the parish at Falkowice. You should Church in St. Anna on29 Septembel lgL4.BothZach check the.lo:ality index at a LDS Family History Cen_ and Mary are deceased. ter to see if Domaradz is included in thaparish. You should also contact Bob Prokott t- t" Page12 ?olish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Autumn 1999 LTBIARY CORNER . . o o . . o, o o o o o o o o o continue with the selection of tourist maps that I S/,(ARBY ZPOI^SK' - assembled. TREASURES FROM POLAND FOR THE *{.****.**** PG$MN LIBRARY Jerzy Waldorff, The Rest Is Silence: The Powqzki By Greg Kishel C emetery in W ar saw (Warsaw: Interpress Publishers, 1988): I picked this item up for approximately $l.25 This past July I participated with my daughter Peg in in a remainder bookstore in Toru6. Published by the a UNESCO-sponsored English-language carnp for high now-defunct state-owned publisher of pre-communist school students in Poland. For me it was a retum to days, it's a rather lavish pictorial and historical depic- Toru6, the marvelous old city on the Wisla River where tion of the huge Warsaw cemetery where now rest I'd had the same experience with my daughter Emily in most of Poland's leading citizens for the last century- 1995. I cemented ties with the Polish carnp staff and the and-a-half. And, it's in English-translated by one Tonri family that I'd met the first time around,I made Chester Kisiel (undoubtedly no relation). ahalf-dazen new friends among the kids, and I was sur- Geograficzny Atlas Pakki (Geographical atlas of prised to find that my minimalist spoken Polish, unused Poland) (Warsaw: PPWK, 1999): a nice little paper- in four years, came back quickly once I was immersed bound atlas of current-day Poland, with detail on in the language. We were able to take a day trip up to population, industry, agriculture, geology, the whole Gdadsk, and the end-of-camp junket for the American works. staff was down to Wroclaw and Lower Silesia, includ- Atlas Historyczny od Staroiytnoici &t wspdlnoici ing an area or two rarely visited by Americans. (Historical Atlasfrom Antiquity to the Current Time) ever traveled me knows that the Anyone who's with (Warsaw/IVroclaw: PPWK, 1999): a companion first commercial establishments that I scout out any- book, for use in elementary schools. Almost all of it where are bookstores. This trip was no exception. I had is on the history of Poland, and the local detail is prides the advantage of being based in a city that itself marvelous. on a long tradition of worldly intellectual activity and a W i e I ki s I ow ni k p o I s ko - an g ie I s ki and W ie I ki s low ni k well-educated populace. (Toru6 was the birthplace of angie I sko -pol s ki (T he G re at P o li sh-E ng li sh D ic tion- Copemicus, and an ancient seat of trade.) With that sort (War of self-image, the city has a bookstore or two on every ary andThe Great English-Polish Dictionary) block in the centrum.I found quite a few ksiggarnii tn saw: Philip Wilson, 1998 printing,2vol. each): got pleased to see that the Gdarisk, too. Finally, Wroclaw is the site of the oldest When I into Toruri I was ksiggarniathat specialized in continuously-operating publishing house in Poland (the namow little storefront Ossolineum, now approaching two centuries in age) and foreign-language dictionaries was still in business. has one of the two headquarters of PPWK, Polskie This is considered to be the best manageably-priced Polish-English dictionary currently in publication. I P rze d.sigbior stw o Wy dawnic tw Karto grafic znyc h-the was also pleased to see that the 1999 price was a bit largest and most sophisticated publisher of maps and less than I'd paid for my own copy in 1995. This atlases in current Poland. should enable PGS-MN members to get a lot further I decided that the two factors of availability and price in translating entries from S lowni k ge o grafic zny, presented an oppo*unity for the PGS-MN that I really genealogical records, etc. could not pass up-in general, fine-quality books in geo gr Poland cost about 35-4AVa of the price you'd pay at Irena Swenson, ed., S lownik aftc zno- krajoz' import bookstores in the U.S. (The high customs duty naw c zy P o I s ki ( G e o g r ap hi c al - t o ur i s t dic tio nary of on cofilmercially-imported books these days is a shame Poland) flMarsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Franklin and Thomas Jefferson would be 1998): The years since the downfall of communism -Benjaminblenching!) Recognizing that the only real negative have seen a huge increase in the quality of materials would be the wear and tear on my lumbar spine during on the geography and history of Poland, both aca- the last week of travel, I went atread and bought every- demic and tourist*oriented. This compact but thick thing that I thought would be of interest to our volume (1046 text pages) is a gazetteer with over membership. 10,000 entries on Polish locales---cities and villages, So here are the items that we are adding to our li- small to huge, and physical features, including moun- brary collection at the MGS facility in Golden Valley. tains, lakes, rivers, and parks. The orientation is more Some have already been shelved, others await the toward tourist interest, which means that there is arrival ofplastic dusrjacket protectors, all should be much information about history and historical struc- available by mid-Janumy. I will start with books, and tures. It's in Polish, of course, but the lanuage is Autumn 1999 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Page 13 . o . o o . o . ., o o o . o o . o Bool(RwrEws straight-forward; Wielki slownik, and alittle familiar- and S outhw e ste rn W ie I l The electdfying THEGREATI\6/EL I tonths on The ilew Uork Times and uproarious BYTHEAUn{OROFilcfixmt bostseller list novel by AM}?TCE.oI'.H the auihor oI thb lnternatlonal sensation, \|'E/ARS Ihelinllnum THE TIN DRUT C[irgreRGRASS G0nterGrcss cuuren eRAss riluGat t0us 'Gilnter Grass'ta,lont ir v€ry bi$' -N.Y. Herald ?}ilnere "Should becoue a minor classic" -lime '0ne of the greatest llterary "An arti*t of frotrt r&nk stature" -ChkflgoEatfbnca "Grass b a born storyteller" advcnturcs of our tlmc" n Slina Eook . Completo and Unabridgd tr{ futqC'rass Grass: continuedfrom Wge 1 We did nothing of the sort. When the green hats produced the In another memorable scene (pp. 557-58)-in a novel machine pistols from under tleir coats, Mr. Matzerath put his filled drum in place. At that mometrt the moon-it was aknost full, with many memorable scenes-Oskar "drums up" just the slightest bit battered--$wst through the clouds. And Mr. a squadron of Polish cavalry to save his friend, Victor Matzerath began to drum . . . desperarely. Weluhn, from a pair of post-war Nazi assassins. (Victor A strange rhythm, yet it seerned familiar. Over and over again had been a defender of the Polish Post Office in Danzig the letter O took forrn: lost, not yet lost, Poland is not yet lost! on 1 September 1939--+he first day of the war. While But that was the voice of poor Victor, he knew the words to Mr. Matzeralh's druruming: While we live, Poland cannot die. The all of the other Polish defenders, including Oskar's green hats, too, seerned to know that rhyhm, I could see them "presumptive father" Jan Bronski, were captured and take fright behind their hardware in the moonlight. And well shot, Victor had escaped from the ruins and survived they might. For the rnarch that Mr. Matzerath and poor Victor the war. But Victor's pursuers were in possession of a struck up in my mother's garden awakened the Polish cavalry to twelve-yem-old execution order naming Victor. They life. Maybe the moon helped, or maybe it was the drum, the moon, and poor, nearsighted Victor's cracking voice all together had pursued 'oAn him throughout the wm and after. that seff those multitudes of horsernen springing from the order is an order" they said.) In a court disposition, a ground: stallions s,fuinnied, hoofs thundered, nostrils fumed, companion of Oskar describes the wondrous event: spursjangled, hurral, hurrah!. . . No, not at all: no thundering, no jangling, whinnying, or shouts of hurrah; sile,ntly they glided I saw that my mother's garden had been chosen as the execu- over the harvested fields outside of Gerresheim, but beyond any tion site. Both of us protested. Paying no altention, they doubt they were a squadron of Polish Uhlans, forred and white knocked down the board fence, not a very difficult task for it like Mr. Matzerath's lacquered drum, the p€trmnts clung to the was about to collapse of its own accord, and tied poor Victor lances; no, cluag is not right, they floated, they glided, and in- to the apple tree just below my crook. When we continued to deed the whole squadron floated beneath the moon, coming per- protest, they turned their flashlight on the crumpled execution haps from the moon, floated off, wheeled to the left, towards our order. It was signed by an inspeaor of courts martial by the garden, floated, seemingly not of flesh and blood, floated like name of Zelewski and dated, if I remember right, Zoppot, toys fresh out of the box, phantoms, comparable perhaps to the October 5, 1939. Even the rubber stamps seemed to be right. spook-like figures that Mr. Matzerath's keeper makes out of The siruation looked hopeless. Nevertheless, we talked about knotted striag: Polish cavalry ofknotted string, soundless yet the United Nations, collective guilt, Adenauer, and so on; but thundering, fleshless, bloodless, and yet Polish, down upon us one of the green hats swept aside all our objections, which they thundered, and we threw ourselves upon the ground while were without judicial foundation, he assured us, because the the moon and Poland's horsemen passed oyer us and over my peace treaty had never been signed, or eyen drawn up. 'I vote mother's garden and all the other carefully tended gardens. But for Adenauer just the same as you do,'he went on. 'But this they did not harrn the gardens. They merely took along poor execution order is still valid; weVe consulted the highest Victor and the two executioners and were lost in the open fields authorities. We are simply doing our duty aad the best thing under the 6qen-lest, not yet lost, they galloped off to the east, you can do is to run along.' towards Poland beyond the moon. Autumn 1999 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Page 15 Jle ope!ilJg line of rhe novel has Oskar explaining: "Granted: I am an inmate of a mental hospiial.,, Poland: First to Fight Though he is considered a "lunatic,, he isi very per- Sixty years ago, on 1 September l939,German ceptive one. From his hospital bed Oskar conte-mplates armed forces invaded Poland to begin World War II. the situation of post-war Poland (p.100). He prociaims: The Poles were the first to resist Nazi tyranny. Despite defensive alliances with England and France, poturia I look for the land of the poles that is lost ro the Gennans, a]o1e opposed Hitler's Gerrnany in September 1939. for the moment at least. Nowadays the Germans have starled A determined French and British attack in the West searching fo1 Poland with credits, Leicas, aad compasses, have succeeded and the many casualties of with.radar,.divrning rods, dele-gations, and moth-eaten pro- Tlgt_r_t_well WWII and the Holocaust might have been vincial students'associations in cosrume. Some carry inopin avoided. Not only did T th+ hearrs, others-thoughrs of revenge. Condemiing the the Poles valiantly oppose the German frsl fow pa4itiots of Poland they are busily planning i nth onslaught, they also faced a Soviet invasion on 17 in the meantime flying to Warsaw via Air france in 6rder to' September 1939. The German-Soviet invasions result- deposit, with appropriate remorse, a wreath on the spot that ed in the loss of Polish independence for 50 years. In- the-gheno. One of these days rhey :valolce will go iearching terestingly, Poland was also the for Poland with rockets. I, meanwhile, conjure ofpol*A oo" first satellitsnation to my drum. And this is what I drurn: polandt lost, but not throw off Soviet domination in 1989. Polish heroism forever, all's lost, but not forever, poliand's trot lost forever. in the face of overwhelming odds should be a source of pride to all Polish Americans. Regardless of Grass's political views, the novel - .ft,q September Campaign was rhe topic of talks by remains a classic with vivid descriptions of the City of John Armstroqg, Second Secretary at tfre U S Embassy Danzig and the surrounding Kashubian countryside. in Warsaw and by John Radzilowiki, ph.D., presideni One critic states that:'Grass's Danzig is already as of PACIM and a PGS-MN board member, in August. vivid and timeless as Dickens' Lond6n or Joyce,s The September Campaign: Selected Reading Dublin."2 (This writer would add prus,s Wamaw to that list [Boleslaw Prus is Aleksander Glowacki,s C)rnk, Jeruy Bogclan. History of the Polish Air Force, pseudonyml.)3 Regarding the Kashubian countryside, 1919-68. London: Osprey, 1972. the critic states: "the evocation of Anna Bronskiin her Davies, Norman. God's Playground: A History of potato field in Chapter One . . . is surely one of the Poland. Vol.2. New York: Columbia University finest passagesin the novel."4 ". .. her multiple Press,1981. potato-coloured skirts (are) planted in her potato fields Gross, Jan. T. Revolution from Abroad: The Soviet Conquest as though she were part of them. . ."5 of Poland's Westem Ukraine and Westem Belorus sia. Princeton, N. J. : Princeton University Press, 1988 2 John Readic!, introducrion ^ to The Tin Drum by Giinther Grass (New York Alfred A. Knopf,l993), x Kozlowski, Eugeniusz, et al. Wojna Obronna Polski, 3 Boleslaw Prus, The Doll, trans. David Welsh (New york: 1939. Warsaw: WMON, 1979. Twayue, 1972, first published in Polish as Lalka in l g90). Lukas, Richard. Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles 4 Reddick, xiii. 5 mio., xxi-xxii. U nde r G erman O c c up ation, I 9 39 - I 9 45. Lexington : University Press of Kentucky, 1986. Peszke, Alfred B. 'lPoland's Preparations for World War Two." Military Affairs 43, no. 1,1979,18 24. _, "Pre-war Polish Air Force: Budget, Personnel Policies, and Doctrin e." Aero spoc e Historian 27 (i.e. 28), no. 3, Fall/September 1981, 186-189. Szawtowski, Ryszard. W oj na P o I sko - S owie c ka, I 9 3 9 . Warsaw: Neriton, 1996. Wegierski, Dominik. September 1939. London: Minerva Publishing Company, 1940. Wierzynski, Kazimierz. F or g o t t e n B att t efi e I d. Trans. Edmund Ordon. ITl.Zdzislaw Czermanski. New York: Roy Publishers, 1944. Woytak, Richard. On the Border of War and Peace: Polish Intetligence and Diplomacy in 1937-1939 and the Origins of the Ultra Secrer. Boulder, Colorado: East European Quarterly, 1979. Zaloga, Steven and Victor Madej. The Polish Campaign of 1939. New York: Hippocrene, 1985. Page 16 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Autumn 1999 On 4 June t999,this dream became reality. I left JFK Tfip to Polalr4b airport with a tour group, headed for Warsaw to meet Mq Maria Wielebska. I was returning to our Polish home- by Wilebski Schafer Kathryn land alrnost 120 years of after my family's departure. 31222 Cty Rd 6, Strathcona, MN 56759 I had left home without an interpreter. Maria had stud- ied English a little and I had attempted to leam some The poppies are beautiful in early June along the Polish but I knew to accomplish anything we needed Polish countryside. These poppy petals littered the an interpreter. Luckily, five people on the tour could sidewalks of the Nowa Huta church outside of Krakow speak both Polish and English fluently. as a week of celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi came to an end. I felt privileged to spend my first visit A bus and a guide welcomed us at the airport in to Poland,the homeland of my ancestors, during the Warsaw. After briefly being shown some of the city time of this great feast. we stopped in the Old Town Square to exchange money and to see the sights. It didn't take long to was also privileged that my trip coincided with Pope I catch on to the money exchange. The zloty was worth John Paul II's pilgrimage to Poland, June 5-17. The about a quarter in American money. We were able to pride and welcoming spirit of the Polish people for take some pictures, buy souvenirs and postcards and "their John Paul II" was evident everywhere. Red and then returned to the bus for a three hour drive west to white and yellow and white banners and flags welcom- ing him home were in every city and town which we Konin. passed through. From June 5-7 we stayed in a resort in the village of The importance of Corpus Christi in the lives of my Mikorzyn about 10 km from Konin. This is a mining (previously Polish ancestors became evident to me in 1981 when I area of Poland in Wielkopolskie province began work on my family history. We were planning it was in Koninskie province). I had arranged to meet our first Wilebski family reunion, collecting names and Maria in the hotel of this resort. When our bus arrived locations of relatives. I remember setting up old photo- that evening my anticipation and excitement was graphs from Grandma's trunk. Two pictures from the overwhelming. I walked up to the front desk and in- celebration of Corpus Christi in the parish of Holy Ro- quired for Maria's room number. The receptionist re- sary (Krose) were among them. There too, flags and luy"d a message by phone that I was downstairs and banners in the procession were part of the celebration. within minutes Maria descended the stairway with flowers, a big smile, and an embrace. Words can't de- My great-grandparents, Franciszek and Antonia Janus- scribe the joy of that moment! Through our limited spoke bltef- zek WileOski, left Poland in the spring of 1880, immi- ability to speat each others' language we grating to America. On May 7 tley landed at the Port ly then called on Fr. Darius, the Polish priest heading of galtimore. They migrated to LaSalle, Illinois and our pilgrimage, to interpret. The three of us arranged then to the Ivanhoe/IVilno area of southem : or Orleans Minnesota and finally to Krose l (near present day rural Lancaster) in Kitt- son County of northem Minnesota. Find- ing this migration route was the result of years of family research since 1981. By 1996 we were at the point of crossing the ocean. From our research in America we knew Franceszek's oldest brother was bom in the area of Poznafi, but we were never told the parish in which our great- grandparents lived or married in Poland. My cousin had a friend working in War- saw. He looked in the Poznan telephone directory for the sumame Wilebski/ Wielebski and Januzikfanuszek. After calling the people listed, a Maria Wielebs- ka was willing to help us with our re- search. So correspondence began along with my desire to travel to Poland. Antonia (Januszek) and Flanciszek Wilebski Autumn 1999 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Page 17 to meet at 8:00 that evening in Maria's room to discuss family history. ?rrirrg tlat meeting I recorded in my journal informa- tion that Maria shargd conceming the Wielebski family in Poland. We are of two different lines of Wieleb- skis. She had located a woman from Bome Sulinowo who sent her a letter with a description of those who had left for America. This information had been re- corded in a "memory book" of oral tradition. This is what the woman had told Maria conceming our family:- Jt g f"4*, Ka1pe1Wiglebski, came from G6mego Sl$ka (G6my Slask). Heyas a 'komisarzem' (pdlice officer/commissioner) in Slesinie, but when the*Ger- mans invaded he was forced to flee and go into hiding in Wielko^polska. Unfortunately at this time, Kasper is- sumed a false nalne as did his son, Szymon, the father of Franceszek, just previous to Franceszek,s immigra- tion to America." This unknown false narne had made Maria,s research difficult to locate documents in Poland. However, Ma- ria did find a birth certificate for another son, Walenty,- whose fryily stayed in Poland. Apparently, Kasper had lived a short time in the village of Pa*bwo, parish Jutrosin, county Leszczyriskie, where the birh ceitifi- cate of Walenty Wielebski, dated 1810, had been found. The other members of the family were not found. Kathryn Wilebski Schafer at Jasna Gdra Walenty lived and died in Kalina near Chodzie2. Maria of Czgstochowa-.8 June 1999 recited a story conceming Walenty's son, Nepomucen, who was bom in 1845 in Kalina: "Nepomucen was a Maria believes our family lines are connected with righteous Polish man of deep Catholic faith who would Kasper's siblings in the late 1700s due to the fact that rather lose his function/position and bread than to vote the godparents listed on Walenty's birth certificate are for the German official of the German govemrnent. fromZygmunt's family line. I spent the next two days When he was going to war his mother gave him a holy with Maria touring the Shrine of Lichen, not far from medal. It was a tradition to bless the son and place him our hotel in Konin. We took pafi in the Mass and the under Our Lady's protection. During the attaik he was Eucharistic procession around the grounds of the shot and the bullet hit the medal. The medal saved his shrine on June 6, the Feast of Corpus Christi. The life. It was in front of a number of people as witnesses weather was humid and warm. We walked the 2 km to and the Chaplain of his battalion knew it and witnessed the shrine because papal security did not allow busses it also." in. By aftemoon I had run out of bottled water and drank spring water at the shrine which was a mistake. I Maria and Fr. Darius also noted when looking at a pic- became ill on the bus, a combination of heat exhaus- ture of Franceszek and Antonia that there is a pearfon tion and possibly food poisoning and/or drinking from Franceszek's tie. They said in Poland this has ihe the spring. meaning that you are in charge of something and/or that you have wealth. I wondered how I could find out It was quite the experience to be lying on the porch if this were true conceming my family. step of a family home in Slesin with a Polish docror and Polish American doctor discussing what to do W-9 qpent 2lDhours sharing information and pictures with me. Thankfully, this lady physician from North of Maria and her late husband,Zygmunt Wielebski's Dakota happened to be on our tour. She originally was family. She said the importanr thing was rhat she and from Poland, and helped to translate since the doctor her husband survived the time of captivity in Poland. and nurses only spoke Polish. She accompanied me to Sorne family members did not. Zygmunthad died in the medical center where I was given medication and 1983. Maria,62, now lives with her daughter's family. two liter bags of glucose water for dehydration. Later Page 18 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Autumn 1999 she told rne the Polish doctor had saved my life in We ate in wonderful restaurants and witnessed a Cra- making the correct diagnosis and in his decision as to kovian parade and dancing in the streets during the what medication to give me. I was feeling much better evening as well as one special night of entertainment and able to eat soup and bread later that evening. The by Crakovian musicians who taught us old Crakovian medical facility I had been taken to was quite primi- folk dances. I even rnanaged to find my way to the ot'- tive. fice of the Archdiocese of Krakow on Franciszkarica Street to do some research work on family history. A priest spoke English helped me locate the differ- I was fortunate not to miss my first opportunity to see ^ent who the Holy Father at the shrine in Lichen the next mom- parishesbf Kalina and gave me addresses for the ing, June 7th. We attended the blessing of the unfin- twonear Chodzie| where I later sent letters inquiring ished basilicaatlichen in pouring rain among an esti- about a marriage record for Franciszek and Antonia. mated 250,000 pilgrims. The future basilica will be the The Divine Mercy Convent of Blessed Sister Faustina seventh largest in Europe and the 1lth largest in the was another stop for our group, as were the famous world. church of Nowa Huta and the underground Salt Mines of Wieliczka where we were taken to the bottom to see The aftemoon of June 7th, Maria and I said good-bye the Chapel of Blessed Kinga, where everything is and our tour bus headed south to Jasna Gora in Czgsto- carved out of salt. chowa. At Mass on June 8th (the feast of St. Hedwig, queen of Poland during the Jagiellonian period), I was On June 12 we headed north to Warsaw again for our honored to be seated in the front row below the Mirac- final two days in Poland. Maria came by train from ulous Icon of our Lady of Jasna Gora. The day was Poznan to the Prestige Jan III Sobieski Hotel where we spent touring this holy place of our Polish ancestors. stayed. She brought.presents that evening for my fami- Praying here brought to mind what the Jews must ex- ly anA gave me a beautiful handmade needlework perience when they travel to the temple in Jerusalem. lieepsake of the Holy Father from her daughter,Ifty!- We celebrated the evening in Czgstochowa with Polish tyna. We visited, took pictures and then I walked with ethnic food-pierogi, cabbage rolls and wine. June fth her down the streets of Warsaw to say a final good-bye we continued south to Auschwitz. The Polish country- before she caught the train back home. side, rural towns and fields were green with gardens, j9lned hayfields and red-orange with poppies. I noticed the Sunday, June 13th our tourgroup 7Q0,QQ f_il1 gardens and crops were much farther along than ours grims ior an outdoor Beatification Mass of 108 Polish in northem Minnesota for early June. irartyrs, an historic event celebrated by Pope-John Paulil, with many cardinals, archbishops and bishops Seeing the Auschwitz concentration carnp was sober- present. The security was tight-no catneras or um- ing asis trying to understand the suffering the Polish. Lrelas were to be brought in. The crowd was enor- people have endured during the many years of_captivi- mous. A special moment took place at lhe end of Mass iy ana wm. We saw the cell where St. Maximilian when a Polish woman tumed to me and said in Eng- Kolbe died of lethal injection as well as the gas cham- lish, "The war is over." I replied, "I hadn't heard. We bers where many Poles (Catholics and Jews), were ex- haven't listened to the news or watched TV for a num- terminated. ber of days." The prayers for peace from Polish soil in the land of my forefathers of the many pilgrims, the From Auschwitz-Birkenau we continued on to the Holy Father and the Polish people were heard during birthplace of the Holy Father in Wadowice. Then we this special week of the Feast of Corpus Christi! wenf through the monastery of Kalwari a Zebrzy dow - ska built in-1641. The evening of June 9th we arrived After a final farewell supper we boarded the bus the in Krakow which I came to love-my favorite city in following moming for the airport, leav-rng par^sary.1o Poland. retum to-the United States-the end of a trip of a life- time. Krakow is a historical city, it was the capitol of Poland prior to it being moved to Warsaw. The Wawel Castle where the kings and queens of Poland reigned back through the centuries, the Wawel Cathedral, the Mar- ket Square, Cloth Hall, the Town Hall Tower, the churches of St. Adalbert, St. Andrew, the Church of the Virgin Mary dedicated to the Assumption o-f Mary with its elaborate altar, the Franciscan and the Domini- can churches, were all included in our sightseeing. Polish architecture, history and culture surrounded us. r Autumn 1999 Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota Paget9 Mlf,ssilog ]Branehesr Marianna Wrzas) in Ryfszow? and both in Mpls, MN. Leona Lackner,7468 Isaak Ave NW, q{TERIES, Annandale MN Send to: Paal Kulas, editor, PGS-MN 553U-2432 is researching OPATZ in Opole, MN and Mwsletter, 12N8 West Nser Road, Cbamplin, MN WARZECKA in St. Cloud, MN. 5 53 1 6-2 1 45 or t o e-mai l: fr,rtubs@ ties. fr.7 2.m* as Edward Paul Melich, 1015 23rd Av. SE, Mpls. MN Re searching BIEDA sarname 55414 is researching KUJAWA--probably near Byd- goesch I am researching my family tree and I know that my or Posen and MELICH/IvIEIILICH--near grandparents carne from the Zakopane, Maruszyna and Opole, Poland. Rog.oznik area. I was wondering if you might be able to direct me to someone locally that might know some- Marlene Trader Molisee, W7395 Hwy 12, Whitewater WI 5 3 1 90 -3923 Adele Cloutier, E. 3rd Sr., St. Paul MN 55106-5706 Gerald Orazem, 1259 Westbrook Circle, Gastonia Greg/Kathy Gontarek, t2205 131st Cir. So., Jan Piotrowski,5370 Fawn Lake Dr. NE, Stacy MN Hastings MN 55033 is researching GONTAREK, 55079 is researching the PIOTROWSKI sumame. PELOWSKI, GOERGEL. GALASKI family narnes. James R. Price, 103 F. South Drive, Circle Pines MN Roberta Hoyt,22 E. Skyline Pkwy, Duluth MN 55014-3318 is researching Stanislaus A. 55805 writes: "While visiting the Polish Museum,I PRZASNYCKI aka in US as Stanley A. Price, arrived leamed about the Polish Genealogy Society. I would in Philadelphia, PA around 1914-1917 like to join and am enclosing a check for the member- ship. My husband's Polish ancestors came to the US in John Prondzinski, 4L2HaroId Dr,, Burnsville MN 1880 but I'm not sure from where in Poland. They 55337 Linda Roddy,4954 McAllister Ave NE, St. Michael in Skrzebowa and Raciaz in Poland. MN 5 5 3 7 6 droddy. hbc. honeywell.com> is research- ing PRADZNSKI, PRONDZINSKI, PROZNSKI' Pauline Jagusch, 1824 W 5th St., Red Wing MN CUZENSKI, KUCHINSKI in Morrison County, 5 5 066-20 1 9 Minnesota Genealogical Society Non-Protit Org. Polisb Genealogical Society U.S. Postage of Minnesota Paid i'zeg Oho., Memorial Hwy. Minneapolis, MN Golden Valley MN 55422 Permit No.28318