Adam Próchnik
Encyclopedia
Adam Feliks Próchnik (ˈadam ˈpruxɲik; Lviv
, 21 August 1892 – 22 May 1942, Warsaw
) was a Polish socialist activist, politician and historian.
(now, Lviv
, Ukraine
) on 21 August 1892 to a middle class Jewish family. According to some sources, he was the extramarital
son of Ignacy Daszyński
.Jerzy Myśliński, Polska myśl polityczna, Czytelnik, 1986, ISBN 8307013100, p.32
While in high school he became involved in socialist activism. As a student, he joined the Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia
; he supported the Polish Socialist Party – Left faction over the Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction led by Józef Piłsudski.
Before World War I
he joined the pro-independence paramilitary Polish organization, the Union of Armed Struggle. With the outbreak of World War I, he was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian Army
in 1914, and was badly wounded in 1917. During his convalescence in Vienna
, he became a member of a secret Polish organization, the Polish Military Organisation
. As a member of PMO he encouraged Polish soldiers to desert from the Austrian Army and join newly created Polish formations. This resulted in a threat of court martial from the Austro-Hungarian Army, but eventually he was freed. Next, he participated in the battle of Lwów
during the Polish–Ukrainian War.
In interwar Poland, Próchnik became an activist of the Polish Socialist Party
and supported initiatives designed to improve the situation of the country's working class. He supported the inclusion of Silesia
into renascent Poland. In the 1928 legislative elections
, he was elected a deputy to the Polish Sejm
. He steadily drifted to more extreme left position, supporting cooperation with the communists. Often - under pen-name Henryk Swoboda and publishing mostly in Robotnik
- published essays attacking the right-wing sanacja
Polish government and the endecja
faction, which he blamed for undermining the nascent Polish democracy. This resulted in some of his publications being censored
by the state. Some of his works would appear in unabridged version only after his death, published in the People's Republic of Poland
.
He worked as an archivist in Piotrków
and Poznań
. For a time he was employed by Poland's Ministry of Culture and Religion. His attempt to enter the academic life ended when his application for a position in the University of Warsaw
was rejected, due to his left wing views being unpopular among the right wing faculty there (despite a support from his candidature from professor Wacław Tokarz. He nonetheless became a member of the Polish Historical Society
, published in historical journals and attended professional conferences.
During World War II
, in occupied Poland, Próchnik continued his political activities, supporting a PPS
-affiliated underground printing press (Barykada Wolności). He joined the leftist PPS group, Polish Socialists (Polscy Socjaliści), but he tried to reconcile the divisions within PPS and took part in the negotiations with the more centrist PPS-WRN. He was involved in the collaborative underground effort to document Nazi crimes in Poland, worked in the underground Military History Bureau and contributed to the Kronika Okupacji project. He advocated cooperation with the Soviet Union
. He became a member of the Political Consultative Committee
. On 22 May 1942 he died of a heart attack.
processes, including social movements. He published numerous articles, both in academic journals and popular press, as well as several books. His historical research focused on following areas: French Revolution
and its Polish contemporary, the Kościuszko Uprising
; the period of Polish history following the failure of the January Uprising
of 1863-1864; the study of the labor movement in Poland, including a study of the women's role in the Polish labor movement (both areas in which he was a pioneer); and contemporary history of the Second Polish Republic
. Overall, his works are regarded as well researched and well written.
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, 21 August 1892 – 22 May 1942, Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
) was a Polish socialist activist, politician and historian.
Life
Próchnik was born in Lwów, Austrian partitionAustrian partition
The Austrian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired by the Austrian Empire during the partitions of Poland in late 18th century.-History:...
(now, Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) on 21 August 1892 to a middle class Jewish family. According to some sources, he was the extramarital
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
son of Ignacy Daszyński
Ignacy Daszynski
Ignacy Ewaryst Daszyński was a Polish politician, journalist and Prime Minister of the Polish government created in Lublin in 1918....
.Jerzy Myśliński, Polska myśl polityczna, Czytelnik, 1986, ISBN 8307013100, p.32
While in high school he became involved in socialist activism. As a student, he joined the Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia
Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia
Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia was a political party in Galicia. The party was formed in 1890 as the Galician territorial organization of the Social Democratic Workers Party of Austria. In 1892 it took the name Social Democratic Party of Galicia...
; he supported the Polish Socialist Party – Left faction over the Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction led by Józef Piłsudski.
Before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he joined the pro-independence paramilitary Polish organization, the Union of Armed Struggle. With the outbreak of World War I, he was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
in 1914, and was badly wounded in 1917. During his convalescence in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, he became a member of a secret Polish organization, the Polish Military Organisation
Polish Military Organisation
Polish Military Organisation, PMO was a secret military organization created by Józef Piłsudski in August 1914, and officially named in November 1914, during World War I. Its tasks were to gather intelligence and sabotage the enemies of the Polish people...
. As a member of PMO he encouraged Polish soldiers to desert from the Austrian Army and join newly created Polish formations. This resulted in a threat of court martial from the Austro-Hungarian Army, but eventually he was freed. Next, he participated in the battle of Lwów
Battle of Lwów (1918)
Battle of Lviv begun on 1 November 1918 and lasted till May 1919 and was a six months long conflict between the forces of the West Ukrainian People's Republic and local Polish civilian population assisted later by regular Polish Army forces for the control...
during the Polish–Ukrainian War.
In interwar Poland, Próchnik became an activist of the Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
and supported initiatives designed to improve the situation of the country's working class. He supported the inclusion of Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
into renascent Poland. In the 1928 legislative elections
Polish legislative election, 1928
The Polish legislative election, 1928 lasted from 4 to 11 March and was the third election in the Second Polish Republic. Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem ) - a coalition of the Sanacja faction - won the highest number of seats The Polish legislative election, 1928 lasted from 4 to 11 March and...
, he was elected a deputy to the Polish Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
. He steadily drifted to more extreme left position, supporting cooperation with the communists. Often - under pen-name Henryk Swoboda and publishing mostly in Robotnik
Robotnik (1894–1939)
Robotnik was the bibuła newspaper published by the Polish Socialist Party , and distributed in most major cities and towns in Poland under Partitions.....
- published essays attacking the right-wing sanacja
Sanacja
Sanation was a Polish political movement that came to power after Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 Coup d'État. Sanation took its name from his watchword—the moral "sanation" of the Polish body politic...
Polish government and the endecja
Endecja
National Democracy was a Polish right-wing nationalist political movement active from the latter 19th century to the end of the Second Polish Republic in 1939. A founder and principal ideologue was Roman Dmowski...
faction, which he blamed for undermining the nascent Polish democracy. This resulted in some of his publications being censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
by the state. Some of his works would appear in unabridged version only after his death, published in the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
.
He worked as an archivist in Piotrków
Piotrków
Piotrków may refer to the following places in Poland:*Piotrków Trybunalski, a city in Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship*Piotrków Kujawski, a city in Gmina Piotrków Kujawski in Radziejów County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship...
and Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
. For a time he was employed by Poland's Ministry of Culture and Religion. His attempt to enter the academic life ended when his application for a position in the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
was rejected, due to his left wing views being unpopular among the right wing faculty there (despite a support from his candidature from professor Wacław Tokarz. He nonetheless became a member of the Polish Historical Society
Polish Historical Society
Polish Historical Society is a Polish scientific society for historians. Founded in 1886 in Lwów by Ksawery Liske as a local society, in 1926 it became the Poland-wide organization dedicated to advancing the knowledge and studies in history of Poland. Since 1974 it organizes tournaments of...
, published in historical journals and attended professional conferences.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in occupied Poland, Próchnik continued his political activities, supporting a PPS
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
-affiliated underground printing press (Barykada Wolności). He joined the leftist PPS group, Polish Socialists (Polscy Socjaliści), but he tried to reconcile the divisions within PPS and took part in the negotiations with the more centrist PPS-WRN. He was involved in the collaborative underground effort to document Nazi crimes in Poland, worked in the underground Military History Bureau and contributed to the Kronika Okupacji project. He advocated cooperation with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He became a member of the Political Consultative Committee
Political Consultative Committee
Political Consultative Committee was the beginning of the political arm of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland during World War II. It was formed on 26 February 1940 by several Polish political parties continuing their activities underground...
. On 22 May 1942 he died of a heart attack.
Tributes
Several landmarks and organizations in Poland bear Próchnik's name.Works
In his historical works, Próchnik was a strong adherent to Marxist views, and supported the dialectic materialism perspective. He was interested in studying the revolutionaryRevolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
processes, including social movements. He published numerous articles, both in academic journals and popular press, as well as several books. His historical research focused on following areas: French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and its Polish contemporary, the Kościuszko Uprising
Kosciuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
; the period of Polish history following the failure of the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
of 1863-1864; the study of the labor movement in Poland, including a study of the women's role in the Polish labor movement (both areas in which he was a pioneer); and contemporary history of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. Overall, his works are regarded as well researched and well written.
- "Obrona Lwowa od 1 do 22 listopada 1918", Zamość 1919;
- "Demokracja Kościuszkowska", Lwów 1920, Warszawa 1947;
- "Bunt łódzki w roku 1892", Warszawa (?) 1932;
- as Henryk Swoboda "Pierwsze piętnastolecie Polski niepodległej", (first serialized in 1933 in newspaper "Robotnik" (censored), first full version translated into German in 1933. Complete Polish editions in 1957 and 1983.
- "W trzynastą rocznicę "Krwawej środy", Warszawa 1936;
- "Ideologia spółdzielczości robotniczej" Warszawa 1937;
- "Co to jest spółdzielczość. Istota - cel - zadania", Warszawa 1937;
- "Idee i ludzie", Warszawa 1938;
- "Powstanie państwa polskiego", Warszawa 1939;
- "Stronnictwa polityczne Wielkiej Rewolucji Francuskiej", Warszawa 1958;
- "Studia z dziejów polskiego ruchu robotniczego" (editor K. Dunin-Wąsowicz), Warszawa 1958;
- "Studia i szkice" (editor K.Dunin-Wąsowicz), Warszawa 1962;
- "Francja i Polskaw latach 1789-1794" (editor K.Dunin-Wąsowicz), Warszawa 1964;
- "Wybór publicystyki" (editors M.M.Drozdowski, K.Dunin-Wąsowicz, Z.Marciniak, J.Żarnowski), Warszawa 1971;
Further reading
- "Próchnik, Adam Feliks," Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, vol. 3, 1975, p. 712. - Nicieja S., Biografia i działalność Adama Próchnika – historyka, polityka, publicysty, Warszawa 1986;
- Marciniak Z. i J., Adam Feliks Próchnik (1892-1942), "Z pola walki", r.1, 1958, nr 3.