Echa Przeszłości

Oktawiusz Radoszkowski’s letters to Józef Gałęzowski in the collection of the Polish Library in Paris – rare insights into the life and work of the Polish entomologist and general of the Imperial Russian Army

Piotr Daszkiewicz — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The article analyzes two letters penned by Oktawiusz Radoszkowski, a prominent entomologist and general of the Imperial Russian Army, to Józef Gałęzowski, an émigré activist in Paris and president of the Polish Museum in Rapperswil. The letters are kept in the Polish Library in Paris, and they provide valuable and novel insights into Radoszkowski’s life and work. In addition to his scientific accomplishments, the entomologist writes about trivial matters that may be of interest to the addressee, including his wife’s visit to Paris, the price of Panama Canal stock, and his attempts to find a physician using the novel electrotherapy method. The letters are undoubtedly a valuable source of information about daily life in the 19th century.

Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century depictions of eternal sleep on the example of Płock Bishop Andrzej Noskowski’s mausoleum in Pułtusk and Kryski family tombs in Drobin

Paulina Biernacka — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Erected in 1553–1554, Bishop Andrzej Noskowski’s mausoleum in Pułtusk is a unique work of art depicting the founder’s concept of sleep, in which the figure of a deceased man rises from sleep and awaits resurrection. The interior of the chapel is a triumph of genuine faith, but a number of decorative elements create a smooth transition between the spiritual and the secular world. In turn, the tombs of the Kryski family paint a completely different picture of eternal sleep. This article discusses two different concepts of eternal sleep – that envisaged by the Płock clergyman, which is full of faith, hope and political symbols, and that foretold by the ambitious Kryski family in Mazovia at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. The author attempts to interpret selected elements of the polychromed surfaces in Bishop Noskowski’s mausoleum based on the clergyman’s worldview and political events of the time.

A few more words about King Władysław IV Vasa’s passion for hunting

Artur Goszczyński — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Hunting was a favorite pastime of Polish King Władysław IV Vasa. However, the monarch did not regard hunting trips as mere recreational activity, but also as an opportunity to build diplomatic relations and demonstrate his prestige. This article discusses Władysław IV Vasa’s favorite hunting grounds, preferred types of game, the King’s guests and entourage during royal hunting escapades, and hunting activities. It also describes the dangers and challenges associated with royal hunting trips and their impact
on the monarch’s health. Despite his deteriorating physical condition, the King continued to hunt extensively against medical advice.

„Too young to sleep, too old to sin”? Drinking as a pastime activity in the light of 17th-century memoirs of Polish nobility

Emil Kalinowski — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article analyzes alcohol consumption among 17th-century Polish nobility based on selected memoirs. Drinking played many social roles: alcohol was consumed during meals, it was a symbol of social status, it enhanced social relations, and enabled businessmen to close deals. According to popular belief, alcohol had health-promoting properties, and it was an easy escape from everyday problems. Beer, wine, mead, and vodka were the most popular alcoholic beverages in 17th-century Poland. The authors of the examined memoirs differed in their attitudes towards drinking, and these differences could be attributed to many factors, including social status and upbringing. Affluent nobles with a high social rank were generally more restrained in their consumption of alcohol. It appears that social acceptance of drinking and drunkenness increased over time and was higher in the second half of the 17th century.

Fatigue and rest in the daily lives of travelers on the example of Aleksander Janusz Zasławski-Ostrogski’s travel journal (1667–1669)

Adam Kucharski — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In the 17th century, during extended educational journeys to foreign lands, the key role was played by scientific pursuits and broadly defined peregrinator activities. Such journeys lasted two years or longer on average, and increasing fatigue was their natural consequence; fatigued travelers had to take a rest to recuperate and regain their strength. It should be noted that a trip from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to Western and Southern Europe was long and arduous. In the 17th century, fatigue became a subject of scientific inquiry in Galileo’s research. A journal kept by father Kazimierz Jan Wojsznarowicz, a mentor who accompanied the young Polish magnate Aleksander Janusz Zasławski-Ostrogski during his European travels (1667–1669), is a valuable source of information about the intensity of the above phenomena and the way in which they were described by travelers. The discussed itinerary covers Zasławski-Ostrogski’s trip to Germany, Northern and Southern Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, and Bohemia. The journal describes several types of rest breaks, depending on the distance traveled, including longer stays in large cities such as Amsterdam, Antwerp, Paris, and Rome. These rest periods involved both passive and active relaxation. In his journal, father Wojsznarowicz rarely describes the fatigue experienced by both travelers and focuses more on rest breaks and recreational opportunities. However, the journal clearly indicates that foreign travel was an arduous undertaking during which night rest was short and sleep-deprived wayfarers spent long hours in speeding carriages on poorly maintained roads.

Sleep, rest, and leisure activities of Polish travelers in parental guidelines in the 16th–18th centuries

Marcin Broniarczyk — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article attempts to determine whether parental guidelines in the 16th-18th centuries contained
any recommendations concerning sleep, rest, and leisure activities. A detailed analysis of historical parental guide books indicates that such recommendations had been formulated. Although most guidelines for young travelers focused on education, the preferred topics of study, and learning about foreign cultures and customs, they also paid considerable attention to the travelers’ daily schedule to ensure that they get the required sleep and rest. The importance of sleep for maintaining good health and effective learning was widely recognized. Young travelers were advised to get at least eight hours of sleep each day, which was regarded as the optimal time for regeneration. This view continues to be upheld by modern medical science.

The effectiveness of the anti-communist campaign initiated by the „Communism and Poland” journal in German-occupied Poland in November 1943

Karol Sacewicz — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Polish Underground State launched an anti-communist campaign with the aim of protecting Poland against the subversive activities of the Polish Workers’ Party and communist interreference. At the end of 1943, underground press printed a series of articles questioning whether the action taken by the opposition was appropriate, whether the enemy and its goals had been well defined, and, above all, whether national and political consolidation was possible in the face of the real threat posed by Soviet-Communist imperialism. In this article, part of this press debate was analyzed based on the views and opinions expressed by an underground monthly journal published under the title of „Communism and Poland”. The article also attempts to determine whether the accusations made by the magazine’s editors were valid, whether their remarks about the Polish anti-communist movement were justified, and whether the journal’s opportunistic and political commentaries and attacks merely sought to gain public support for the cause by beating at an op en door.

Socialist Realism and the reconstruction of Warsaw according to the „Stolica” weekly magazine (1949–1956)

Patryk Zieliński — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Socialist Realism left a lasting mark on Warsaw’s architecture. „Stolica”, a weekly magazine published between 1946 and 1989 and dedicated to the affairs of the Polish capital, provided an interesting perspective on Warsaw’s architecture in 1949-1956 and public perceptions concerning the new architectural style. The magazine’s articles are a valuable source of information about journalists’ attitudes towards the implementation of Socialist Realism in Poland. The magazine described the characteristic features of new the architectural style and became its critic in the last years of Stalin’s regime.

Social activity and encapsulation on the example of the Warmia and Mazury Association for Social and Cultural Advancement (1957–1963)

Małgorzata Gałęziowska — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The article focuses on the process of extinguishing potential conflicts between institutionalized social action and state organization. According to Amitai Etzioni, this process can become „encapsulated” when social and economic activities are embedded within a tight network of public norms and government regulations. This concept is examined on the example of the Warmia and Mazury Association for Social and Cultural Advancement, which operated in the region between 1957 and 1963. Community projects were terminated based on far-reaching interpretations of business regulations and accusations of alleged abandonment of cultural activity. As a result, the Association was deprived of public funding. The article also discusses illusory civic and economic freedoms during this period and the complex relationships between national groups in the region, which provide a context for the described process.

Bohdan Hawrylyshyn and the Club of Rome

Petro Havrylyshyn, Adam Ostanek — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Celem artykułu jest przybliżenie sylwetki znanego ukraińskiego ekonomisty Bogdana Hawryłyszyna i jego aktywności na polu naukowym i społecznym ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem aktywności jako członka Klubu Rzymskiego. Po wstąpieniu B. Hawryłyszyna do Klubu Rzymskiego w 1972 r. przez wiele lat pozostawał on jedynym Ukraińcem w tej organizacji. Jego aktywna działalność w tymże klubie przyczyniła się do istotnego własnych poszerzenia horyzontów oraz przewartościowania wielu dotychczasowych poglądów, w tym także tych dotyczących stosunków polsko-ukraińskich i potrzeby wzajemnej współpracy, m.in. na niwie ekonomicznej. W 1980 r. ukazał się jego opus magnum pt. W stronę efektywnych społeczeństw. Mapy drogowe do przyszłości, w którym rozwinął koncepcję poprawy efektywności funkcjonowania społeczeństw w różnych krajach świata. Kontakty, autorytet i doświadczenie, które B. Hawryłyszyn nabył w Klubie Rzymskim, wykorzystał, działając w ostatniej dekadzie XX w. i początkach XXI w. na rzecz Ukrainy. To m.in. za jego sprawą George Soros w 1990 r. uruchomił w Kijowie Międzynarodową Fundację „Odrodzenie”, na czele której w roli przewodniczącego Rady Nadzorczej stanął właśnie B. Hawryłyszyn. Podstawę źródłową tekstu stanowią materiały archiwalne, opracowania naukowe oraz wspomnienia.

The Kennedy–Khrushchev Vienna Summit (1961) in the perception of the US Secretary of State, Dean Rusk and the Head of the USSR Department of the US and Canada, Anatoly Dobrynin

Mateusz Bogdanowicz — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

J.F. Kennedy’s presidency witnessed a series of confrontations between the USA and the USSR, which began during the Vienna Summit. Nikita Khrushchev saw JFK as a political dilettante and was hoping to test the American President during negotiations. The Vienna summit did not bring any meaningful results because the meeting was informal and the delegates had completely different goals. Khrushchev focused on the German Democratic Republic and the division of Berlin, whereas JFK was more concerned with the crisis in Laos and the nuclear test ban treaty. Kennedy did not yield under pressure from Khrushchev, but overestimated the Soviet leader’s threats of war. Khrushchev’s strategy backfired because Soviet threats intensified America’s preparations for war on a scale that – by 1988 – had bankrupted the USSR. From a historical perspective, America’s priorities were misplaced because the Cold War came to an end in Europe, and the compromise regarding Laos and the nuclear treaty proved to be short-lived. Before the Vienna summit, the USA had approved the Yalta agreements and was unwilling to change the existing balance of power in Europe. The memoirs of the US Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Soviet delegation adviser Anatoly Dobrynin confirm these observations. Their accounts differ with regard to the meeting agenda and the progress made in the negotiations. Rusk and Dobrynin were highly competent and skilled diplomats, but they did not play a major role during the summit. Both delegations would have been well-served by more extensive consultations between their respective leaders and advisors. The analysis of the diplomats’ memoirs provides valuable insights into JFK’s and Khrushchev’s decision-making styles. The memoirs prove that individuals play a crucial role in politics and that their decisions can have a profound impact on global affairs.

New reality or new awareness? The core values of the officer cadre of the Polish People’s Army

Marian Kasperski — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The officers of the Polish People’s Army and the Polish army during the communist era evoke strong, often extreme emotional responses. The article discusses the efforts of Poland’s communist authorities to prepare the officers of the Polish People’s Army for military service in line with the political propaganda, and it analyzes the extent to which these endeavors were successful. The author outlines the army’s political ideology, presents documents dealing with the ethics of military duty, and discusses the results of empirical studies analyzing the awareness levels of professional officers during the transition of the Polish People’s Republic into the Third Polish Republic. According to the author, political views and especially attitudes do not change in a revolutionary manner; therefore, the ideology and beliefs professed in the first decade of the Third Republic of Poland testify to the effectiveness of the measures undertaken in the previous political era.

Generational perceptions of historical experience – a discussion on the methodology and philosophy of history

Marcin Pietrzak — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article discusses generational perceptions of historical experience and their contribution to the methodology and philosophy of history. The author proposes the concept of generational biography, which combines biographical, social, and historical narratives to present historical events from the perspective of collective experience. The article examines the role of generational change and rhythm in historical research and the impact of generational dynamics on the historical process. The author argues that generational perceptions of history provide a fresh perspective for historical sciences by combining objective, subjective, and intersubjective narratives. The article also analyzes the factors that shape the collective personality of a generation, including the impact of significant events and the relationships between parents and their children. The author posits that the dynamics of generational changes has a stabilizing effect on the historical proces, generating cycles of archetypal psychological expressions and relatively self-contained historical narratives.