Commemorating the 100th anniversary of Poland’s rebirth and the contribution made to the great independence effort by the population of the Przemyśl region, one cannot avoid a number of reflections on and comparisons between the pre- and post-World War One periods. The Great War initiated vast geopolitical changes. The emergence of many nation states in our part of Europe added an extra quality to social and political life. This raises a number of questions: how did these changes affect the Przemyśl region and Przemyśl itself, what were the causes and consequences thereof and how did they impact multi-generation transformation processes, what impact did nations have and what was the result of actions by individuals, who should be remembered? These questions do not only apply to history, but also to people, shaping of nations, sustainable growth and cultural heritage. In other words to everything which we consider in the spirit of the celebrated anniversary.
The Second Polish Republic was ridiculed like practically no other country in Europe (the infamous "ugly bastard of Versailles" - Molotov, "an economic impossibility" - Keynes, "defect of history" - Lloyd George, a stark reminder that the insults suffered by Poland today at the hands of foreign countries are nothing new). It also had to struggle against policies which aimed to annihilate out Fatherland. Nonetheless, the Second Polish Republic was highly successful in carving out its national sovereignty under extremely difficult external and internal conditions Finally, after the partitions and years of economic and social obscurity, national policies were improving the lives of the citizens. Overcrowding in villages was alleviated and unemployment in cities was curbed. Parliamentary democracy, women's suffrage, free education and labour regulations very favourable for workers were introduced. Social advancement was now a valid option for broad social strata, resulting in hundreds of thousands of high class specialists and millions of citizens aware of their tights and obligations.
Identification with one's own country together with the strength drawn from a national community were the two determinants for the survival of our nation which came face to face with 20th century's most atrocious demons - national socialism and proletarian internationalism.
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According to Nowe Ateny (New Athens) the first Polish language encyclopaedia authored by priest Benedykt Chmielowski, Przemyśl was already established in 758 (1260 years ago!): "PRZEMYSŁAW I vel LESZEK I, known for hastening Polish goldsmiths' crafts, with gold encrusted logs not so much struck as filled Hungarians and Moravians with fear and turned them away. He lived around the Year 760. He founded Przemyśl under his own name." That ruler was also mentioned in Zbiór potrzebniejszych wiadomości (A Collection of Essential Information), a two-volume work by Ignacy Krasicki. During the life of Nestor the Chronicler, Przemyśl was referred to as a town or a fort. It was inhabited by Lendians - Lechites and in 881 it was taken over by Vladimir, a Rus' Duke and then retaken by Bolesław I the Brave probably during his victorious campaign against Kiev. Since the start of the 14th century, the Przemyśl castle, built to protect Poland's south-east reaches, was amongst the tens of forts erected by Casimir III the Great.
It was the seat provincial governors and a diocese. As was customary, noble's parliaments congregated in the cathedral (today's Drohojowski chapel). Knights made decisions of local importance during these sessions. Piotr Kmita and Stanisław August Poniatowski who was later to become the king of Poland, were two noteworthy provincial governors.
Przemyśl was a regional capital. During the First Polish Republic period Ruthenian Voivodeship general parliaments met in Sądowa Wisznia located therein. The then Przemyśl region was extensive, stretching from Stryj to Świlcza on the far side of Rzeszów and from Słonne Mountains to Tarnogród. It comprised Przemyski, Jarosławski, Leżajski, Łańcucki, Rzeszowski, Mościski, Przeworski, Samborski, Drohobycki, Tyczyński and Stryjski districts. Unfortunately following World War II, the border established between the Polish People's republic and the USSR split the historic Przemyśl region. Today a part of it is in Poland and another part in Ukraine.
Przemyśl remembers its glory of the Austro-Hungarian period. At that time it became one of the largest fortresses with a garrison of more than one hundred thousand soldiers where almost all the nationalities of the multi-ethnic empire were represented.
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Many outstanding and famous individuals were associated with Przemyśl and the Przemyśl region. These included canon Stanisław Orzechowski (the subsequent Bishop of Warmia), Ignacy Krasicki – Przemyśl Cathedral parson and author of Monachomachia, speaker of the Sejm Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro - a Baroque writer often referred to as the Polish Tacitus, founder of the monastery in Kalwaria Pacławska and his distant cousin - writer Aleksander Fredro from Rudki and Mikołaj Sęp-Szarzyński - one of the most prominent Polish poets. That group also includes members of the clergy, such as: Saint Józef Pelczar (Bishop of Przemyśl at the turn of the 19th century, founder of Sister Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Przemyśl Archdiocese Museum), blessed father Jan Balicki, Card. Adam Stefan Sapieha of Krasiczyn and Abp Ignacy Tokarczuk – our "spokesman of a nation fighting for its sovereignty and a stalwart bishop". Pursuant to a special decision of the Sejm, this year, on the hundredth anniversary of his birth, we particularly remember the latter. That circle of eminent figures is further augmented by: nephew of Cardinal Leon Sapieha of Krasiczyn – landowner, Second Polish Republic Sejm Deputy, soldier during the Polish–Soviet War, active Home Army member, laid to rest at the cemetery in Łętownia near Przemyśl; Jan Gwalbert Pawlikowski of Medyka – environmental protection pioneer, first publisher of Słowacki's "Król-Duch", Jan Szczepanik – a brilliant inventor from Rudniki near Mościska; Henryk Jordan – a doctor, creator of playgrounds for children and teenagers subsequently known as Jordan's Parks. Also Herman Lieberman, a Drohobycz born socialist, member of the Polish Legions, lawyer and behind the building of the Workers' Housel; the exceptional Tarnawski family: Apolinary - a doctor, attributed with establishing the spa resort in Kosowo, Pokucie (in Huculszczyzna), Leonard – January Uprising participant, lawyer, Legislative Sejm Deputy, founder of the Society of Friends of Learning and the "Fredreum" Drama Society, his son Władysław - an outstanding scholar of English, Shakespeare translator and at the same time creator of Eastern Lands' Committee: the first think tank. He lived in a town house at ul. Grodzka 4 (a beautiful townhouse with bay windows and a double coat of arms: Polish and the Crown's); Karol Duldig – one of Australia's most significant artists, sculptor creator of the Australian Academy of Arts; Moses Schorr - a senator of the Second Polish Republic, historian and orientalist; Zbigniew Brzeziński – American political scientists and diplomat with Polish origins, advisor to American Presidents; Andrzej Gawroński – linguistics specialist and a polyglot (he knew 140 languages!), 1918 Lviv defender; Jerzy Grotowski – theatre reformer, he also resided at ul. Grodzka; Przemysław Bystrzycki – writer, member of the "Silent Unseen"; Ryszard Siwiec – home army soldier, a heroic martyr for the freedom of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
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In the days gone Przemyśl wasn't the only city which attracted the elites. It wasn't the only place which served as a smelting pot for the exchange of thought. Generational heritage and national identity were built in villages as well as many other cities and towns in the Przemyśl region as well as neighbouring villages which, at the time, were primarily populated by Poles.
Rudki - a small but important town until the outbreak of the Second World War was established by the Fredro family. That is where Aleksander Fredro was laid to rest.
Drohobycz, known as the town of 5 refineries is not only associated with Bruno Schulz and Borysław, where Jan Zeh and Ignacy Łukasiewicz lit the first kerosene lamp in the mid 19th century but also with leading Vieneese politicians such as prime minister Kazimierz Badeni and deputy Eustachy Sanguszko as well as artists – Artur Grottger, Maurycy and Leopold Gottlieb and military men such as Stanisław Maczek or the legendary white courier Tadeusz Chciuk-Celt. Iwan Franko, one of the most outstanding Ukrainian literature representatives was also associated with Drohobycz.
And right next to Drohobycz lies Truskawiec – one of the most famous and most rapidly growing spa towns in the Second Polish Republic (286 newly opened hotels and guesthouses in the interwar period!). Kazimierz Pelczar, attributed with establishing Poland's first oncology centre was born there.
It is a little known fact that in Medyka, an extraordinary haven of the exceptional Pawlikowski family, an underground printing house was operating in the 19th century, after the discovery of which the family of today's Alexander Tomský, a Czech conservative and political scientist was forced to leave Galicia.
Whereas the manor of Piotr Michałowski, a prominent painter who during the November Uprising oversaw weapons supplies for the insurgents still stands top this day in the arboretum of Bolestraszyce near Przemyśl (established in the 1970s by prof. Jerzy Piórecki).
Going back to the 17th century, one should also mention that the daughter of Jerzy Mniszech, Samborski district provincial governor married Tsar Dimitri. These were the only two years in Russia's history when Poles ruled from the Kremlin (following an earlier victory near Kłuszyn). Tsar Vasili IV of Russia together with his brothers paid homage to king Sigismund III in Warsaw. This fact is commemorated by a plaque on Sigismund's Column. No one was able to repeat that feat since then.
It is also a city and a region where different nations and different churches co-existed side by side throughout centuries. Sometimes this area is referred to as a smelting pot of nations. It is a misleading statement as it is more fitting for the United States as a smelting pot for various ethnic groups. Within the Przemyśl region and the former East Raeches, nations functioned both independently and dependently upon one another, but in a sovereign, albeit often competitive manner. It would be more acceptable to say that our part of Europe was a "historical linchpin", where the East and the West intermingled. Our status and character were shaped by the Golden Age of the First Polish republic, which pursued its Intermarium policies with impelling vigour. And the trait which has stayed with us since those days – tolerance grown upon freedom and republican traditions – will best ensure coexistence of different cultures within one territory. Without fascism, communism or ethnic squabbles.
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"It is so that he is warm" - the famous words uttered by father Jan Balicki, today blessed of the Catholic Church, to a cleric who asked why he is giving his sweater to a poor man, best describe numerous similar attitudes. Throughout centuries Przemyśl and its residents were influenced by individuals such as father Jan Balicki. Blessed priest Jan Balicki was born on 25 January 1869 in Staromieście near Rzeszów. If we tried to look at Przemyśl through the eyes of the young Jan, we would see a militarised city. Admittedly flourishing economically, but with a frayed soul – a soul hiding away behind the walls of old town houses, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and synagogues. St. Bp Józef Sebastian Pelczar also cared for that soul.
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Austrians recognised the significance of Przemyśl soon after the Duchy of Warsaw's military incursion into Galicia lead by Prince Poniatowski in 1809. Ten tears later works on the city's fortifications began.
This was nothing new in the city's history. According to sources, defensive walls have been protecting Przemyśl at least since the 14th century. For centuries, Brama Przemyska, lying in the Wiar and San river valleys, was a natural passage between Kotlina Sandomierska and Pogórze Przemyskie, leading south across the trans-European Carpathian chain. It was a trade route connecting East and West Europe. In more turbulent times armies marched along this route.
Three years before the November Uprising a permanent Austrian garrison was stationed in Przemyśl and in the second half of the 19th century the Przemyśl "fortified camp" was transformed into a strategic and operational base in the eastern reaches of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The wreath of Przemyśl defences comprised a dozen or so main forts and tens of auxiliary forts.
At the start of the 20th century it was transformed into a heavily fortified Dniest-San line. At the outbreak of the Great War, Przemyśl was designated as the defensive centre of that line.
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The city was expanding throughout the entire 19th century and most intensively during its last twenty five years. The number of its residents even managed to exceed 50 thousand on a few occasions. Similar numbers were reached in the 1930s to peak at just over 68 thousand in 1938 - a population similar to today's.
To this day Hungarians remember the service of their compatriots and the fighting for Przemyśl. A sizeable monument stands right in the centre of Budapest with the name of our city (not far from the monument to general Józef Bem, a Hungarian Spring of Nations hero. Grandfathers of József Antall, a former prime minister and of László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary served at the fortress during the Great War. New monuments of a Hungarian hussar and a Beliniak cavalryman unveiled in 2016 on Plac Dominikański in Przemyśl are astoundingly symbolic in their appearance. Efforts are also underway to add Vladimír Sýkora, a famous Czech telegraph operator into that group. His diaries from those days have survived in Czech archives. And if a Slovakian was to join them as well, then we would have another symbol - a common site of remembrance for the entire Visegrád Group. And it is just such a political history that our countries should engage in. Przemyśl authorities made sure in advance that such a symbol would be created, with a square in Przemyśl given the name of Visegrád Square. This was officially announced at a meeting of Speakers of the V4 Parliaments in 2017.
War often frustrated age-old alliances. Hoverer, Polish - Hungarian history presents different facts, which essentially in every century stand testament to the close relations between the two nations. If we look back to the 19th century, two generals, Józef Bem and Józef Wysocki together with one and a half thousand volunteers from Poland who took part in the Hungarian Spring of Nations are noteworthy - many of them (a few hundred, with teenagers amongst them!), who enlisted for the Polish Legions came from the Przemyśl region. One such insurgent, Col. Leon Czechowski was immortalised in Wyspiański's November Night [Noc listopadowa]. There are two commemorative sites devoted to him in Jarosław: a beautiful headstone at the Old Cemetery and a Kopjafa (Székely wooden pillar), near the former synagogue. They were mentioned by István Kovács, an outstanding Hungarian historian and diplomat in the recently published Bibliographical dictionary of Poles participating in the Hungarian Spring of Nations. Subsequent generations are also represented, here we can mention Géza Gyóni, a Hungarian sapper from the Przemyśl fortress, a prominent poet of his age and nation, a "prisoner of poetry" who "Counted his days / in the country of Lechites / faithfully awaiting / happier dawns" and Ferenc Molnar, author of The Paul Street Boys and a military war correspondents stationed in Przemyśl amongst others. Efforts of more than 100 Hungarians in the 2nd Brigade of the Polish Legions forcing its way across the Carpathians to Poland during World War One is also worthy of a mention. The memory of Hungarian help (in the form of millions of munitions) sent to the Polish Army fighting the Bolsheviks in 1920 is even more vivid. Without it the outcome of the war could have been entirely different. That help came at a dramatic time for the Hungarians as pursuant to the Treaty of Versailles they lost 2/3 of their territory and 1/3 of the nation found themselves outside the borders of their country. And one should bear in mind that the planned help was much more far reaching, also encompassing weapons and troops. However, it was forestalled by other countries, who objected to the re-emergence of Poland and supported the Bolshevik revolution.
For the subsequent generation (already during World War II), cooperation between Józef Antall and Henryk Sławik - heroes of three nations (Polish, Hungarian and Jewish), who saved 30 thousand (!) Polish citizens, including 5 thousand Jews was a symbol of Polish - Hungarian friendship. In Poland Henryk Sławik was condemned to oblivion practically until the second decade of the current century when - predominantly through the efforts of Krystyna and Grzegorz Łubczyk - publications pertaining to his person appeared and we unveiled two twin monuments (in 2016 in Warsaw and a year later in Budapest) to both heroes in the form of Antall's and Sławik's Table.
In both countries we also remember the Polish October Revolution and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which are potent symbols of solidarity. At the time, blood donations for the insurgents were taking place from Przemyśl all the way to Szczecin. The most recent tribute to another figure symbolic of the Polish - Hungarian friendship was the establishment in 2018 of the Polish Wacław Felczak Institute, commemorating the famous courier working for the Polish government-in-exile (The Institute has its equivalent in Hungary in the form of the W. Felczak Foundation).
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In writing about the Przemyśl phenomenon, one should also mention certain institutions which enriched the social and cultural lives of its residents, particularly in the 19th century. It was during that time, in 1869, that the Oldest Polish Drama Society, Alexander Fredro's "Fredreum" was established, an amateur theatre which has been active ever since at the same venue, the Przemyśl Castle - a phenomenon on a European scale.
November 1865 marks the beginning of the Musical Association. Aleksander Dworski and Walery Waygart were the first Presidents of the Board. And Artur Malawski (born in 1904 at ul. Władycze) was an important representative of the music world from Przemyśl. Today, the Podkarpackie Philharmonic and the Public Music School Complex in Przemyśl are named after him.
Intellectual activities of Przemyśl residents were reflected in the Society of Friends of Learning inaugurated in 1909. The Society is still active today and is one of the oldest institutions of this type in Poland. It was established, amongst others, upon the initiative of the Osiński brothers, Kazimierz Maria and Tadeusz, who also coined the idea for the National Museum of Przemyśl. Their family home is at ul. Kmity.
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Przemyśl had shoulder the military might of the Austro-Hungarian army. Economically it was left better-off, but without a clear future. In 1918, when Poland was regaining independence, Przemyśl did not shy away from the fight, and it was one of the first to take up arms. Priest capt. Józef Panaś klindled the fighting spirit. This time against Ukrainians. Since the start of November 1918, Przemyśl residents fought for the bridges on the San River, for districts, mounted counter-attacks from Zasanie onto the right-bank part of the city. On 11 November Przemyśl was free! But Poles fought on in Niżankowice and other towns. Individuals from every generation took part in the fighting. And this also included the Eaglets - students of Przemyśl high schools (those who perished were buried in a vast, symbolic Eaglets grave at the main cemetery). However, this would not have been possible if a foundation of values for the emerging national and supra-national community had not been established over generations. As Przemyśl, just like many similar towns and cities in Poland, was a City of Poles of different religions and nationalities, and the Przemyśl region identity was not only built by Poles, but also by Jews, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Czechs, Germans and Armenians. That diversity and stratification of cultural and generational achievements is reflected in the architecture of the Przemyśl cathedral. In its present form in bears the tale-tale signs of the Gothic, Renaissance Baroque, Rococo as well as later styles. It stands on the foundations of earlier temples: Romanesque and perhaps early-Romanesque, dating back to the Great Moravia period and the Prague bishopric. To this day Przemyśl is a Roman Catholic and Greek catholic Church archdiocese.
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We can cite almost symbolic figures, confirming the personalistic thesis that man is a virtue and attested to by his love of freedom from the dramatic World War II period subsequent centuries in the life of Przemyśl. For example one can recall the attitude of the twenty year old Stefania Podgórska (Righteous Among the Nations medal holder) who lived at ul. Tatarska and during the German occupation, risking her life she hid 13 Jewish Przemyśl residents in her own family home (in n 8 sq. m. hideaway)
There were also a number of noteworthy soldiers, with the ancestors of Zbigniew Ziobro amongst them. In the 1920s, his great-grandfather, Col. Władysław Kornicki was the commander of military engineering and of Corps District Command X in Przemyśl and a lecturer at the Lviv Polytechnic (he was murdered by the Soviets, his name figures on the Ukrainian Katyń List). His grandfather, Ryszard Kornicki, lived at ul. Waygarta and was in charge of the Home Army's counterintelligence in the Przemyśl province then became head of a Freedom and Independence (WiN) Inspectorate.
The significantly large number of families (often generations of the same family) were committed to the independence effort in the Przemyśl region. We should also mention some members of the underground. Firstly Władysława Koba, commander of the Freedom and Independence Rzeszów District. His funeral took place only in 2016 at a cemetery in Przemyśl's Zasanie district. But most importantly the extraordinary, heroic second lieutenant Alicja Wnorowska from the Home Army Intelligence Brigade (and the name says it all!), then active in Freedom and Independence. She lived at ul. Matejki. Eight months into her pregnancy she was arrested and gave birth to her son, Stanisław whilst on death row. He was to become a Przemyśl councillor in the 1990s. And the Sejm only passed a regulation pursuant to which children born in communist prisons (there were 40) are entitled to compensation in 2018. It is also symbolic that Andrzej Matusiewicz a Przemyśl deputy, an experienced attorney at law and defence solicitor advocate during Polish People's Republic political processes introduced that Act to the Sejm.
We will always remember Alicja from the second hand book shop in the arcades of Przemyśl town square where she worked. We used to go there after school, in search of for books to satisfy our yarning for heroes and adventures. And sometimes, just as "luck" would have it, on the long, seemingly ancient bookshop counter, and yet close, right there, we would come across novels by Ossendowski(!), Paweł Jasienica, accounts by Melchior Wańkowicz or a "random" pre-war biography in excellent condition. At the time we thought these were just coincidences, albeit fascinating ones as to us, the shelves of the book shop seemed full of mystery and magic. Today we know, Alicja, a kind neighbour from our street, had a natural inclination to present the next generation with symbols and sources important for every young man.
The Mech family from Żurawica is yet another example. Many of them fought in the underground, initially against the Germans and then against the Soviets. The grave of Szymon Mech, commander of a Polish Home Army unit (kedyw) in Żurawica still hasn't been found. Czesława ("Niezapominajka"), his daughter was a Home Army runner. His son Jan was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit for his services in Freedom and Independence by the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński.
We remember (we still remember after 50 years!) the improbably dramatic deed by Ryszard Siwiec, who – venturing far beyond the boundaries of heroism, and yet fully aware of his actions - carried out a self-immolation at a Warsaw stadium on 8 September, during official state harvest festival and witnessed by tens of thousands of people in protest against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pack troops. This deed is remembered in Prague to this day, and the Przemyśl resident, who has been commemorated there by a monument, became a symbol of the fight for freedom alongside Czechs Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc as well as Hungarians Sándor Bauer and Márton Moyses. All of them chose death as they proclaimed that no sacrifice is too great in the fight for freedom and only such a radical form of protest can jolt the society into protecting solidarity and spur into action. 20 years later, Ryszard's family became involved in the transformation effort crowned with the great Solidarity movement.
We should also mention student protests which took place a few months earlier, in March, at universities in the largest Polish cities - these also had a Przemyśl aspect. This was in the form of Przemyśl secondary school pupils, for whom March 1968 was a spark to manifest their opposition to the communist authorities and unfair rule. Some of those behind the various actions and protests include: Damian Zegarski, a student at a secondary technical school of mechanical engineering and initiator of protests in various forms, also under Adam Mickiewicz's monument at the Przemyśl town square; Ryszard Góral, today at attorney-at-law, but at the time member of an independent youth organisation engaged with emphasising Przemyśl's Polishness, later associated with the underground Solidarity ; Andrzej Mazur, considered to be the youngest organiser of the 1968 student uprising, at the time a sixteen year old pupil at Przemyśl schools (including the J. Słowacki High School No. 1 in Przemyśl), one of the creators of paratheater in Poland within the student movement in the seventies (at the Catholic University of Lublin) and a Solidarity member active in Kujawy – today a poet, publicist and an ecologist. For many years the aforementioned Przemyśl monument to Adam Mickiewicz was a cult venue for various independent initiatives.
The street bearing Matejko's name, which has also been referred to, is also an interesting example of a concentration of themes and symbols from the city's history written in the lives of its residents. At its top, just below the castle, stands a lone, tall obelisk, almost dating back to the last Jagiellonians – a legendary symbol of the city successfully standing up to Tartar invaders. In the past, before the war the it was known as "Ptasia" and was one of the oldest streets. Not long (all streets are like that within the Old Town), near the castle, with just 13 numbers – however important events took place or interesting people lived at almost every one. Apart from the abovementioned Alicja Wnorowska, the legendary Marian Stroński lived there – one of Poland's most important 20th century painters. Vicinity of the castle meant he was able to create many excellent Przemyśl landscape paintings, scenes with old streets, parts of the castle, beautiful chestnut trees and the like. On his terrace, the painter created cubist views of Zasanie. Kazimierz Cieszyński, the last president of the pre-war "Sokół" lived in an adjacent town house; Zbigniew Kuchciński, the first president (and co founder!) of the Przemyśl Friends of Lviv Association branch was a neighbour of his and Artur Jędruch, the subsequent Provincial Chief of Police grew up alongside them. Bogusław Zaleszczyk – a descendant of one of the Przemyśl Eaglets, today's president of the Town Council lives on the same street today. In 1986, an independent radio "Solidarity" programme was broadcast from an attic in a house on that street. Ul. Matejki is also home to two Christian churches of different denominations . Emil Siara, who during the German occupation together with his family gave shelter to a number of Jewish families in Ujkowice near Przemyśl, saving them from extermination, lived right where the street begins, in a little house with a beautiful balcony bearing the weigh of centuries.
There are more such streets, places and people here. The architecture of such an ancient city street usually interspersed with memories of the generations who've lived there, exudes a unique, sentimental charm of a mysterious, still undiscovered past, which as time goes by assumes an increasing significance.
Przemyśl and the Przemyśl region witnessed independence related events in practically every decade or the last century. These were aimed at religious freedoms, independence and the protection of the citizen's basic rights and the right to voice one's own opinions. The street fighting and barricades around the Salesian Organ School in 1963 as well as the construction of a few hundred churches, without the communist authorities' consent across the entire Diocese of Przemyśl masterminded between 1965 and 1993 by Bishop Tokarczuk are noteworthy historical events. They entailed the establishment of committees of believers, such as the one which became famous for its "battles" for the church in Przemyśl's Kmiecie district, lead by parson father Adam Michalski, Stanisław Sudoł and Wit Siwiec, son of Richard, or for the one in Stalowa Wola during the period of parson father Edward Frankowski, the latter auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Przemyśl and following the 1992 administrative reorganisation of the Polish Church – of the Sandomierz Diocese.
The actions of a small group of brave, then young people from Przemyśl who worked with the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR) were profoundly significant. These included Stanisław Kusiński running a contact post for that organisation in Przemyśl in the 1970s at ul . Przemysłowa who also worked with the Movement for Defence of Human and Civic Rights (ROBCIO). Janusz Czarski – a Catholic University of Lublin student at the time and director of today's Cultural Centre in Przemyśl was active in the latter.
The period after the 1980s is much better known an remembered: the times of the powerful "Solidarity" and from December 1981 – underground activity by various circles: workers, farmers or independent culture as well as an extremely important contribution by missions in the city and in the country, primarily based in Krasiczyn and associated with father Stanisław Bartmiński.
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And from such a perspective we are able to better understand the Przemyśl of today. A city with full of brave people, with a deep comprehension of patriotic attitudes, sometimes unconventional ands with a fondness for freedom. A city of tolerant and open minded people. A city whose past reflect the entire history of Poland. One should not forget that 300 years ago it was in South-West Poland, with the outskirts of the country far away. And it is no accident that Przemyśl necropolises (both civilian and military) stand testament to Poland's ethnic and cultural diversity. They are monuments to history, where memories of November and January insurgents, legionaries, Eaglets, the Home Army and the cursed soldiers (doomed soldiers) are preserved. Przemyśl is a city of values and opportunities, with a colourful history and a fascinating future. A city, whose old town and the fort architecture complex are worthy of the UNESCO world heritage site list.
Przemyśl is a part of Poland and Poland is a part of Europe. Przemyśl's openness means that is presents fertile ground for initiatives to spring up and blossom, such as the "Europe of the Carpathians" which brings countries interlinked for centuries and yet with difficult histories closer together. These initiatives include discussion meetings which have been taking place for years in Krynica, Krasiczyn and Przemyśl for people who want to talk about the future of our part of Europe, about the current political, economic, education and cultural events. Problems which still constitute barriers of various sorts are discussed therein, such as the underdeveloped infrastructure or the differences in living conditions between various countries.
Issues crucial for our civilisation are also delved into, such as the foundations on which the future of the community should be build upon. These meetings seek solutions to the departure from the essential Christian value system and the drive towards a federalist cultural smelting pot of people and customs so fashionable in today's Europe of solidarity-based states.
"Europe of the Carpathians" is a forum for those who draw from the heritage of their ancestors and the uniquely abundant space; for people who are on the side of sustainable development and wish to support actions benefiting European states and nations; for people who are bold enough to think, and to think positively about the future of places such as the Przemyśl region.
And finally "Europe of the Carpathians" is a place for people and entire families who, often in extremely difficult conditions, strengthened our sense of national unity and elementary decency. Who, through their axiological conduct as well as economic development and even in satisfying their everyday needs were set on building rather than destroying. And if they took up arms, then it was in defence of basic rights, from generation to generation passing the principles and standards of life geared towards cooperation in the diverse richness of our Poland. Some of these people have been mentioned here.
Marek Kuchciński