A spark was enough to ignite the fire of the rebellion. It turned out to be the arrival of Ignacy Jan Paderewski to Poznań. It was enough for the Greater Poland Uprising to break out on December 27, 1918. The uprising was different from the one it has been so far - without great fights, without tens of thousands of killed and wounded, one of the few that the Poles have won.
Another day passes and it turns into an unbearably long and monotonous week full of uncertainty.
While I am studying our little daughters, and they will get to know me, during endless breastfeeding and changing diapers, Konstanty in Poznań has a fight. And while I guess everything is complicated and dangerous, I have no idea how excited he is.
Ignition spark
He returns to his parents' apartment, where he also places Paweł and two of his friends. There are eighteen men in total just waiting for a signal.
And although the Germans ostentatiously flexed their muscles and organized demonstration military parades in the city until recently forgetting how many Poles are marching in their ranks, now they seem to quiet down and lose their spirit. Which gives a lot of hope that they will not want to fight either. Hopefully.
But the moment that everyone is waiting for, and in which I cannot participate due to the state in which I find myself, is the arrival of our export pride in the future capital of Wielkopolska - Ignacy Paderewski . I so much regret not seeing it!
Ignacy Jan Paderewski among the people greeting him at the railway station in Poznań.
The artist is on his way from England to Warsaw, and the Germans are trying to block the train stop in Poznań and are doing everything to prevent him from getting off at the lovely summer station. It's 9:10 PM on December 26, and this is where our fate begins to change. Paderewski stays at the beautiful, monumental Bazar hotel and involuntarily becomes the ignition spark of the insurgent uprising.
I suspect he must be quite dismayed at the role life has unexpectedly cast him into. And poor Mrs. Paderewska? Certainly tired of the journey, she is not happy to be in the crowd's center of attention.
On the other hand, it must be extremely exciting, I suppose, because I have never swept a crowd behind me. At most Konstanty, who, in love, follows me step by step and fulfills the strangest whims. I love him so much and worry so much!
Rise with class
I feel like laughing at the thought of the invaders who, to discourage the inhabitants of Poznań, extinguished their street lamps in the city. Good for yourself! As if the darkness could hold us back. Plus, since the stars shine the most in the dark, it's easy to see who you will be staring at.
Kostek, succumbing to the enthusiasm of the crowd, marches with his father-in-law to the Bazaar in a great march from the train station and listens to Paderewski's short speech, who by no means encourages him to take up arms. But as it turns out, it doesn't matter in the slightest: a small spark ignited a great fire that cannot be extinguished.
The text is an excerpt from the book by Nina Majewska-Brown “Florentyna i Konstanty 1916–1924. Hostages of Freedom ", Bellona 2021. Buy now"
No one is intimidated by the afternoon German demonstration organized a day later, which , amid nationalist songs, tearing off and destroying Polish flags, passes from Jeżyce to the center on the way demolishing the commissariat of the Supreme People's Council. It is supposed to be a response to the inhabitants' spur, make us stop and move back. But it only makes us feel more clearly that this is the time, that the strength is in us! Crowds of men set off from nearby towns, from Kórnik, Pleszew, and Środa Wielkopolska to defend their motherland, and in fact the birth of their motherland, with their own breasts.
In Poznań itself, numerous masses are celebrated in the intention of liberation, which soon turn into freedom demonstrations, encouraging the inhabitants to act. And when around 5 p.m. the nervous invaders face the crowd at the Bazaar, opposite the Polish People's Guard, do not know who they are getting on the nerves and the first shot is fired . Does it matter? Probably historians will consider it for years, trying to get to the bottom of the matter, but one thing is known - it begins.
Surprisingly, there is no massacre or great fight, there is nothing we regret the most - the wounded. By some miracle, the German command is efficiently arrested, which, after interrogation, is simply released after a few days. You have to admit that what, what, but the inhabitants of Poznań are classy.
Helpless Germans
Of course, the biggest problem is the lack of uniforms and officers. The foreseeing Germans made sure that the Poles did not get promoted in the ranks of their army and did not learn the secrets of war, strategy and battles. But will this stop us? Not at all!
On January 8, 1919, Józef Dowbor Muśnicki, the commander of the 1st Polish Corps in Russia, arrives straight from Warsaw to replace the commander-in-chief, who laid the foundations of the Greater Poland army, Stanisław Taczak.
Dowbor Muśnicki, as befits a military man, introduces iron discipline, forces the decision on general conscription, expands Taczak's army so that in its ranks there will soon be almost one hundred and ten thousand soldiers . A great, extraordinary thing that will undoubtedly not escape the attention of weakened Germans. At last they have to reckon with us.
Armored train of Greater Poland insurgents "Danuta".
We are most excited about the way they send meals to Poznań! By train! One has to be completely unimaginative, not to foresee that we will give them a good reception at the station, disarming them, capturing them and acquiring at the same time the weapons that we need so much!
We laugh until we burst when next to the 7.92 mm Mauser rifles and Maksim heavy machine guns we deflect the helpless Germans of the armored train ! I omit the action of December 29-30, 1918, when young boys in Inowrocław fought like adult, experienced men.
The Scout Reserve Company in Kościan carried out an action under the code name Wolność, as a result of which weapons were stolen from the warehouses of the German 2nd Battalion of the 37th Infantry Regiment. 6 heavy and 12 light machine guns, approx. 800 rifles and 107 pistols. The acquired weapons were used, among others by insurgent troops from Krzywin and Wielichów. The military and administrative power over the city was seized.
Mindless spoilage of ammunition
And to think that all this is happening almost before my eyes. Konstanty does not want to reveal details in his letters, he ignores the way Paweł broke his leg, and I even begin to suspect that he was simply beaten up by the pressing crowd, or fell somewhere, not necessarily in some bloody fight (...).
The first victim of the uprising who died on the day of its outbreak was Antoni Andrzejewski, incidentally, most likely killed by a Polish bullet!
The demonstration German parade walked near the Bazaar towards the General Command. There was no shooting at the Bazaar, because there were no police cover for Paderewski and allied officers accompanying him at the time of the German march. Only an hour after the march had passed, the People's Guard company stopped at the Bazaar and, on Rybka's order, started a chaotic shooting. […]
There were no fights, but you thoughtlessly spoiling ammunition, shooting into the air, because there was no enemy . [Antoni] Andrzejewski, a boy serving in the billiard room on the first floor of Espanta, who, out of curiosity, went out to the terrace was killed by shots from the Bazaar. A legend matched him with a "fallen insurgent" . They fought from the streets, private apartments, using heavy machine guns and grenades. During one of the storms, the first insurgent, Franciszek Ratajczak, a Westphalian miner, was killed.
The victorious assault on the Police Presidium and the death of Franciszek Ratajczak.
And although Paderewski and his wife are going on a further journey to the capital on New Year's Eve, we do not feel abandoned; on the contrary. We are almost sure that the future prime minister and the head of diplomacy will think of us with pride and emotion. At least I would have such feelings. I wonder if men think a bit differently or if they share our emotions.
The most remarkable thing about it is that Kostek's prophecy comes true. There are no great fights, hundreds of dead and thousands of wounded. The Germans behave as if they did not want to, allowing the white and red flag to flutter on the town hall soon ; for years hidden in a tenement house at the Old Market Square, which houses the oldest pharmacy in the city. It's so touching.
Konstanty with his father-in-law and Paweł return home on a special day - January 6, 1919. Then the airport passes into our hands.
A battalion of the Guard and Security Service, an artillery platoon, an mounted detachment, an intelligence and a medical detachment make a spectacular attack on a German air station in Ławica near Poznań. 1 soldier is killed, 3 are injured. 7 officers and about 200 German soldiers are surrendered. Group under the command of 2nd Lt. Andrzej Kopa acquires equipment (including several dozen airplanes and several hundred engines), which will be the basis for the construction of Polish military aviation in the interwar period .
It is not only a great victory, but also a great civilization breakthrough. Aerial operations can significantly change the way combat is conducted (…).
"Poland is ours!"
When I see Konstanty in a feldgray, perhaps a decorative coat with a white and red cotillion, in a cornet decorated with a white and red ribbon, my legs tremble, and when he sees me, he breaks away from the car and runs towards me. He takes me in his arms and cradles me with such tenderness as if we haven't seen each other for long years (...).
- Honey, how good you are! Are you okay?
- No, no, everything is fine! We won!
- I heard it! It's hard to believe in ...
- Believe it and celebrate because there is something! Poland is ours! Ours!
It is not only a great victory, but also a great civilization breakthrough. Aerial operations can significantly change the way combat is conducted
I touch the thick, unpleasant fabric of my husband's heavy coat. I've never seen him in it before, and then I realize it's a uniform. By no means Polish, because where would we get the army and all the soldiers' clothes.
- God, what are you wearing? German uniform?
- Just so you know. We skinned the bastards and got quite a lot of uniforms, but to distinguish ourselves from the Germans, we decorated them so beautifully (...).
- I was so worried.
- Unnecessarily, it's all over. Now you just need to officially sign the papers and that's it.
If this would be so easy! The truce in Trier will be signed in a few weeks, February 16, and the final victory will not be sealed until June 28, 1919 the Treaty of Versailles. As a result of his arrangements, almost all of Wielkopolska will return to the borders of our beloved country.
Source:
The text is an excerpt from the book by Nina Majewska-Brown “Florentyna i Konstanty 1916–1924. Hostages of Freedom ”, Bellona 2021.