SZCZYPIORNO 1917 - A SECOND SAN DOMINGO? (Szczypiorno 1917 - drugie Saint Domingo?)

• Authors: Snopko Jan
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Szczypiorno near Kalisz (today: a district of that town) became celebrated in Polish history predominantly as an internment camp for men of the Polish Legions at the time of the First World War, and the birthplace of a Polish version of handball, whose popular name is 'szczypiorniak'. The camp occupied a special place in the memory of the interned legionaries and the collective memory of Polish society due to the harsh living conditions and the, at times, outright dramatic experiences of the inmates. The tragedy of Szczypiorno was widely popularised by the pro-independence camp already at the time of the First World War and subsequently at the time of the Second Republic. The plight of the interned soldiers was even compared to the fate of their Napoleonic-era predecessors at San Domingo. Szczypiorno became a symbol the inflexible stand, will to survive, and martyrdom of the legionaries, whose path towards Independent Poland was often full of disappointment and suffering. The camp in Szczypiorno did not turn out to be a second San Domingo, as feared, and despite the severe conditions almost all the inmates survived. A more extensive tragedy was prevented by the food supplies provided by Polish society and the good organisation of medical services in the camp. Emphasis on the fate of the interned later served assorted propaganda purposes, and accentuated their participation in the reconstruction of the independent Republic.

Keywords

EN

INTERNMENT CAMP; POLISH LEGIONS.

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla PAN w Warszawie
• Journal: Dzieje Najnowsze
• Year: 2008
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 41-59
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Snopko Jan

• Jan Snopko, Uniwersytet w Bialymstoku, Instytut Historii, pl. Uniwersytecki 1, 15-420 Bialystok, Poland.

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA063913