Rev. Henryk Hilchen, PhD, priest of the Archdiocese of Warsaw, was born on 30 July 1881 in Warsaw. Hilchen studied at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Warsaw University of Technology and at the Lviv Polytechnic, where he completed his education after two years. In 1905, he went to Freiburg, Switzerland, where he continued his studies at the Faculty of Law and Economics, culminating in the degree of Doctor of Political Science. In Freiburg he also studied theology and philosophy. In 1910, he returned to Poland and joined the theological seminary in Warsaw. Ordained a priest on 21 December 1912, he was vicar in the village of Dobre near Stanisławów, and then in Łowicz, in Łódź and – starting in July 1915 – in the parish of All Saints in Warsaw. In 1915 he became secretary general of the Association of Christian Workers and editor at the Christian association known as ‘Pracownik Polski’ (1916-1917). In 1919 he became a city councillor of Warsaw, editor of the monthly magazine Przewodnik Społeczny’ and chaplain of the School of Artillery Cadets and of the military unit stationed in Sołacz. In 1920 he went to Rome, where he entered the novitiate of the Dominican order and took up theological studies at Collegium Angelicum. Beginning in July 1922, by order of Pope Pius XI, he provided assistance to two successive apostolic nuncios in Poland. He was a regular correspondent for L’Osservatore Romano and L’Avvenire d’Italia. In 1929 he became the pastor of a parish in Leszno near Błonie and in 1931 of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Warsaw, where he completed the construction of a church. In 1937, he received the Gold Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland, and in the following year was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta. In the same year he was elected to the Warsaw City Council. Before the city’s capitulation, he was a hostage who guaranteed that President Stefan Starzyński’s negotiations with the Germans would be respected. He was arrested by the Germans on 3 October 1939 and was imprisoned in Pawiak prison until the end of November. Despite the destruction of the church and rectory during a German bombing on 12 September 1944, he formally served as pastor until July 1945. In June of that year, he became the parish priest in Miedzyrzecz. On 15 October 1947, at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Słupsk, he undertook to organise a new parish dedicated to St Otto. On 29 November 1952 he became the parish priest in Tarczyn near Grójec. On his way to the new facility, on 29 January 1953, he suffered a stroke. He died on 20 August 1956 and was buried in Powązki cemetery. Hilchen kept an ongoing record of his life and activities in the form of diaries, correspondence, various notes and official documents. This article showcases his work among Polish workers in France during the summer of 1924. The original document in typescript form is kept in the Archdiocesan Archives in Gniezno, Archive of the Primate of Poland, Files of the Protector of Polish Emigration, France – PMK Varia, Section III/15a.
PL
Ksiądz dr Henryk Hilchen – kapłan archidiecezji warszawskiej. Urodził się 30 lipca 1881 roku w Warszawie. Studiował na Wydziale Chemii Politechniki Warszawskiej i na Politechnice Lwowskiej, gdzie ukończył kształcenie po dwóch latach. W 1905 roku wyjechał do szwajcarskiego Fryburga, gdzie kontynuował studia na Wydziale Prawa i Ekonomii, uwieńczone stopniem doktora nauk politycznych. We Fryburgu studiował także teologię i filozofię. W 1910 roku wrócił do kraju i wstąpił do seminarium duchownego w Warszawie. W dniu 21 grudnia 1912 roku przyjął święcenia kapłańskie. Był wikariuszem we wsi Dobre k. Stanisławowa, w Łowiczu, w Łodzi, a od lipca 1915 roku w parafii pw. Wszystkich Świętych w Warszawie. Od 1915 roku był sekretarzem generalnym Stowarzyszenia Robotników Chrześcijańskich, redaktorem organu stowarzyszeń chrześcijańskich „Pracownik Polski" (1916-1917). W 1919 roku został radnym miasta stołecznego Warszawy, redaktorem miesięcznika „Przewodnik Społeczny”, kapelanem Szkoły Podchorążych Artylerii oraz jednostki wojskowej stacjonującej na Sołaczu. W 1920 roku wyjechał do Rzymu, gdzie wstąpił do nowicjatu zakonu dominikańskiego i podjął studia teologiczne w Collegium Angelicum. Od lipca 1922 roku, na polecenie papieża Piusa XI, służył pomocą dwóm kolejnym nuncjuszom apostolskim w Polsce. Był stałym korespondentem „L’Osservatore Romano" i „L’Avvenire d'Italia". W 1929 roku został proboszczem parafii w Lesznie k. Błonia, a w 1931 roku parafii Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej w Warszawie, gdzie dokończył budowę kościoła. W 1937 roku otrzymał Złoty Krzyż Zasługi RP, zaś w następnym roku został odznaczony orderem Polonia Restituta. W tym samym roku został wybrany do Rady Miejskiej Warszawy. Przed kapitulacją stolicy był zakładnikiem gwarantującym przestrzeganie pertraktacji prezydenta Stefana Starzyńskiego z Niemcami. Aresztowany przez Niemców 3 października 1939 roku, do końca listopada był więziony na Pawiaku. Mimo zniszczenia 12 września 1944 roku kościoła i plebani podczas niemieckiego bombardowania, funkcję proboszcza formalnie pełnił do lipca 1945 roku. Jakkolwiek od czerwca tego roku został proboszczem w Międzyrzeczu. W dniu 15 października 1947 roku przy kościele Najświętszego Serca Jezusowego w Słupsku podjął się organizacji nowej parafii pw. św. Ottona. Dnia 29 listopada 1952 roku został proboszczem w Tarczynie k. Grójca. W drodze na nową placówkę, 29 stycznia 1953 roku, dostał udaru. Zmarł 20 sierpnia 1956 roku. Spoczął na Powązkach. Na bieżąco prowadził dokumentację swego życia i działalności w postaci dzienników, korespondencji, różnych notatek czy oficjalnych dokumentów. Niniejsze opracowanie egzemplifikuje jego sprawozdanie z pracy wśród robotników polskich we Francji w czasie tygodni letnich 1924 roku. Dokument oryginalny w formie maszynopisu przechowywany jest w Archiwum Archidiecezjalnym w Gnieźnie, Archiwum Prymasa Polski, Akta Protektora Wychodźstwa Polskiego, Francja – PMK Varia, Dział III/15a.
The following article aims at providing an outline of the multifaceted activities of Stanisław Kara, the consul in Lille and Paris in the 1930s and the émigré counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Paris.
The text analyses the fate of Polish economic emigration in France during the economic crisis. The article focuses on the difficult existence of Poles, dependent on the internal politics of France, related to the application of numerous restrictions, and on general Polish-French relations. Polish emigration became an instrument in the political games between the two countries and was, in a way, a burden for both sides.
PL
Celem tekstu jest opisanie losów polskiej emigracji zarobkowej we Francji w latach kryzysu ekonomicznego. Tekst koncentruje się wokół niełatwej egzystencji Polaków, uzależnionej od wewnętrznej polityki Francji, związanej z zastosowaniem licznych obostrzeń, a także od ogólnych relacji polsko-francuskich. Emigracja polska stała się narzędziem w rozgrywkach między oboma krajami i dla obu stron była niejako obciążeniem.
1. The aim of the article is to reconstruct the biography of Countess Laura Czosnowska, the daughter of Colonel Franciszek Górski, who was generally considered one of the Warsaw socialites at the beginning of the 1830s (calling Laura a “Lioness” the author makes an allusion to Stanisław Bogusławski’s play Lions and Lionesses of 1846). 2. Countess Czosnowska’s history is a streak of painful and unhappy events. Her first marriage to Captain Janusz Czosnowski, an officer of the Polish Army, that was concluded on 16 December 1830, ends in dramatic circumstances with the husband’s suicide (he suspected his wife of a romance with her step-brother, Józef Poniatowski – a natural son of Józef Antoni Poniatowski and Zofia Oborska). After this event Laura takes refuge in the palace of her mother, the wife of General Dziekoński, in Hieronimowo, where she brings up Michalina Dziekońska (later to be Zaleska). There, by accident, she contributes to the death of Michalina’s father, Michał Dziekoński, Mrs Dziekońska’s brother-in-law. A series of traumatic events results in Laura moving to Paris – and this is the beginning of the second stage of her life. 3. In the capital of France the woman makes Karol Edmund Chojecki’s acquaintance – in the circle of their mutual acquaintances the author mentions Maria Kalergis, Fryderyk Chopin and Cyprian Norwid. From Laura and Karol Chojecki’s relationship Maria was born in 1847 – and Karol admitted his fatherhood at once, however, Laura (influenced by Mrs. Dziekońska) tried to hide the fact of the birth, as she was afraid of a scandal. Czosnowska also did not even think about marrying Chojecki, as it would be seen as a misalliance. As a result of Mrs. Dziekońska’s intrigues Karol lost contact with his daughter; to make things worse he was forced to leave France for political reasons (he was involved in the activities of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s “Voix du Peuple” and of Adam Mickiewicz’s “Trybuna Ludów”). After a year’s stay in Egypt Chojecki comes to Nice; soon he also obtains a residence permit and he regains his child. The little Maria is placed in a boarding house in Neuilly, then she continues her education in Switzerland, and when she is seventeen she returns to Paris and on 12 September 1856 marries a young captain, Edmond Bureau. So the relation between Laura Czosnowska and Karol Edmund Chojecki – like her first marriage – ends in dramatic circumstances. Czosnowska’s third love affair does not look better; in 1854 she married in England Viscount Jean-Alexandre de Labarthe-Giscaro. The new husband soon turned out to be a fraudster and a bankrupt – after many problems with the law (and after some court sentences) in 1872 the viscount is finally sentenced to 20 years of hard labor in Caledonia and a fine of 3,000 francs (the reason being a forgery of a letter of credit signed on behalf of Ernest Courtot de Cissey, the then minister of war). Laura allots all her meager savings for supporting her exiled husband and for maintaining the two children from that marriage (the daughter placed in a boarding house ran by nuns and the gravely ill son). Jean-Alexandre dies in 1875. In 1881 Cyprian Norwid informs Konstancja Górska about the hurtful fate of the late Laura’s children. However, it is difficult to establish the date of Laura’s death – we may only be sure (owing to the genealogical note written by the son of Maria – Laura Czosnowska and Karol Edmund Chojecki’s natural daughter – saying that she died – like many Polish emigrants – in the Paris St Casimir’s Institute. We may also suppose that Chojecki tried to aid her in the last years of her life, although we do not have documents that could unambiguously confirm these intuitions.
1. The aim of the article is to reconstruct the biography of Countess Laura Czosnowska, the daughter of Colonel Franciszek Górski, who was generally considered one of the Warsaw socialites at the beginning of the 1830s (calling Laura a “Lioness” the author makes an allusion to Stanisław Bogusławski’s play Lions and Lionesses of 1846). 2. Countess Czosnowska’s history is a streak of painful and unhappy events. Her first marriage to Captain Janusz Czosnowski, an officer of the Polish Army, that was concluded on 16 December 1830, ends in dramatic circumstances with the husband’s suicide (he suspected his wife of a romance with her step-brother, Józef Poniatowski – a natural son of Józef Antoni Poniatowski and Zofia Oborska). After this event Laura takes refuge in the palace of her mother, the wife of General Dziekoński, in Hieronimowo, where she brings up Michalina Dziekońska (later to be Zaleska). There, by accident, she contributes to the death of Michalina’s father, Michał Dziekoński, Mrs Dziekońska’s brother-in-law. A series of traumatic events results in Laura moving to Paris – and this is the beginning of the second stage of her life. 3. In the capital of France the woman makes Karol Edmund Chojecki’s acquaintance – in the circle of their mutual acquaintances the author mentions Maria Kalergis, Fryderyk Chopin and Cyprian Norwid. From Laura and Karol Chojecki’s relationship Maria was born in 1847 – and Karol admitted his fatherhood at once, however, Laura (influenced by Mrs. Dziekońska) tried to hide the fact of the birth, as she was afraid of a scandal. Czosnowska also did not even think about marrying Chojecki, as it would be seen as a misalliance. As a result of Mrs. Dziekońska’s intrigues Karol lost contact with his daughter; to make things worse he was forced to leave France for political reasons (he was involved in the activities of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s “Voix du Peuple” and of Adam Mickiewicz’s “Trybuna Ludów”). After a year’s stay in Egypt Chojecki comes to Nice; soon he also obtains a residence permit and he regains his child. The little Maria is placed in a boarding house in Neuilly, then she continues her education in Switzerland, and when she is seventeen she returns to Paris and on 12 September 1856 marries a young captain, Edmond Bureau. So the relation between Laura Czosnowska and Karol Edmund Chojecki – like her first marriage – ends in dramatic circumstances. Czosnowska’s third love affair does not look better; in 1854 she married in England Viscount Jean-Alexandre de Labarthe-Giscaro. The new husband soon turned out to be a fraudster and a bankrupt – after many problems with the law (and after some court sentences) in 1872 the viscount is finally sentenced to 20 years of hard labor in Caledonia and a fine of 3,000 francs (the reason being a forgery of a letter of credit signed on behalf of Ernest Courtot de Cissey, the then minister of war). Laura allots all her meager savings for supporting her exiled husband and for maintaining the two children from that marriage (the daughter placed in a boarding house ran by nuns and the gravely ill son). Jean-Alexandre dies in 1875. In 1881 Cyprian Norwid informs Konstancja Górska about the hurtful fate of the late Laura’s children. However, it is difficult to establish the date of Laura’s death – we may only be sure (owing to the genealogical note written by the son of Maria – Laura Czosnowska and Karol Edmund Chojecki’s natural daughter – saying that she died – like many Polish emigrants – in the Paris St Casimir’s Institute. We may also suppose that Chojecki tried to aid her in the last years of her life, although we do not have documents that could unambiguously confirm these intuitions.
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