Walentyna Najdus, lgnacy Daszyński, 1866-1936

Summary

lgnacy Ewaryst Daszyński was a distinguished Polish Socialist leader with an international reputation. His progressive views, sincere compassion, and devotion to all those at the bottom of the social ladder, as well as multiple and tireless activities in his native Galicia, Austria-Hungary, the Second Polish Republic, and Europe as a whole, earned him respect and recognition at home and abroad. His exceptional rhetorical abilities, in both Polish and German, won him admiration, respect, hatred, and the nicknames ‘golden-mouthed’ and the ‘Polish Jaurès'.

For many reasons (the Second World War, Communist rule, other priorities), Daszyński remained largely forgotten by scholars. His illegitimate son, Adam Próchnik (1892-1942; his mother was a Jewish intellectual, Felicja, née Nossig, 1855-1939), writing as Henryk Swoboda, published the short Jgnacy Daszyński: Życie, praca, walka [Ignacy Daszyński: Life, work, and struggle] (1934). Even as she pursued other topics, Walentyna Najdus's admiration for Daszyński grew. As early as 1983 she evaluated his political views in the period 1890-1918. She decided, however, to produce a full biography of that exceptional individual.

Prior to her retirement, Professor Najdus was a senior researcher in the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences. She specializes in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Polish social and political history, with a focus on leftist movements and individuals. Najdus is the author of many scholarly publications.

Ignacy Daszyński, 1866-1936 is based on extensive archival research in Poland, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, and other countries, as well as secondary sources. The author was also in touch with the surviving members of the Daszyński family, and with friends and acquaintances. Yet her task was not easy. On the one hand, Daszyński deliberately eliminated biographi­ cal detail from his revised memoirs, leaving basically political data only, and on the other, the Second World War deeply affected the family. Numerous records (particularly letters) have been lost for ever.

Najdus presents Daszyński against the background of Polish, Austrian, and European history, with a stress on the social and economic conditions that led to the birth and growth of numerous leftist movements, Socialism included. She examines the former Polish borderlands, where Daszyński grew and matured; his paternal and maternal ancestors; and multi-ethnic and backward Galicia under Austrian rule.