Pomerania Cashubian Region-Excerpts
(Guide published on the Occasion of the 6th International Conference on
Minority Languages,
Gdansk, 1996)
Zrzeszenie Kaszubsko-Pomorskie
Kashubian-Pomeranian Association
POMERANIA
In 1997 one thousand years will have passed since the first written
mention of Gdansk. The news
about the tragic death of the Prague bishop Wojciech (Adalbert) during
his missionary expedition to
the pagan Prussia contributed to the fact that Gdansk and Pomerania came
into historic prominence
for the first time.
The approaching anniversary induces a new look at the complicated
history of this part of Europe.
Pomerania has always been a borderland, a land where people of varying
cultures, languages and
religions were meeting. The fate of this region was determined by its
seaside location. The
extensive trade exchange was accompanied by exchange of cultural
values. Large Pomeranian
cities-Gdansk, Szczecin, Torun, Elblag-were always not only renowned
economic centres, but
also centres of culture and science. They attracted strangers coming
from both further inland and
overseas. Consequently, the cultural heritage of Pomerania-in addition
to motifs of Baltic
Slavonic culture, the successors of which-the Kashubians-are "still
keeping guard on the Polish
sea"-include also elements of the German, Scandinavian, English, French,
Jewish, and Russian
cultures. The clashing of these various cultural motifs has procured a
specific, unusual quality
contributing to the pride of ancient and present-day inhabitants of the
region.
Nowadays, the largest part of Pomerania is within the borders of
Poland. An exception is the
historical part of the West-Pomerania Duchy named Outer Pomerania
(Vorpommern), at present
within the German land of Mecklemburg-Vorpommern.
As a matter of fact, Vistula Pomerania includes at present the territory
of six provinces situated on
the lower Vistula. (Ed: as of 1999, one province of Pomerania). It
is an area of about 4.1
thousand square kilometres inhabited by more than 4.5 million people.
Vistula Pomerania is
relatively highly urbanized.
A significant part of the population is concentrated in the conurbation
of three neighbouring cities
of Gdynia, Sopot, and Gdansk, inhabited by almost 800 thousand people.
Apart from the Tri-City conurbation, other major urban centres include
Bydgoszcz (with a
population of more than 350 thousand), Torun (more than 200 thousand),
Elblag (over 120
thousand), Slupsk (more than 100 thousand), Grudziadz (over 120
thousand).
KASHUBIAN REGION
The past is responsible for the fact that the two parts of Pomerania,
Western Pomerania and Vistula
Pomerania, experienced a different course of history, thus shaping in a
different way the history of
the aboriginal Slavonic inhabitants. The tribes inhabiting the area
between the lower Odra and the
lower Vistula never succeeded in forming a uniform state organism. This
in turn determined the
dramatic ethnic changes and weakened the continuity of common heritage.
Western Pomerania, ruled by the indigenous dynasty of Gryfites, formally
preserved independence
as a duchy till 1637. Later on, in consequence of the 30-year war, it
was divided into the Swedish
part
including Szczecin, and the Brandenburg part, both of which soon became
part of the Prussian
Kingdom and then the German Empire.
History took a different course on the Lower Vistula. Vistula Pomerania
was more tightly
connected with the history of the old-time Polish Republic. The period
of Poland's split into
regions, which enabled the Duchy of East Pomerania to become
independent, practically came to a
close in 1282, when a state-building treaty of Kepno was concluded
between the Pomeranian duke
Mestwin II, and the duke of Great-Poland, Przemysl II. This act, also
known as "Mestwin's Note",
enabled Przemysl II to be crowned Poland's king in 1295, thus reviving
the idea of Polish statehood.
It is also a token of Pomerania's unity with Poland in one state.
The commonwealth of Pomerania and the Great-Poland did not last long,
though. As early as
1308/09 Pomerania including Gdansk was captured by the Teutonic
Knights. Their rule, continuing
till 1466, should be assessed in an objective manner. Undoubtedly, it
brought about considerable
civilisational advancement of the region. However, the basic dispute
over the Vistula estuary was
bound to result in armed confrontation between Poland and the Teutonic
Order.
Following the second peace treaty of Torun, an era of prosperity began
for the Royal Prussia within
the Polish Republic, marked by outstanding development of urban centres,
and particularly Gdansk,
then referred to as "the gem in the Polish Crown".
Following the First Partition of Poland (1772) a major part of the Royal
Prussia was seized by the
Prussian Kingdom. From that time till 1920 the whole of Pomerania, its
western and the Vistula
parts, functioned within one state organism, i.e. Prussia, and then the
German Empire.
The course of history, different for each of the two parts of Pomerania,
determined the different fate
of the local Slavonic population inhabiting the region. This was
affected by many factors.
Undoubtedly, the cultural and civilizational pressure from Germany was
much heavier in West
Pomerania. Hence the processes of assimilation of the Kashubian
population and their loss of
national identity were further-reaching and more efficient. And
although many Slavonic elements
are strongly present in the cultural heritage of this part of Pomerania,
e.g. names, urban lay-out,
customs, etc., the fact remains that enclaves of Kashubians (also named
Slavonians) survived only
in the area of Lake Lebsko, and their plight was a dramatic one after
1945, as they were forced to
leave their heimat.
The fact of being part of the Polish Republic for more than 300 years
was of fundamental
importance for the preservation of the ethnic substance in Vistula
Pomerania. An important role
was played here by the Roman Catholic Church. West Pomerania quickly
became an almost 100
per cent Lutheran land, and the Lutheran Church was involved in the
process of Germanisation of
Kashubians in mid-18th century, at the latest. In the absence of, among
others, the religious
denomination barrier, the process in this part of Pomerania went far
enough to practically stamp out
the Kashubians from the ethnic map of the region. At the same time,
Vistula Pomerania was till
1824 within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian diocese with the See at Wloclawek,
and after the network of
dioceses and their boundaries were changed on Polish territories, almost
entirely within the
newly-established diocese of Chelmno with the See at Pelplin. Whereas
in West Pomerania German
gradually became the language of the church. In Vistula Pomerania the
chief language of the
Church for the Kashubians was Polish, even during the period of Poland's
partitions.
Who are the Kashubians? This question is still being asked by
linguists, ethnographers, historians,
sociologists, and also politicians. It is acknowledged today that
Kashubians are the remnants of the
western Slavonic Baltic tribes, speaking a language that is a link in
the chain from the extinct
languages of the Elbe Slavs and the present-day Polish. Kashubians are
an ethnic group-their
group identity occurs at a different level than national identity.
While deeply aware of the unique
features of their language and culture, most of the Kashubians declare
their Polish nationality.
Kashubians represent a peculiar phenomenon-despite totally unfavourable
conditions they have
preserved their own language, customs, system of values, and also a
social structure.
The Kashubian revival dates back to mid-19th century and is associated
with Florian Ceynowa,
called he father of Kashubian-Pomeranian regionalism. The Polish
insurgent of 1846, sentenced to
death and then released by the 1848 Berlin revolution, and previously an
activist of Polish
clandestine academic and educational circles of "Filomace", undertook an
attempt to "awaken the
Kashubian people" single-handed. His passionate struggle for this
revival often aroused
misunderstanding or fear; however, the movement he initiated produced
some effects later on, even
if his successors challenged his opinions or argued with him. This was
the case with H.J.
Derdowski, the first Kashubian poet and writer. His humorous tale of "O
Panu Czarlinscim co do
Pucka po sece jechol" continues to be the most widely read Kashubian
book.
Kashubians were critical of the situation after World War I. Many found
the new reality
dissatisfying, and the social situation in the frontiers was very
difficult. These feelings were behind
the emergence of an organisation set up by young and radical activists,
named the "Regional
Association of Kashubians (set up in Kartuzy in 1929). The press organ
of this group was "Zresz
Kaszebsko", in which they were often highly critical of the
administrative authorities, charging them
with incompetence and unfairness towards the Kashubians. It has to be
acknowledged, though, that
all through the twenty year period Kashubian activists, irrespective of
ideological differences,
considered the existence of the Polish state and its presence on the
Baltic coast to be of utmost
importance.
The proof of this attitude was the fate of Kashubians during World War
II. It was in Pomerania
that the first summary executions took place, as early as the months of
September and October,
1939. The purpose of these executions was to deprive the regions of its
intellectual elite and moral
leadership. For Kashubians and inhabitants of Pomerania, Piasnica, the
forest of Szpegowsk, or
Stutthof (the site of a concentration camp) continue to symbolise their
martyrdom. In these and
other places dozens of thousands of people were murdered.
Resistance against the invader arose very soon, despite extremely
unfavourable conditions. Soon
after Poland's defeat in September 1939, a clandestine military and
political organisations was set
up-Tajna Organizacja Wojskowa "Gryf Kaszubski". (The name later changed
to "Gryf
Pomorski".) The objective of this organisation was not only to regain
independence, but also to
reshape political relations in Pomerania so as to gain more appreciation
of the role of Kashubians
and other Pomeranians, and to extend the boundaries of Pomerania to
include all the territories
formerly inhabited by Kashubians.
The need to reshape the relations in Pomerania was voiced in the
threshold of independence in 1945
and 1946. Many people, wanting to forget the nightmare of the war,
wanted to build a new reality
that would
accommodate such groups as the Kashubians. This was stressed during the
First Kashubian
Congress held in January, 1946, in Wejherowo. Conclusions drawn from
the weakness of the
movement in the period between the two wars resulted in a motion to form
a strong, uniform
regional organisation. Unfortunately, the illusions about the freedom
of association and the
possibility of pursuing the regional idea were soon shattered. One had
to wait for the end of the
tragic period of Stalinism. Only then did an opportunity arise for the
implementation of ideas of the
First Congress.
KASHUBIAN-POMERANIAN ASSOCIATION
The Kashubian-Pomeranian Association (ZK-P) was founded on December 2,
1956. In the
warming climate of post-October political relaxation, a group of
Kashubian activists decided to
establish the first after World War II mass socio-cultural organisation
of Kashubians, accessible to
all those who hold dear the issues of the region and regionalism.
The Kashubian Association broadened its formula in 1964 and assumed the
name Kashubian-
Pomeranian. While concentrating its work on the Kashubian region, it
does not overlook other parts
of Pomerania, notably Kociewie and Bory Tucholskie.
The Kashubian-Pomeranian Association has always valued most highly its
autonomous character.
In defending its identity it defied the totalitarian ideology imposed on
the nation. It never joined
'communist-supported and controlled' organisations like FJN (National
Unity Front) or PRON
(Patriotic Movement for National Revival). The open and genuine nature
of the Association were
the elements which attracted also those, who although non-Kashubian,
found themselves in
Pomerania, Gdansk, or Torun as a result of tragic historical events.
This openness, which is the
attraction of Kashubian regionalism, has always been one of the
characteristics of the movement.
Among the co-founders of the movement, one can mention Bernard
Chrzanowski, Wladyslaw
Pniewski, Fryderyk Loretz, and many others, coming from various corners
of Poland, and not only
Poland.
Today, the strength of the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association stems from
the moral authority it
gained in Pomerania and in Poland. Most of all, it is strong with
genuine social involvement of its
members and the results of their joint effort.
© Zrzeszenie Kaszubsko-Pomorskie
and Cezary Obrachty-Prondzynski, 1996