Introduction

The collection of parchment documents of the Manuscript Section at the Lithuanian Academy of Science is the biggest as well as the most valuable in the three Baltic States. In total, it encompasses 1,412 parchments produced from the 11th to the early 20th century. Until recently, it was used only by a narrow circle of researchers, most of all through volume one of the Diplomatic Codex of Vilnius Cathedral and Diocese (edited by J. Fijałek and W. Semkowicz, Kraków 1948) and Pergamentų katalogas by R. Jasas published in 1980. In the beginning of 2004, there was initiated — under the patronage of UNESCO — a Parchment’s Digital Images Archive project that enables creating a digital archive including 121 of the oldest diplomas, produced from the end of the 12th century (the first document is dated back to around 1187–1193) to 1500. Basing on the example of the project and a database that was placed on the Internet thanks to it, in the article there has been shown the opportunities that are given to a historian, also a specialist of the Middle Ages, by archived materials digitization. There was also presented the layout and the construction of the Vilnius digital archive (http://www.mab.lt/parchments/index.html). Additionally, selected examples helped in discussing searching capacities and using the displayed documents.

Election and crowning of Jan Sobieski changed the status of his son Jakub forever, since he became a prince. His parents wanted him to take over the kingship of Poland, thus they conducted politics that led to this purpose. In order to reach their goal, they sought support abroad as well as inside the country. The price was included in busy court life, and even efforts were made for him to play an important political and military role, which was supposed to be signified by his participation in the Vienna Campaign, and subsequently, in Moldova. The fact that the prince took part in the journey of 1683 bore fruit of his contacts with princes of the Reich, among whom he fought the Turks. Another way to the prince’s success was to be a lucrative marriage, giving him the support of people he would have been related to by it. Those endeavors, despite being immensely time-consuming, landed him in a marriage with Hedwig Elisabeth of Neuburg, coming from a family deeply rooted in the political scene of Europe. On the one hand, it resulted for young Sobieski in hope for support from the emperor, but on the other hand, almost thwarted the political partnership with France. Notwithstanding, after his father’s death, Jakub Sobieski sought support for his candidacy not only in Vienna but also in Stockholm, Königsberg, and even planned a political turn by looking for help in Versailles. The help was declared by his brother-in-law Maximilian Emanuel Wittelsbach. After the defeat of 1697, the prince stopped looking for opportunities to play a serious political role. He among others counted on taking over the Principality of Piombino, where the ruling dynasty had died out. During the Northern War he tried, with the help of Charles XII, to capture the crown of Poland. It resulted in his imprisonment. It appeared that no foreign help would guarantee Sobieski a stable political position. But it brought about anxiety in Augustus II concerning the chances of his family in terms of taking over the kingship of Poland as well as his deep aversion to Jakub, whom he perceived as his rival.

Andrzej Zamoyski was not counted among the circle of the most influential magnates in the Republic of Poland. His figure started to be noticed after 1795, when he was recognized as a role model for a good potentate, an opposition to the stereotypically negative image of lords that led the country to collapse. For diary-writers, Andrzej Zamoyski was an example of a magnate full of virtues. In that way he was rendered in memoirs written by persons who were witnesses of Poland losing its independence. Their appraisal shows the figure of a magnate that was far removed from the negative stereotype dominating diary accounts. Nevertheless, it is worth stressing that beyond the canon of “evil” magnates enumerated by name, the condemned potentate was usually anonymous. The diary-writers also created positive characters of lords that were to have been role models for contemporaries. Those operations were undertaken with the future of the captive nation in mind. The next generation of diary-writers — those remembering the Stanislavian Age only vaguely or knowing it vicariously — sustained the tendency to render magnates in the above-mentioned manner. Positive heroes of the end of the 18th century are raised in value, but Andrzej Zamoyski appears seldom in this context. His place is taken by others — those who were renowned during the Napoleonic period. Amongst these authors, the group of “evil” magnates also undergoes metamorphosis, but the canon of “betrayers” seems more steady. Also conspicuous is the will to present the good magnate who would prove that coexistence of all social groups is possible. Even though the vanishing of the figure of Andrzej Zamoyski from the memories of descendants is understandable, skipping him in the diaries written before 1795 is surprising, as well as his severe judgment in written accounts from that time that merely mention him. It can be explained by the specificity of those texts. They lack moral teaching and reflect the actions of their authors, presenting unambiguously neither the stereotype of “evil” nor good magnate.

The subject of the present article is a monetarist project of the Oryszkowce starosta Józef Kostka Rostkowski. The project was a reaction to the King’s program of reforms included in August III’s Universal calling the Sejm of 1760. Józef Kostka Rostkowski proposed the setting up of the Company with the seed capital of 10 million tynf contributed by the king August III, the Republic of Poland’s Treasury, the Prior of the Order of Saint Paul the Hermit in Częstochowa, and by 9,800 noblemen, to enable the reopening of silver mines that were out of order as well as the Crown’s Mint manufacturing Polish currency. The capital was to have an annual interest rate of 10 per cent for the following 10 years, after which a dividend was supposed to be paid. Even though the project also assumed its implementation in the course of extra-parliamentary action, in practice it was not implemented.

The Prince-Bishop of Wrocław George Kopp was a controversial figure because of his attitude toward the Polish-speaking population in Upper Silesia. On the one hand, he had great merits for the development of religious life and the network of parishes in the area of the Diocese of Wrocław. On the other hand, he was known for his disapproving attitude toward the Polish issue, including the presence of the Polish language in public life in Upper Silesia, and also toward the Polish national movement, the leader of which was Wojciech Korfanty. A specially interesting source for researching these problems is the Polish-language Upper Silesian press. The present work is based on newspaper titles representing different political orientations: Katolik (Catholic), Górnoślązak (Upper Silesian), Polak (The Pole) and Gazeta Robotnicza (Workers’ Gazette). In the Polish-language Upper Silesian press, the wide political and pastoral work of the Bishop of Wrocław Georg Kopp was rendered only partially. Preliminary source research shows that the press was interested in the figure of the Bishop of Wrocław only in connection to the Polish issues in Upper Silesia. It was triggered by the profile and ideological assumptions of each of the press titles. They supported, in various ways, the efforts of the Poles to have equal language rights in Upper Silesia. The most space was devoted to Kopp in Katolik, where he was presented in a relatively nonpartisan manner. It stemmed from the clerical character of the newspaper that decided to pay respect to the bishop as the Head of the Silesian Church. But in Górnoślązak and Polak, because of the national profile of those titles, the cardinal had been criticized from the very beginning. Especially in the years 1901–1905, when the Polish national movement in Upper Silesia was the most impetuous, the papers focused mainly on this topic. In the anticlerical Gazeta Robotnicza, on the other hand, not much information about Cardinal Kopp appeared. In the few articles in which he was present, he was rendered as a decisively negative character. Basing on the analysis of the press, the evolution of the Bishop’s views on the Polish issue in Upper Silesia can be traced. The analysis also shows that Katolik, contrary to Górnoślązak, Polak and Gazeta Robotnicza, noticed in the person of Bishop Kopp not only an agent of Germanization but also emphasized his merits in the field of pastoral work, in which he was just toward the Polish-speaking population.

The article is concerned with historical myths in the Ukrainian-Polish relations, process of their formation and dissemination in the public consciousness. The influence of such mythologems as “Jagiellonian idea”, myth of “unified nation of the old Polish state”, “the idea of the old Polish state mission in the East”, the idea of “bastion of the Christian world”, myth “of the Eastern cress”, etc., on the modern depiction of the history of Ukraine in Polish historical science at the end of the XIX — the first third of the XX century is discussed in the paper. These myths made it impossible to have an objective interpretation of the Ukrainian issues and contributed to distortion of the historical process. Politicians, historians and artists of these two countries helped to preserve negative Ukrainian-Polish historical myths that were deeply enrooted in collective culture and played an important part in the formation of social consciousness of the Poles and the Ukrainians. Up to this time Ukrainian and Polish historiographies can not overcome these myths, however some intellectuals are acting resolutely to get over the negative mutual perception which was formed from century to century.

The article highlights the Warsaw period of life of the prominent Ukrainian historian, public and political figure Myron Korduba (1876–1947), which became one of the major stages in his career. It is stated that through his scientific work between 1929 and 1939 as a professor at the University of Warsaw and through his representation of Ukrainian science at international historical congresses (Warsaw 1933 and Zurich 1938), the researcher established himself as a professional European scholar. The works written during that time were published in leading Ukrainian, German, Polish, French, and English journals. Myron Korduba also took an active part in the functioning of the Ukrainian scientific and cultural community in the Polish capital, participating in bilateral Ukrainian-Polish initiatives such as the Commission for the Study of Polish-Ukrainian Problems affiliated with the Ukrainian Scientific Institute in Warsaw and the journal “Biuletyn Polsko-Ukraiński,” where he expressed his own opinions on difficult issues in Polish-Ukrainian relations.

The goal of the article is to present the story of the founding of the Council on Foreign Relations and show its activity aiming at creating the goals of the foreign policy of the United States in the years 1921–1941. The Council on Foreign Relations is a lobby-type organization, members of which are politicians, scientists, and businessmen. Ostensibly, the Council is one of many organizations of this kind in the territory of the USA, but in-depth research has proved that the Council’s influence on American international affairs has been unprecedented. In the article, there were presented previously acting organizations, such as “The Inquiry,” the American Institute of International Affairs, and the Council on Foreign Relations (before incorporation). They became the base for setting up the “proper” Council on Foreign Relations Inc. In the subsequent parts of the study, there are described the goals and forms of activities carried by the organization, including starting up a periodical Foreign Affairs. There has also been outlined the ways of financing the Council. The author focused most of her attention on the works completed by the Council on Foreign Relations within the War and Peace Studies Project, the goals of which were to work out new directions of American foreign policy at the close of World War I, abandoning the policy of isolationism, and to redefine the concept of the “national interest.” The author tried to show that the impact of the Council on the American foreign policy — by means of the periodical Foreign Affairs, their “constant conferences,” memoranda written by particular research groups working within the War and Peace Studies Project, tidying up the personal relations with the US Department of State (many among the members of the Council were also the active officials of the Department of State) — largely contributed to the United States entering World War II. The present study is based on materials and documents gathered by the author during preliminary archival research in National Archives and Records Administration Archives in Washington and in Mudd Manuscript Library in Princeton, as well as English-language publications presenting the history and activities of the Council on Foreign

The topic of the present article is an analysis of the in-patient hospital care in Katowice during the inter-war period. In historiography, up till now, the topic has not met with great interest. Only few works are available, mostly describing the social situation of the Second Polish Republic in that time. A relatively rich collection of documents referring to this topic that can be found in the National Archives in Katowice allows some concrete-demanding issues to be made more specific, for example the maintenance of hospitals in this period. In the article, two main hypotheses were put forward. The first pertains to the too little (but gradually increasing) number of medical staff in Katowice. The second hypothesis concerns the general number of beds in Katowice’s clinics, also gradually increasing, and displaying one of the highest rates (per 10,000 inhabitants) in comparison with other Polish cities. In Katowice there were five main hospitals which were assigned to the city districts. From the moment of Upper Silesia merging with Poland to the end of the 1920s, there can be recognized a significant increase in the number of doctors in Katowice. The comparison of in-patient hospital care has been made, taking into account the number of beds, physicians, and general medical staff, between Katowice and other Polish cities, among others: Poznań, which like Katowice had been under German rule previously and had a similar socio-political situation, as well as Warsaw, Łódź, and Cracow. Analogous comparisons were made on the level of voivodeships: Silesian, Poznań, Warsaw, and Pomeranian. The beginning of the 1930s did not offer a good perspective for the development of hospital care not only in Katowice but also in the rest of the country. The reason behind this was the economic crisis of the 1930s. In the second half of the 1930s, the issue of hospital care in Katowice presented itself much better: the majority of units in Katowice had quite modern equipment. What is more, the number of doctors still had an increasing tendency.

The 1922 division of Upper Silesia between two states hostile towards each other put the region in the face of new challenges. The created situation could not go on with no response from the local authorities aiming at forming the better image from the one that had been observed behind the nearby border. One of the elements of those efforts was architecture. The plan of distinguishing constructions that were built compounded by the economic specificity of the industrial region resulted in adopting tower blocks into local architectural space. The first projects of “sky scrapers” were created in 1927 in the city of Hindenburg (Zabrze) laying at the German side. They constituted a part of bigger project which aim was building an impressive-looking city centre. Of the initiative of the city architect Moritz Wolf, the author of one of the city centre’s conceptions, three famous German architects were invited to work in the phase of project: Hans Poelzig, Max Berg and Paul Bonatz. The effect of their actions were three different visions of the “City” of Zabrze with skyscraper crowning them. However, the economic situation of the city prevented the final realization of any of the projects. Building of the first “sky scraper” at the Polish side was started in 1929. The house in Wojewódzka Street 23 in Katowice, designed by Eustachy Chmielewski, was a pioneer project of tower blocks constructions in the area of Poland. The success of the investment caused local investors to build subsequent skyscrapers. In 1934 there was finished a tower block of the tax office in Katowice raised by Silesian Voivode Office, and in 1937 the seat of Communal Savings Fund in Chorzów was put to use. The launch of World War II thwarted the construction of another buildings.

The subject of the present article is presentation of the research findings concerning the creation and activity of National Defense units in Silesian Voivodeship in years 1937—1939. The close attention was paid to the Region of Physical Education and Military Adjustment of 23rd Infantry Division that was a special cell in the whole structure of National Defense. The Region, contrary to other units of this type, in its scope went beyond the administrative borders of Silesian Voivodeship. The sections subordinate to the Region of Physical Education and Military Adjustment of 23rd Infantry Division beyond the area of Silesian Voivodeship encapsulated also Kielce and Cracow voivodeships. In that way the army headquarters basing on the officer corps of 23rd Upper-Silesian Infantry Division supplemented the defense of Upper Silesian Industrial Region, Zagłębie Dąbrowskie and Zagłębie Chrzanowskie. Silesian units of National Defense quartering away from the area of Silesian Voivodeship were called “Silesian” since they were formed around the officer corps of Silesian unit. Second part of the article presents the evolution of National Defense units in Silesian Voivodeship. There has been mentioned the issue of their training, weaponry and accommodation as well as the problem of relation of people of Silesia, including German population to organizing of the units of National Defense.

In the second half of 1930s the territorial expansionism of the Third Reich, the country humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles, takes the floor. After the Anschluss of Austria, the international situation starts to exacerbate, especially in the area of Czechoslovakia. The attempts at annexation by the Reich of the Sudetenland triggered a violent reaction of western diplomacies. Not indifferent to those events was the Cracow press. The capital of Lesser Poland had in this period very differentiated newspaper market. The main bodies of the right-wing press were two daily newspapers Czas (Time) and Głos Narodu (The Voice of the Nation). The biggest daily, in terms of scope, circulation and readership, was Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny (Illustrated Everyday Courier). In its plans, the editorial board was to be politically nonpartisan and unbiased in the journalist craft, however in practice, it sympathized with Sanation political camp. The views of the slightly left-winged intelligentsia were expressed by two journals — Krakowski Kurier Poranny (Cracow Morning Courier) and its regional edition Krakowski Kurier Wieczorny (Cracow Evening Courier). The body of the Polish Peasants’ Party was Piast. Among extreme-left press could be counted a daily Naprzód (Forward). The Jewish Minority of Cracow also had a numerous representation. For them, the most significant newspaper was Nowy Dziennik (The New Daily). All the above-mentioned newspapers reported, with greater or smaller interest, about the events pertained to the Sudetenland crisis. The fastest and the vastest reaction was that of Czas, but the newspaper mainly concentrated on the Polish interest connected to opening opportunity to occupy Zaolzie. The resolutions of the Munich Agreement itself were by the newspaper treated marginally, which was also true in the case of the second right-wing daily Głos Narodu. Paradoxically, not much space was devoted to this event by Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny either. The reactions to the conflict in Czechoslovakia from Krakowski Kurier Poranny and Krakowski Kurier Wieczorny were also late but slightly sympathetic to the Czechoslovakian part. The resolutions of the Munich Agreement itself were left with no comment, since the key issue was that of Polish interest in Zaolzie. The newspaper bodies of the Left almost entirely ignored the Munich Agreement. In the Cracow newspaper reports from that time there appeared various mentions referring to possible outbreak of war, which could be observed in a weeklies Piast and Nowy Dziennik. In both of these newspapers there were expressed fears about the Third Reich’s territorial demands towards Poland.

The article aims to present the image of the first commandant of Oświęcim-Brzezinka (Auschwitz) concentration camp (1940–1943). In the first part there is presented a short biography of Rudolf Höss, the goal of which is to acquaint the reader with basic facts from the biography of commandant of KL Auschwitz-Birkenau. The second, main part of the article constitutes the characteristics of his image. But, it was not presented basing on memoirs, diaries or other published sources, as it was practices up until now. It was most of all based on the court testimonies of former Oświęcim concentration camp prisoners who testified in front of Supreme National Tribunal in Warsaw during trial against Rudolf Höss that took place on 11–29 March 1947. The fundamental source base of the present article are therefore documents form the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim in the collection of documents. Due to character of sources the author shows the defendant in slightly different light that he has been shown so far. She presents the attitude of the commandant not only to prisoners but also to SS-mans subordinate to him. He renders his image seeing both from the perspective of SS-man and average prisoner of the German concentration camp in Oświęcim. Moreover, the author focuses her attention on the way he treated people of different nationalities: Poles, Russians and Jews. Concurrently, the article characterizes personality and views of the defendant form his own standpoint, which were expressed in his diary Wspomnienia Rudolfa Hössa komendanta obozu oświęcimskiego. Thanks to this perspective the reader can compare two points of view. It helps to show the described issues in a multidimensional manner.

Urszula Wenda was in the group of doctors that voluntarily, lead by their sense of responsibility for delivering care, regardless of the consequences, witnessed the events of 16th December 1981 in the “Wujek” coal mine, when the miners’ strike was brutally crushed. Her account of the events is one of the rare and moving recollections of doctors who in the first days of Martial Law were the eye-witnesses of the clashes between the workers and the ZOMO (Pol. Motorized Reserves of the Citizens’ Militia) units, the brutality of the militia, deaths of the miners, but also sacrifice of the doctors, nurses, paramedics, delivering care to wounded participants of the strikes. Urszula Wenda not only helped the injured, but also organized and mobilized the medical staff and demanded from the officers leading the pacification treating the wounded and injured in the humanitarian way.

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