Bernard Margueritte, a correspondent of the diary “Le Monde” in Poland, mentioned Vilnius next to Prague and added that this town is the most Polish of Polish cities... Mrs Janina Gieczewska has lived in this town since birth.
She was born on 6 September 1924 from the father of John and parent of Franciszka Tumash. The household lived in Rossa district, close the mausoleum of soldiers who died in 1919 in defence of the city, close the celebrated cemetery. Janina remembers the celebrations connected with the burial of the heart of Józef Piłsudski in the grave of his mother, whose remains were exhumed from the village of Suginty close Wiłkometer in Lithuania and brought to Poland. On the disc of the tomb of parent and Heart of boy is simply a quote from Beniowski Juliusz Słowacki:
♪ You know with pride they can't ♪ Follow the another way to follow the same way who chose to choose alternatively of home The nest on the eagle's rocks... Sleep erstwhile your pupils are red from thunder And you can hear... the groan of the devils in the pines of noise...
That's how I lived. Somewhere close the miraculous image of Our woman in the Sharp Gate you can find, next to many others, the silver votum of Józef Piłsudski with the inscription: Mother, thank you for Vilnius.
Her childhood was very happy. She was an only child, but not besides spoiled, raised in Catholic faith, discipline, and taught systematic work, and respect for others. After graduating from the parent of Ostrobram School of Commons, she was able to complete 3rd grade at the State advanced School and Eliza Peanut advanced School by summertime 1939. At school she ran a class chronicle with entries and drawings of her friends and hers. She late donated it, including another exhibits, including the student cap "Batator", photographs and combs to the Museum of planet War II in Gdańsk During the summer, she got to know the Homeland by travelling with her parent and visiting Warsaw, Jasna Góra, Kraków, Wieliczka, Poznań, Toruń or Gdynia, and what she described at the time as “My travels in Poland”. By the time she was 12, she began writing diaries that she is presently ordering. Their summertime hikes allowed free rail journeys by profession Her railroadman's father. From her early youth, she was curious in the film, and with her favourite actor Elizabeth Barszczewska even had the honour of correspondence as a student. After many years, she visited her grave in Powązki.
Janina Gieczewska (photo: ‘Kurier Wilenski’)
With the outbreak of war, everything went down. The household survived the German bombings and the death of the city's residents, including the full multi-children neighbouring Bartoszków family. Then came the surrender of Westerplatte and despair on 17 September that there was no Poland. Despite the persecution of Poles by the Soviet, Lithuanian and German authorities, 4 occupations survived: Soviet, Lithuanian, German and again russian – despite terror, murders in Ponaras and exports to Siberia and Kazakhstan, poorness and hunger – the inhabitants of Vilnius and Vilnius believed that yet our Polish power would return. Before the war there were practically only Poles (and rather quite a few Jews), only Polish speech was heard everywhere. That's what the National Army fought for! Mrs Giechewska remembers the march on Vilnius of soldiers of Alexander “Wilk” of Krzyżanowski as part of the “Burza” Action in July 1944...
However, Poland could not come back due to the fact that our reliable allies decided to do so. It was terrible and so unfair. It's like being in a different dimension, although at the same geographical location – he recalls. After the war, many Poles left the city, besides friends of the Jubilee left for Wrocław and another cities, any even became professors, but they longed for and regretted the Polish hometown of Wila all their lives. The Tumachs besides considered the proposal to go to Poznań, but yet decided to stay here and continue; not to abandon the fatherhood and household graves of many generations, and the graves of soldiers on Ross and Antokol, which they nursed, as well as to repatriate the postwar demolition of their city.
Ross Cemetery
On the margins, bitter attention is paid to the power in Poland, which those who left Vilnius or even their native Kresy called "repatrians" and wrote in their papers false information that ... were born in the USSR! Our heroine has never left Vilnius and can't imagine surviving outside of her. At the same time it is immersed in Matrix, in culture, past and current, increasingly hard and increasingly dangerous matters of Poland. She has collected a powerful library, she besides collects magazines, including “Think Poland”, “Warsaw Newspaper” and another publications. For many years, her passion has besides been philatelic.
Returning to her résumé, she passed her advanced school at the Polish school at Ostrobramska 5 after the war, but due to her illness she was incapable to take an first exam for Roman philology, which she dreamed of attending private abroad language lessons during the occupation, while after her vacation she managed to get into russistics (polonistics were evidently eliminated), and after graduating from Vilnius University (unfortunately not Stefan Batory's name) in 1951 she began working at the Publishing home of Pedagogical Literature, publishing school textbooks in Polish and for 30 years – until retirement – she worked there. She had a large part in the improvement of an simple school for children, although unfortunately she does not appear as an author, and was signed by the arrivals of Vilnius Litwinka. She besides worked on editing and another textbooks, having contact with teachers and people of culture. He considers the period of his professional work difficult, but very crucial and creative intellectually despite the hard political conditions in which Poles came to live.
And the textbooks were missing, already in the 1940s, there were not even censored pre-war copies, because, however, schools with Polish lecture language, mainly on the basic level, were created in Vilnius and in lands separated after the Second War from Poland in Lithuania a 100 dozen. There were 2 gymnasiums in Vilnius: male and female and 1 in fresh Vilnius, although the needs were much greater. It was not until 1950 that a separate Polish editorial office was created in the aforementioned Pedagogical Literature Publishing House.
Mrs Giechewska is trying to avoid political issues. However, it should be saddened to note that there are fewer more than 60 Polish schools now, and late the ruling of the administrative court, fortunately, blocked the liquidation of 2 schools in the Trotsky area. This is all very akin to Kown's pre-war policy (although not so brutal, due to the fact that we live in different times) erstwhile from 65 Polish schools in 1927 – before the outbreak of the Second War there were only 10 of them in Lithuania... But present it is not only the responsibility of Lithuanian power and indifference of Warsaw. It is most likely besides the consequence of decisions of local Poles, who are frequently more comfortable to direct their children to Lithuanian schools. Unfortunately, Poles are lituanating themselves.
Vilnius – Rossa
She received many awards for social work, including the Golden Cross of Merit and the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. Mrs. Janina tells me that she liked social work since she was young. The request for activity for others came from the request of a heart formed in early childhood in the household home and in the school, where it was provided in the organization “British Aid”. They embroidered napkins with their friends and made toys to then sale them at school fairs, and utilized the funds they obtained for the needs of mediocre colleagues. She was a class hostess, and during her studies in 5 years, each year, she was selected as an old age of a multinational group where she was the only Polish. After Lithuania regained its independence, she spent quite a few time working on the Municipal Board of the Union of Poles in Lithuania, the Józef Montwiłł and Vilnius Charity Foundation. Until 2019, she served as president of the Polish Section of the Vilnius Community of Political Prisoners and Exiles, whose co-founder in 1989 and its first president was Her husband, engineer Romuald Gieczewski, a sybirak and whom she first helped in this alternatively laborious activity erstwhile he was president. It should besides be mentioned that his place changed the celebrated image of Eugeniusz Kazimirowski "Jesus I Trust You" who, with the approval of the curial authorities, was elevated from the church of the Holy Spirit, although Poles had long watched for working on work so that no 1 would bargain it. The letters to the Vatican were in vain.
A birthday girl, who is in large intellectual condition, is shunned from the answers related to politics (and what seems understandable), including the question of matters related to the effort to establish Polish autonomy in Vilnius just before the dissolution of the russian Union. For the sake of justice, 1 can only remind that the initiative destroyed not only Sajudis, but besides Polish-speaking in Warsaw ...
This energetic woman was able to combine the responsibilities of her wife, parent of 2 children, and later grandmother, with her professional and social activities. He already has 3 great-grandchildren. He thinks he's got enough, possibly besides much. He recognizes the rule that 1 must be able to enjoy and satisfy what 1 has, appreciate small accomplishments and joy, and only then can 1 be happy. Yes, there is simply quite a few joy, curiosity and passion of life in Mrs.Janina, there is hope, and at the same time any distance to it, a stoic, balanced approach to what brings not always good fortune, and above all much modesty. Last year, she was very pleasantly amazed by the flowers sent by Ambassador Konstanty Radziwił of these Radziwił (who, to be admitted, was uniquely suited to this position just in Vilnius) and a warm conversation with Him on his 99th birthday. Many birthday and first wishes are received annually from friends of Polish activists. On the day of the 100th Birthday of the Jubilee in the Polish home in Vilnius, there will be a large celebration, which puts Mrs. Giechewska in a certain stage, because, as she says, “she did nothing extraordinary, but sought to live decently and to do her duties.”
On the occasion of specified a beautiful Jubilee, we want you much wellness and prosperity!
Halina Ostovich
Portrait of Janina Gieczewska (Kurier Wilenski)
Think Poland, No. 37-38 (8-15.09.2024)
