Jan Ludwik Popławski (17 January 1854 in Bystrzejowice Pierwsze – 12 March 1908 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) was a Polish journalist, author, politician and one of the first chief activists and ideologues of the right-wing

National Democracy National Democracy may refer to: * National democratic state, a state formation conceived by the Soviet concept of national democracy * National Democracy (Czech Republic) * National Democracy (Italy) * National Democracy (Philippines) * National De ...

political camp.

Early life and education

Popławski entered the University of Warsaw in 1874. As a student he belonged to patriotic political organization Confederation of Polish Nation (Konfederacja Narodu Polskiego). In 1878 he was arrested by Russian authorities.

Publications and ideology

Released in 1882, Popławski returned to Warsaw and began to write in the newspaper ''Prawda'' (''Truth'') under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

''Wiat''. From 1886, he worked for the weekly '' Głos'' (''The Voice''). He was arrested in 1894 for participation in a protest commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Kościuszko Uprising (1794) in Warsaw. In 1895 he was bailed out and released from Warsaw Citadel. Popławski eventually moved to Lwów, where together with Roman Dmowski published political magazine '' Przegląd Wszechpolski'' (The All-Poland Review), in 1897–1901 he was the sole editor-in-chief. He later contributed to ''Wiek XX'' (20th century) daily and ''Słowo Polskie'' (The Polish Word). Popławski was one of the main organizers of National-Democratic Party in the Austrian partition. From 1896 he edited a monthly publication called ''Polak'' (''Pole'') that was published in

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and aimed mainly at a peasant readership in the

Russian partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...

. He later became one of the founders of the Galician weekly ''Ojczyzna'' (''Motherland''). One of the main ideas of his works was the issue of returning the Western lands to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, in particular

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with the widest possible access to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. Although focusing mostly on Western lands under Prussian partition, Popławski eventually also favoured inclusion of some Eastern territories to future independent Poland. He summarized these goals in 1901: Popławski was also one of the most active social activists dealing with peasants' issues. Through his work and writings he elevated the awareness of poor village masses about their role in forming the modern Polish nation. Popławski understood that peasants were the backbone of national existence and the only basis for national regeneration. In Popławski's view the ethnic heritage had little to do with nationality: After riots in Polish lands in 1905–1906, following the revolution of 1905, Popławski returned to Warsaw and took part in leadership of National Democratic movement. He joined the editorial staff of ''Gazeta Polska'' (Polish Daily) daily. In 1907 he fell seriously ill and retreated from publishing. He was diagnosed with throat cancer. Jan Ludwik Popławski died on 12 March 1908 in Warsaw.

Views on Jews

Popławski considered Jews to be "estranged" from the Poles as a result of the "features of the Semitic race". Viewing the Jews as an alien body in the national Polish organism, Popławski wrote in his famous 1886 article that "Jewish apartness resists the melding of the Jews with the Poles into a unified national organism. The anti-Jewish movement in contemporary society is a pathology comparable to the way an organism fights against an alien body that has settled in it. This struggle ends either with the destruction of alien body, its repulsion, or the death of the organism".Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism and the Jews of East Central Europe
edited by Michael L. Miller, Scott Ury, Routledge

Works

* '' Stanisław Żółkiewski: Wielki hetman koronny'' (1903) * ''Szkice literackie i naukowe'' (1910) * ''Pisma polityczne'' (vol. 1–2, 1910) * ''Wybór pism'' (1998)

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

*
Several texts of Jan Ludwik Popławski
at Polskie Tradycje Intelektualne website {{DEFAULTSORT:Poplawski, Jan Ludwik 1854 births 1908 deaths People from Świdnik County 19th-century Polish politicians 20th-century Polish politicians National League (Poland) members National-Democratic Party (Poland) politicians 19th-century Polish journalists Journalists from the Russian Empire Writers from Congress Poland Polish nationalists University of Warsaw alumni Deaths from cancer in Poland Burials at Powązki Cemetery Polish political writers Polish magazine founders