Rosa Bailly (14 March 1890 – 14 June 1976), known also as Rosa Dufour-Bailly and Aimée Dufour was a French teacher, journalist and writer closely tied throughout her professional life to the cause of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and its literature. She was also a poet.

Biography

Bailly was born in

Saint-Florent-sur-Cher Saint-Florent-sur-Cher (, literally ''Saint-Florent on Cher'') is a commune in the Cher department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Cher department The following is a list of the 287 communes of the Cher department of ...

in a modest family of farmers and artisans. She completed her education at the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for i ...

, France. Although destined to become a school teacher, she never forgot the history lessons in primary school when she learned to her lasting horror of the partitions of Poland and its obliteration as a state. Later, she was to tell her colleagues: "Apprenez à vos éléves que le démembrement de la Pologne en 1772 a sauvé la France, dites leurs que maintes fois le sang polonais à coulé à flot pour notre salut. Montrez leur la beauté de cette race intelligente, artiste et généreuse, son patriotisme et sa vitalité , son grand rôle historique …" – 'Teach your pupils that the dismemberment of Poland in 1772 saved France, tell them that Polish blood flowed many times to save us. Show them the beauty of that intelligent and artistic nation, its patriotism and its vitality, its great role in history ...' She became a leading light of an association she founded in Paris, in 1919 under the name of ''Les Amis de la Pologne'' – The Friends of Poland, whose general secretary she was for many years. In 1921 she became an activist in the matter of a

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

about

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

joining the rest of a newly independent

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

. She both translated into French and had published the works of many Polish writers, among them,

Maria Konopnicka Maria Konopnicka (; ; 23 May 1842 – 8 October 1910) was a Polish poet, novelist, children's writer, translator, journalist, critic, and activist for women's rights and for Polish independence. She used pseudonyms, including ''Jan Sawa''. She ...

Julian Tuwim Julian Tuwim (13 September 1894 – 27 December 1953), known also under the pseudonym "Oldlen" as a lyricist, was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, then part of the Russian Partition. He was educated in Łódź and in Warsaw where he studied la ...

Leopold Staff Leopold Henryk Staff (November 14, 1878 – May 31, 1957) was a Polish poet; an artist of European modernism twice granted the Degree of Doctor honoris causa by universities in Warsaw and in Kraków. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize i ...

Zofia Nałkowska Zofia Nałkowska (, Warsaw, Congress Poland, 10 November 1884 – 17 December 1954, Warsaw) was a Polish prose writer, dramatist, and prolific essayist. She served as the executive member of the prestigious Polish Academy of Literature (1933–1939 ...

Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer (12 February 1865 – 18 January 1940) was a Polish Goral poet, novelist, playwright, journalist and writer. He was a member of the Young Poland movement. Life Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer was born in Ludźmierz in Pod ...

Zenon Przesmycki Zenon Przesmycki ( pen name ''Miriam''; Radzyń Podlaski, 22 December 1861 – 17 October 1944, Warsaw), was a Polish poet, translator and art critic of the literary period of Młoda Polska, who studied law in Italy, France and England; in 1887� ...

, Wacław Berent and Boleslaw Leśmian. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Rosa Bailly organised assistance for Polish

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

and soldiers in France. She continued her Polish contacts after the war and well into retirement, but the intensity and the welcome had waned with the advent of

Polish communism Communism in Poland can trace its origins to the late 19th century: the Marxist First Proletariat party was founded in 1882. Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (''Socjaldemokracja Królest ...

. She visited there one last time in 1959 and wrote a history of Warsaw. She was also a great lover of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

and finally settled in that region. She died in Pau in 1976, aged 86.

Bibliography

Selected works by Rosa Bailly connected to Poland: *1926, 1928, 1939 : ''Histoire de l'amitié franco-polonaise'' – A History of Franco-Polish friendship *1924 : ''La Pologne renaît'' – The rebirth of Poland *1926 (?) : ''Comment se renseigner sur la Pologne'', Union française des amis de la Pologne – How to find out about Poland, French Union of the friends of Poland *1930 : ''L'Hommage de la France à Mickiewicz '' – France's hommage to

Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

*1928, 1938 : ''Petite histoire de la Pologne'' – A short history of Poland *1920–1930 : ''Villes de Pologne'' – Cities of Poland *1920 : ''

Vilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

, ville polonaise'' –

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

, a Polish city *1924 : ''À la gloire de Léopol'' – The glory of

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

*1927 : ''Une Ville polonaise :

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

'' – Bydgoszcz, a Polish city *1928 : ''Guide de Pologne :

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

Varsovie Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, Cracovie, Léopol,

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been par ...

'' – A guide to Poland: Poznań, Warsaw, Wilnius,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Lwów, Zakopane *1936 : ''Au cœur de la Pologne : Petites villes, châteaux, campagnes'' – The heart of Poland: small towns, stately homes, countryside. *1940 : ''Lettres aux Polonais en France'' – Letters to Poles in France *1949 : ''Varsoviennes'' (traduction de ''Kobiety'' de Stanisława Kuszelewska) – Women of Warsaw (translation of a work in Polish by Stanislawa Kuszelewska) *1956 : ''A City Fights for Freedom: The Rising of Lwów in 1918-1919'' - translated from the French by Samuel S. B. Taylor

Works about the author

* Mieczysława Wazdrag-Parisot, ''Rosa Bailly et la Pologne'',

Université de Paris-Sorbonne Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; french: Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV) was a public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the Universit ...

, 1980 * Anita Plytarz, "Rosa Bailly, sa vie et ses liens d'amitié tissés avec la Pologne" in ''Synergies Pologne'', revue du Gerflint, Cracovie, 2006 * Tadeusz Edward Domański, ''Rosa Bailly : Wielka Francuzka o polskim sercu'',

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

, Norbertinum, 2003 * Małgorzata Nossowska, ''O Francuzce, która pokochała Polskę. Rosa Bailly i stowarzyszenie "Les Amis de la Pologne"'', Lublin, University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska, 2012, – About the French woman who fell in love with Poland. Rosa Bailly and the association, ''Friends of Poland''. Portraits of her are by Nina Alexandrowicz, Zbigniew Więckowski ( in oil) and

Maja Berezowska Maja Berezowska (13 April 1893 or 1898, in Baranowicze – 31 May 1978, in Warsaw) was a Polish painter. Berezowska was born in Baranowicze, in the Minsk Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Belarus), to Polish parents Edmund Berez ...

(water colour). The sculptor

Francis Black Francis Mollison Black (July 17, 1870 – February 19, 1941) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1922 to 1927, and was a cabinet minister in John Bracken's government from 1922 to 1925. B ...

has made a bust of her, which is in the Bibliothèque polonaise de Paris see"cracovia-leopolis" .

Awards and Distinctions

* 1936 : Commander of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

* 1937 : Prix de l'

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

– prix Kornmann (1 000F) * Laures académiques of the

Polish Academy of Literature The Polish Academy of Literature ( pl, Polska Akademia Literatury, PAL) was one of the most important state institutions of literary life in the Second Polish Republic, operating between 1933 and 1939 with the headquarters in Warsaw. It was foun ...

* 1969 : Prize of the Polish

PEN Club PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internationa ...

* 1969 :

Francis Jammes Francis Jammes (; 2 December 1868, in Tournay, Hautes-Pyrénées – 1 November 1938, in Hasparren, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) was a French and European poet. He spent most of his life in his native region of Béarn and the Basque Country and his po ...

prize

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailly, Rosa 1890 births 1976 deaths People from Hautes-Pyrénées 20th-century French women writers French women poets Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta 20th-century French poets 20th-century French translators