Stanisław "Cat" Mackiewicz (18 December 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia – 18 February 1966 in Warsaw, Poland) was a conservative Polish writer, journalist and

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalis ...

. Interwar journalist Adolf Maria Bocheński called him the foremost political journalist of the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

Second Polish Republic.

Life

Mackiewicz was born into a Polish family that had historically used the '' Bożawola''

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

Mackiewicz joined the

Polish Military Organisation The Polish Military Organisation, PMO ( pl, Polska Organizacja Wojskowa, POW) was a secret military organization which formed during World War I (1914-1918). Józef Piłsudski founded the group in August 1914; it adopted the name ''POW'' in Nove ...

in 1917 and served as a volunteer in the Polish Army during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–21. He published and the editor-in-chief of the independent Wilno (Vilnius) periodical titled "Słowo," wholly financially supported by the noble families of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He actively promoted the idea of the so-called Jagellonian Poland, i.e., return to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth style of governance in Eastern Europe. He supported Józef PiłsudskiKrzysztof Masłoń: Błazeńska czapka Cata-Mackiewicza
at '' Rzeczpospolita'', 4 August 2010. and in 1928–35 served as a deputy to the '' Sejm'' (Poland's parliament), representing the

Piłsudskiite A Piłsudskiite () was a political supporter of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, the founder of the First World War Polish Legions and the first Chief of State of the Second Republic of Poland. The Piłsudskiites had a major influence on Polish poli ...

Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government The Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government ( pl, Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem, ; abbreviated ''BBWR'') was a "non-political" organization in the interwar Second Polish Republic, in 1928–35. It was closely affiliated with ...

. After Piłsudski's death in 1935, Mackiewicz criticized the ruling elite and in 1939 was imprisoned for 17 days at the

Bereza Kartuska detention camp Bereza Kartuska Prison (, "Place of Isolation at Bereza Kartuska") was operated by Poland's Sanation government from 1934 to 1939 in Bereza Kartuska, Polesie Voivodeship (today, Biaroza, Belarus). Because the inmates were detained without tri ...

. On 18 September 1939, a day after the Soviet attack on eastern Poland during the Soviet-German

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, he left Poland. Following the Yalta Conference and subsequent occupation by Stalin of Poland and the later establishment of the Communist Poland, Mackiewicz, like so many other political exiles, remained abroad and was politically active in the Polish émigré community. He served as prime minister of the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

in 1954–55. In 1956, Mackiewicz returned to Poland, where he continued writing under the pseudonym of Gaston de Cerizay.Neubauer, John (editor) 200
''The Exile and Return of Writers from East-Central Europe: A Compendium''
Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co, Berlin (p. 177) In 1964 he was one of the signatories of the so-called

Letter of 34 ''Letter of 34'' – two-sentence protest letter of Polish intellectuals against censorship in Communist Poland, addressed to the Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz, delivered on 14 March 1964 to by Antoni Słonimski. The name refers to the nu ...

to Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz regarding freedom of culture. He was the older brother of ardent enemy of the communist system, writer

Józef Mackiewicz Józef Mackiewicz (April 1, 1902 – January 31, 1985) was a Polish writer, novelist and political commentator; best known for his documentary novels ''Nie trzeba głośno mówić'' (One Is Not Supposed to Speak Aloud), and ''Droga donikąd'' (The ...

Works

* ''Historja Polski od 11 listopada 1918 r. do 17 września 1939 r.'' (The History of Poland from 11 November 1918 to 17 September 1939), 1941, 1958, 1989, 1990, 1992 * '' Stanisław August'', 1953, 1978, 1991, 1999, 2009 * ''Muchy chodzą po mózgu'' (Flies Walk the Brain), 1957 * ''Zielone oczy'' (Green Eyes), 1958, 1959, 1987 * ''Europa in flagranti'' (Europe ''in flagranti''), 1965, 1975, 2000 * ''Odeszli w zmierzch: wybór pism, 1916–1966'' (They Have Passed into the Twilight: a Collection of Writings, 1916–1966), 1968 * ''Kto mnie wołał, czego chciał...'' (Who Called Me, What He Wanted...), Instytut Wydawniczy "Pax" ("Pax" Publishing Institute), 1972 * ''Był bal'' (There Was a Ball), 1973 * ''Herezje i prawdy'' (Heresies and Truths), 1975 * ''Klucz do Piłsudskiego'' (The Key to Piłsudski), 1986, 1992, 1996 * ''Lata nadziei: 17 września 1939 – 5 lipca 1945'' (Years of Hope: 17 September 1939 – 5 July 1945), 1990 * ''Myśl w obcęgach: studia nad psychologią społeczeństw sowietów'' (Thinking in a Vise: Studies on the Psychology of Soviet Societies), 1998 * ''Polityka Becka'' (

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collag ...

's Policies), 2009 * ''Teraz jestem tutaj. Albo może raczej nigdzie = Now I'm here. Or perhaps, rather, nowhere'', edited by Tomasz Wiech and Maciej Zakrzewski. Kraków: IPN, 2014. Photographs taken in London from 1945 to 1956.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackiewicz, Stanislaw 1896 births 1966 deaths Military personnel from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Polish nobility Polish Roman Catholics Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) Association of the Polish Youth "Zet" members PAX Association members Polish monarchists Polish anti-communists Polish conservatives Polish exiles Polish male writers Polish political writers Roman Catholic writers Inmates of Bereza Kartuska Prison Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Burials at Powązki Cemetery 20th-century Polish journalists People associated with the magazine "Kultura"

Life

Works

See also

Notes