Nowa Huta. Okruchy życia i meandry historii
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Nowa Huta. Okruchy życia i meandry historii'' ( en, Nowa Huta. Crumbs of Life and the Meanders of History) is a 2003 photo
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
compiled by Jerzy Aleksander Karnasiewicz and illustrated with
photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...
s of Nowa Huta district of Kraków, Poland; which were taken in its early days, and between 1979-2003. The book, published bilingually in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
and English, contains essays, sociological dissertations, poetry and the homilies of future Pope John Paul II given during his visits to Nowa Huta. The anthology was unveiled by the president of Kraków, prof.
Jacek Majchrowski Jacek Maria Majchrowski (born 13 January 1947 in Sosnowiec) is a Polish politician, lawyer, historian, professor at the Jagiellonian University, and the current mayor of Kraków since 2002; making him the longest serving mayor in the history of t ...
on October 14, 2003, with the honorary patronage of
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Franciszek Macharski.Jacek Bartlewicz. ''Interview with Jerzy Aleksander Karnasiewicz:'
Opowieść o miejscu szczęśliwym (Dream of a happy place)
'' Gazeta Krakowska'', NaszeMiasto.pl, Polskapresse 2000-2009. Retrieved 9 November 2011.


Significance

Nowa Huta was to become a model socialist city for Stalinist propaganda. Following the establishing of the
People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
, the Communist authorities commenced building a satellite industrial town near Kraków. The adjoining Vladimir Lenin Steelworks began operations on July 22, 1954. The new city was constructed entirely according to a new doctrine of Socialist realism in Poland. Its central avenue featured a countrywide-known statue of Vladimir Lenin.Rozmowa z Jerzym Aleksandrem Karnasiewiczem
(interview with Jerzy Aleksander Karnasiewicz) first published in Gazeta Nowohucka supplement to Gazeta Krakowska newspaper, September 16, 2003; retrieved from the Internet Archive
Prof.
Alison Stenning Alison Stenning is a Professor of Social & Economic Geography at the Newcastle University, formerly lecturer in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology there; as well as, at the ...

"LIVING IN THE SPACES OF (POST-)SOCIALISM: THE CASE OF NOWA HUTA"
, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, 2002
However, as early as in 1960, inhabitants of Nowa Huta began fighting for permit to build a church. In that year, violent street-fights erupted over a wooden cross, erected by the locals who were supported by Bishop
Karol Wojtyła Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
. In the 1980s Nowa Huta became a place of demonstrations and violent street protests of the Solidarity movement, fought by the police. It was one of the most important centers of antiCommunist resistance, with numerous
strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
s. The book follows this sociological phenomenon across several decades from its heyday until the fall of Communism, and its aftermath; presenting the town's former political role and its subsequent decline in new sovereign Poland. "There is an apparent paradox in Nowa Huta now being characterised as a place of insecurity, declining mobility and uncertainty, in contrast to its earlier characterisation as a place of opportunity and stability" (Alison Stenning, the ''Nowa Huta'' anthology).


Major themes

The monument to the leader of the October Revolution was unveiled in Nowa Huta on April 28, 1973 in the avenue of Roses. It was a work of sculptor
Marian Konieczny Marian Adam Konieczny (13 January 1930, Jasionów – 25 July 2017 Jaroszowiec) was a Polish sculptor and politician, Professor and Dean at the Faculty of Sculpture of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Life A 1954 graduate of the ...
. The bronze monument depicted Lenin marching forward, to symbolize his eternally vivid ideas. The cast – made by the steelworks - was very expensive, resulting in the workers' annual bonuses and their three-month premiums being cut by the conglomerate. From the beginning the inhabitants didn't accept the presence of this gigantic statue. On the night of April 18, 1979 at around 3 a.m., a secret attempt was made to blow it up. The blast had such enormous striking power, that the window panes from all apartment blocks around the monument were blown out. However the explosion didn't cause the intended effect. ''Lenin'' lost only a part of the right foot. The perpetrators of the assault were never found.Jacek Bartlewicz
"Widok na Nową Hutę" (Outlook on Nowa Huta).
''NaszeMiasto.pl'', 2000-2009 Polskapresse. Retrieved from the Internet Archive.
As envisioned by the Communist Party, Nowa Huta was the first town in Polish history deliberately built without a church. Already in 1959, Bishop Karol Wojtyła of Kraków – future Pope John Paul II – began an annual custom of celebrating Christmas Midnight Mass (
Pasterka Pasterka is a Midnight Mass#Time of celebration of Mass, midnight mass celebrated by Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholics Christmas in Poland, during Christmas between December 24 and 25 Religion in Poland, across Poland. A close translation o ...
) there in an open field. Alison Behnke
''Pope John Paul II''
Barnes & Noble. Page 64
The persistent pressure by the Catholics eventually succeeded, and in 1977 a church was erected. The anthology ''Nowa Huta'' features two homilies by the future Pope: one from his 1979 visit to nearby Mogiła and the other, from 1983, given during his
consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
of the church he fought for. Professor
Alison Stenning Alison Stenning is a Professor of Social & Economic Geography at the Newcastle University, formerly lecturer in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology there; as well as, at the ...
came to Nowa Huta in 2000 on a two-year research project from the University of Birmingham to document the impact of the collapse of Communism in Poland. As a socioeconomic geographer, she conducted interviews with the district inhabitants, and studies of the diminishing role of the local steelworks in their daily lives. The respondents were not chosen accidentally, among them the present and the former factory
employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...
s. Stenning wanted to learn, how the everyday life had changed in Nowa Huta under the conditions of post-Socialism. Karnasiewicz took part in her research project and in November 2002 attended a meeting with dr Stenning by members of the forum, at which she presented her report entitled "Living in the Spaces of Post-Socialism: the Case of Nowa Huta" ("Życie w przestrzeniach (post) socjalizmu: przypadek Nowej Huty"). Her material concerning the relation of the local community, the steel mill, and the work of municipal government was interesting enough to merit its publication in the anthology.


Contributors

The book was conceived by an art photographer Jerzy Aleksander Karnasiewicz born in Tarnów, member of the ''Fotoklub'' of the Republic of Poland who has been taking photographs for over 28 years. He's also a member of the Kraków Photographic Club. Photo anthology ''Nowa Huta'' features some archival, as well as street photographs and psychological portraits taken by Karnasiewicz at the height of his artistic career.Jacek Bartlewicz
"Nowohuckie sentymenty", (Nowa Huta Sentiments).
''NaszeMiasto.pl''. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
Also featured is an essay by Prof. Ryszard Terlecki, historian and publicist, who presented an historical overview of the city, written from the European perspective, and entitled "Pół wieku z widokiem na Nową Hutę" (Half a Century with the Outlook on Nowa Huta). Meanwhile, Father Niward Karsznia from the 13th century
Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monastery in nearby Mogiła, writes about the order of
Cistercian monks The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...
which he joined in 1948 in Nowa Huta. He arrived at Mogiła from Czarnolas. At that time, the monks led a contemplative lifestyle, focused on prayer and work. Everything changed, when the construction of steelworks encroached on their requisitioned monastic fields. The book features poems by two authors connected with the city, Barbara Urbańska, and Ryszard Tylman. Tylman's long poem about the nighttime assault on the statue of Lenin, published in his book ''Koty marcowe'', is illustrated with black and white photographs of the damaged monument, taken by Karnasiewicz secretly the following morning.Jacek Bartlewicz (16 Sep 2003)
"View of Nowa Huta. Interview with Jerzy Karnasiewicz"
'' IDOK NA HUTĘ. Rozmowa z Jerzym Aleksandrem Karnasiewiczem'. Nowa Huta (www.nh.pl), first published in ''Gazeta Nowohucka'' supplement to '' Gazeta Krakowska''.
The poems by Urbańska come from her book ''Podnoszę z ziemi przez uszanowanie'' describing Nowa Huta during the martial law in Poland. Prof.
Alison Stenning Alison Stenning is a Professor of Social & Economic Geography at the Newcastle University, formerly lecturer in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology there; as well as, at the ...
, who's a British socioeconomic geographer, spent ten months in Nowa Huta from November 2000 to September 2001. Her project sponsored by the University of Birmingham, resulted in a more grounded understanding of post-Socialism. It was conducted in close cooperation with the Institute of Geography of the
Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
in Kraków. Her paper featured in the ''Nowa Huta'' anthology was also published in academic journals in the UK and Poland.


See also

* History of Poland (1945-1989) *
Districts of Kraków The city of Kraków is divided into 18 administrative districts, each with a degree of autonomy within the municipal government. The Polish name for such a district is ''dzielnica''. The oldest neighborhoods of Kraków were incorporated into the ...
* Andrzej Wajda film
Man of Marble ''Man of Marble'' ( pl, Człowiek z marmuru) is a 1977 Polish film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It chronicles the fall from grace of a fictional heroic Polish bricklayer, Mateusz Birkut (played by Jerzy Radziwiłowicz), who became the Stakhanovite s ...
( pl, Człowiek z marmuru), about a bricklayer who built the socialist Nowa Huta * Głos - Tygodnik Nowohucki


Notes and references


Stenning, A. (2003) "Zycie w przestrzeniach (post)socjalizmu: przypadek Nowej Huty"
( en, Life in the spaces of (post)socialism: the case of Nowa Huta). For background to this publication, se



* ttp://www.mhf.krakow.pl/omuzeum/sklepik.htm Księgarnia fotograficzna ''F5'': ''Nowa Huta. Okruchy życia i meandry historii'', teksty
Jerzy Aleksander Karnasiewicz, ''Nowa Huta Okruchy życia i meandry historii'' at Focus.pl (publishers info)
* Marta Sinior
"Nowa Huta w fotografii Jerzego Aleksandra Karnasiewicza" Fotopolis.pl 2005-12-22
* Marta Majewska
Wystawy festiwalowe, Magazine Fotopolis.pl 2003-10-23
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nowa Huta. Okruchy Zycia I Meandry Historii 2003 non-fiction books 2003 anthologies Essay anthologies Kraków Works set in Kraków