Adam Feliks Próchnik (; Lwów, 21 August 1892 – 22 May 1942,

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 socialist activist, politician and historian.

Life

Próchnik was born in Lwów, Austrian partition (now,

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) on 21 August 1892 to a middle class

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family.Krzysztof Dunin-Wąsowicz, ''Adam Próchnik (1892-1942)'', in Peter Brock, John D. Stanley, Piotr Wróbel (ed.), ''Nation and history: Polish historians from the Enlightenment to the Second World War'', University of Toronto Press, 2006,
Google Print, p.443-447
/ref> His mother, née Felicja Nossig, was the sister of the sculptor and

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

activist

Alfred Nossig Alfred Nossig (18 April 1864 – 22 February 1943) was a Jewish sculptor, writer, and activist in Zionism and Polish civil society. During World War II, he was held in the Warsaw Ghetto. Other Jews later accused Nossig of collaborating with the ...

. According to some sources, he was the

extramarital Extramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than their spouse. The term may be applied to the situation of a single person having sex with a married person. It is distinguished from premarital sex, w ...

son of the Polish socialist

Ignacy Daszyński Ignacy Ewaryst Daszyński (; 26 October 1866 – 31 October 1936) was a Polish socialist politician, journalist, and very briefly Prime Minister of the Second Polish Republic's first government, formed in Lublin in 1918. In October 1892 he cofo ...

.Jerzy Myśliński, ''Polska myśl polityczna'', Czytelnik, 1986, , p.32 While in high school he became involved in socialist activism. As a student, he joined the

Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia () was a political party in Galicia. The party was formed in 1890 as the Galician territorial organization of the Social Democratic Workers Party of Austria. In 1892 it took the name Social Democratic Par ...

; he supported the

Polish Socialist Party – Left The Polish Socialist Party – Left (, PPS–L), also known as the Young Faction (), was one of two factions formed when the Polish Socialist Party split at its ninth congress in 1906. The faction's primary objective was to transform Poland ...

faction over the

Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction The Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction (, PPS–FR) also known as the Old Faction () was one of two factions into which the Polish Socialist Party split in 1906. The Revolutionary Faction's primary goal was to restore an independe ...

led by

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

. Before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he joined the pro-independence paramilitary Polish organization, the

Union of Armed Struggle The Union of Armed StruggleThus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. (; ZWZ), also translated as the Union for Armed Struggle, Association of Armed Struggle, and Association for Armed Struggle ...

. With the outbreak of World War I, he was conscripted into the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

in 1914, and was badly wounded in 1917. During his convalescence in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, he became a member of a secret Polish organization, the

Polish Military Organisation The Polish Military Organisation, PMO (, POW) was a secret military organization that was formed during World War I (1914–1918). Józef Piłsudski founded the group in August 1914. It adopted the name ''POW'' in November 1914 and aimed to gathe ...

. As a member of PMO he encouraged Polish soldiers to desert from the Austrian Army and join newly created Polish formations. This resulted in a threat of court martial from the Austro-Hungarian Army, but eventually he was freed. Next, he participated in the battle of Lwów during the

Polish–Ukrainian War The Polish–Ukrainian War, from November 1918 to July 1919, was a conflict between the Second Polish Republic and Ukrainian forces (both the West Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic). The conflict had its roots in ...

. In interwar Poland, Próchnik became an activist of the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party (, PPS) is a democratic socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communist Polish Workers' Party to form ...

and supported initiatives designed to improve the situation of the country's working class. He supported the inclusion of

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

into renascent Poland. In the 1928 legislative elections, he was elected a deputy to the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

. He steadily drifted to more extreme left position, supporting cooperation with the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

s. Often - under pen-name Henryk Swoboda and publishing mostly in '' Robotnik'' - published essays attacking the right-wing ''

sanacja Sanation (, ) was a Polish political movement that emerged in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May Coup (Poland), May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and gained influence following the coup. In 1928, its political activists went on to fo ...

'' Polish government and the ''

endecja National Democracy (, often abbreviated as ND or known as ''Endecja''; ) was a Polish political movement that operated from the second half of the 19th century, during the partitions of Poland, until the end of the Second Polish Republic. It e ...

'' faction, which he blamed for undermining the nascent Polish democracy. This resulted in some of his publications being

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

by the state. Some of his works would appear in unabridged version only after his death, published in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

. He worked as an archivist in Piotrków and

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

. For a time he was employed by Poland's Ministry of Culture and Religion. His attempt to enter the academic life ended when his application for a position in the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

was rejected, due to his left wing views being unpopular among the right wing faculty there (despite a support from his candidature from professor

Wacław Tokarz Wacław Tokarz (7 June 1873 in Częstochowa - 3 May 1937 in Warsaw) was a Polish historian and military officer. A Colonel of the Polish Army and a professor of both the Warsaw University and Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian Univers ...

. He nonetheless became a member of the

Polish Historical Society Polish Historical Society (, PTH) is a Polish professional scientific society for historians. History Founded in 1886 in Lwów by Ksawery Liske as a local society, its scientific journal became the '' Kwartalnik Historyczny'', which was first pu ...

, published in historical journals and attended professional conferences. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in

occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...

, Próchnik continued his political activities, supporting a

PPS PPS commonly refers to: * Post-postscript, an afterthought, usually in a document. PPS may also refer to: Aviation * Puerto Princesa International Airport, Palawan, Philippines (by IATA code) * Priority Passenger Service, in Singapore Airlines#Fre ...

-affiliated underground printing press ('' Barykada Wolności''). He joined the leftist PPS group,

Polish Socialists Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

(''Polscy Socjaliści''), but he tried to reconcile the divisions within PPS and took part in the negotiations with the more centrist PPS-WRN. He was involved in the collaborative underground effort to document Nazi crimes in Poland, worked in the underground Military History Bureau and contributed to the '' Kronika Okupacji'' project. He advocated cooperation with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He became a member of the

Political Consultative Committee Political Consultative Committee (, ''PKP'') was the beginning of the political arm of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland during World War II. It was formed on 26 February 1940 by several Polish political parties continuing their activit ...

. On 22 May 1942 he died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He is buried in Evangelical-Reformed Cemetery in Warsaw. Adam Prochnik grave

Tributes

Several landmarks and organizations in Poland bear Próchnik's name.

Works

In his historical works, Próchnik was a strong adherent to

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

views, and supported the dialectic materialism perspective. He was interested in studying the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

ary processes, including

social movements A social movement is either a loosely or carefully organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of ...

. He published numerous articles, both in academic journals and popular press, as well as several books. His historical research focused on following areas: French Revolution and its Polish contemporary, the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

; the period of Polish history following the failure of the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

of 1863–1864; the study of the

labor movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

in Poland, including a study of the women's role in the Polish labor movement (both areas in which he was a pioneer); and contemporary history of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. Overall, his works are regarded as well researched and well written. * "Obrona Lwowa od 1 do 22 listopada 1918", Zamość 1919; * "Demokracja Kościuszkowska", Lwów 1920, Warszawa 1947; * "Bunt łódzki w roku 1892", Warszawa (?) 1932; * as ''Henryk Swoboda'' "Pierwsze piętnastolecie Polski niepodległej", (first serialized in 1933 in newspaper "Robotnik" (censored), first full version translated into German in 1933. Complete Polish editions in 1957 and 1983. * "W trzynastą rocznicę "Krwawej środy", Warszawa 1936; * "Ideologia spółdzielczości robotniczej" Warszawa 1937; * "Co to jest spółdzielczość. Istota - cel - zadania", Warszawa 1937; * "Idee i ludzie", Warszawa 1938; * "Powstanie państwa polskiego", Warszawa 1939; * "Stronnictwa polityczne Wielkiej Rewolucji Francuskiej", Warszawa 1958; * "Studia z dziejów polskiego ruchu robotniczego" (editor K. Dunin-Wąsowicz), Warszawa 1958; * "Studia i szkice" (editor K.Dunin-Wąsowicz), Warszawa 1962; * "Francja i Polskaw latach 1789-1794" (editor K.Dunin-Wąsowicz), Warszawa 1964; * "Wybór publicystyki" (editors M.M.Drozdowski, K.Dunin-Wąsowicz, Z.Marciniak, J.Żarnowski), Warszawa 1971;

Life

Tributes

Works

See also

References

Further reading