Józef Kiedroń (23 March 1879 – 25 January 1932) was a

Polish 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 ...

mining engineer and politician.

Biography

Kiedroń was born to a peasant's family. Kiedroń graduated from a school in Cieszyn and then studied at the Lwów Polytechnic. In 1902 he graduated from a Coal Mining Academy in

Leoben Leoben () is a Styrian city in central Austria, located on the Mur River, Mur river. With a population in 2023 of about 25,140 it is a local industrial centre and hosts the University of Leoben, which specialises in mining. The Peace of Leoben, ...

. Kiedroń worked as a director of two

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

s in Dąbrowa and was active in

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

as well as in the Polish cultural and educational organizations. He had merit in establishment of Polish primary schools in the area, mining school in Doubrava and the

Juliusz Słowacki Polish Grammar School Juliusz Słowacki Polish Grammar School (, ) is a Polish grammar school (Gymnasium (school), gymnasium) in Český Těšín in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It is the only Polish secondary school in the country, serving the ...

in Orłowa. On 1 August 1905 he married

Zofia Kirkor-Kiedroniowa Zofia Kirkor-Kiedroniowa ( Grabska; 14 May 1872 – 15 June 1952) was a Polish national activist. Life and career Zofia Grabska was born to Feliks and Stanisława Grabski at the family possession in the village of Borów. Her brothers were Sta ...

, Polish activist and sister of noted politicians Stanisław and

Władysław Grabski Władysław Dominik Grabski (; 7 July 1874 – 1 March 1938) was a Polish National Democratic politician, economist and historian. He was the main author of the currency reform in the Second Polish Republic and served as Prime Minister of Pola ...

. Together with his wife he cooperated with ''Polskie Zjednoczenie Narodowe'' (Polish National Unity) political organization in Cieszyn Silesia of right-wing character. In 1918 Kiedroń prepared manifesto of the ''Rada Narodowa Księstwa Cieszyńskego'' (National Council of the Duchy of Cieszyn), a local Polish self-government council working to join

Cieszyn Silesia Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( ; or ; or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided betwe ...

to Poland. In 1920, Cieszyn Silesia was divided between

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 ...

and

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

by the decision of Spa Conference, in which Kiedroń was present as a Polish delegate. His hometown and the workplace fell to Czechoslovakia and Kiedroń left the

Trans-Olza Trans-Olza (, ; , ''Záolší''; ), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (), is a territory in the Czech Republic which was disputed between Poland and Czechoslovakia during the Interwar Period. Its name comes from the Olza River. The history of ...

area, as he was an active pro-Polish activist; and stayed in

, where worked in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

and

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 ...

. In 1923-1925 he was the Minister of Industry and Trade in the government of

. Kiedroń died on 25 January 1932 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and is buried at a Protestant cemetery in

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; ; ) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...

. He has been awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2 May 1923).

Biography

References

Further reading