Michał Kruszka or Michael Kruszka (September 28, 1860December 2, 1918) was a

Polish American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

, politician, and journalist. He served four years in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

and two years in the State Assembly, representing

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

's south side and southern

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

. He was the first Polish American member of the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

Biography

Michał Kruszka was born in 1860 in Słabomierz, in what is now northwest

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 ...

. At the time it was within the

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (; ) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920, occupying most of the historical Greater Poland. The province was established following the Greater Poland Uprising (1848), Poznań Uprisi ...

in the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. He was educated at the colleges of Filehne and

Wągrowiec Wągrowiec () is a town in west-central Poland, from both Poznań and Bydgoszcz. Since the 18th century it has been the seat of a powiat. Administratively it is attached to the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The town is situated in the middle of th ...

. Arrested by the Kaiser's police for pro-Polish agitation and protests against

Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, German people, people, and German culture, culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nati ...

in his native

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 ...

at a very early age, Kruszka left Prussia following his release. He arrived in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1880. After arriving in the US, Kruszka learned to speak English and received a business school education at

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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, as an insurance salesman. But his real passions were politics and journalism and he began attempts to publish a Polish-language newspaper in 1885. After some setbacks, in June 1888, Kruszka founded a successful Polish-language daily called '' Kuryer Polski''. It would be the first successful Polish-language daily in America. Kruszka entered the realm of politics, eventually winning a seat in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

in 1890 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. Two years later he became the first Polish state senator in the

having been elected to the

. In his editorial line, Kruszka demanded respect for

s by promoting their representation and fair treatment in the churches, politics, fraternal organizations and other facets of society. Devoutly Catholic and nationalistic, Kruszka also took a strong stand on the

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

issues of the day. Criticized by some for his strong views, he replied: "When I sound a delicate piano string, I use a soft little mallet. But when I have to straighten a crooked rail, I use fire and a sledgehammer." On June 27, 1908, the ''Kuryer Polski'' celebrated its 20th anniversary by printing the largest newspaper edition ever made in Milwaukee. It featured 66 pages and a greeting (in Polish and English) thanking their readership of 70,000 Polish people in Milwaukee and 4 million Polish people in America. In 1909, Kruszka expanded his newspaper empire by purchasing ''Dziennik Narodowy'' (National Daily News) in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Kruszka used this forum to campaign for the appointment of a Polish bishop in the American Catholic Church as well as to call for reforms in the Milwaukee archdiocese. There had been considerable strife between the local Polish parishes and the Archdiocese, which was run by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Irish

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. Kruszka continued his passionate agitation for Polish representation in the church hierarchy, which caused considerable conflict with the Milwaukee diocese and criticism from

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Sebastian Gebhard Messmer Sebastian Gebhard Messmer (August 29, 1847 – August 4, 1930) was a Swiss-born American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1903 to 1930. He previously served as Bishop of Green Bay (1892–1903). Messmer is largely rem ...

. The Archbishop of Milwaukee supported the launch of a second Polish language newspaper, ''Nowiny Polskie'', to counter the influence of the ''Kuryer''. Finally on February 12, 1912, the Milwaukee archdiocese took the unprecedented step of declaring that anyone reading the ''Kuryer'' or the ''Dziennik Narodowy'' would be denied sacramental absolution for their

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

s. "Should any such Catholic dare to go to confession and communion without confessing or telling to the priest that they still read or subscribe to the papers mention, let them understand that…they commit horrible sacrilege". It became a

to read Kruszka's newspapers. As a result, Kruszka filed suit in the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

against the archdiocese, but lost. Both sides as well as other parties filed several lawsuits and countersuits against one another for

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

and

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

. Those religious politics resulted in a schism in the church and consequently three

Polish National Catholic Church The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC; , PNKK) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish Americans that is part of the Union of Scranton. The PNCC is not in communion the Roman Catholic Church. S ...

es were built in Milwaukee and their attendance grew. In November 1913, Michael Kruszka's passionate crusading led to Father Edward Kozlowski being appointed as the first Polish Bishop for

. A jubilant crowd 50,000 gathered at St. Stanislaus church to catch a glimpse of the new bishop and to celebrate the validation of Poles within the leadership of the church. Kruszka strongly supported the case for a free and independent

, and during the

First World War 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 published a weekly column called "Poland's Cause" in ''Kuryer'', agitating for support of the Polish cause. It was partially due to such agitation that some Polish-Americans enlisted in the newly formed Polish army, with the most famous of such units being the Kościuszko Squadron. Kruszka died on December 2, 1918, after suffering a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

mayor

Daniel Hoan Daniel Webster Hoan Jr. (March 12, 1881 – June 11, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 32nd Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1940. A lawyer who had served as Milwaukee City Attorney from 1910 to 1916, Hoan was a p ...

ordered flags to be flown at half staff until his funeral on December 5. More than 1000 people attended the memorial service which was eulogized by recently elected U.S. congressman John C. Kleczka, the first Polish American to be elected to that post thanks to the Kuryer's support. Without its firebrand editor, the Kuryer would remain out of major church controversies until its closing in 1962.

Family

*parents, Jan and Anna Kluczyńska Kruszka *half-brother, Wacław Kruszka, a priest, historian, and activist for Polish representation in the episcopate *wife, Jadwiga Linkiewicz (married in 1882) *brother, Jozef Kruszka, managing editor of the ''Kuryer Polski''

References

External links

Polish Churches of Milwaukee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruszka, Michael American male journalists German emigrants to the United States American politicians of Polish descent Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1860 births 1918 deaths History of Catholicism in the United States Politicians from Milwaukee Editors of Wisconsin newspapers 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature

Biography

Family

See also

References

Further reading

External links