
People's Libraries Society ( pl, Towarzystwo Czytelni Ludowych, ''T.C.L.'') was an educational society established in 1880 for the Prussian partition of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
(active in the regions of
Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city ...
or the
Grand Duchy of Poznan,
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to t ...
,
West Prussia
The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...
,
Kashubia pl, Kaszuby
, native_name_lang = csb, de, csb
, settlement_type = Historical region
, anthem = Zemia Rodnô
, image_map = Kashubians in Poland.png
, image_flag ...
and
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spli ...
). Its main goal was to promote education 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 ...
among the people, especially the lower classes, and to revert the
Germanisation
Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...
practices of the Prussian authorities. The society established a network of libraries, reading rooms and organized speeches. It was active till the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in 1939.
Famous members
*
Władysław Niegolewski (1819–1885) was a Polish liberal politician and member of parliament, insurgent in
Greater Poland Uprising (1846),
Greater Poland Uprising (1848) and
January Uprising
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
(1863), cofounder of the
Central Economic Society (CTG) in 1861 and People's Libraries Society (TCL) in 1880.
Polish regional societies
Polish educational societies
1880s establishments in Poland
Prussian Partition
{{Poland-hist-stub