Ladies and gentlemen, have you frequently heard of the destiny of Poles in Latvia? Have you heard of the Inflantas, the Polish Inflantas? possibly a small from school?
Maybe individual is studying now and was there anything mentioned at the university about the erstwhile lands of the Republic – about their inhabitants, culture, traditions and how did Polish culture behave and make in these conditions? Did you ask yourself how she could last for so many centuries? How did she formulate and develop? What has she become now? Who are the Poles in the Inflantas present respect and how their destiny has turned out for centuries and what their lives look like today.
I think that you have heard on TV, or on social networks, that relations between Poland and Latvia have always been perfect and friendly. Where the rights of national minorities, including Poland, are respected, and the national government supports the Polish culture in Latvia, which has existed here for centuries.
I'm gonna take off these beautiful pink propaganda glasses, due to the fact that unfortunately, the real reality is different. The full abolition of schools of national minorities in Latvia, including Poland, is ongoing. Local government authorities decided to close the Polish School of Primary School of Platers in Krasław. 44 students attended this school this year. Gunars Upenieks president of the Krasław Council, explained his decision to liquidate the Polish school with just “a deficiency of funds”. The fact is that Latvia is simply a very depopulated country, in peculiar the region of Latgalia, thanks to the "Veiksmes stasts" policy ("History of Success"). As a result, Krasław is simply a very depopulated city. Even Latvian schools have a problem with deficiency of students. Kraslavas Valsts gymnasium (State Secondary School in Krasław), Latvia's Ministry of Education cancelled this school's junior advanced position due to student shortages (with 109 students, alternatively – 120). Although there were adequate students for both schools for specified a deserted city. Therefore, the Polish school could inactive be if it were not for the politics of the authorities. But was the liquidation of Polish schools essential and justified? Or is there something else? We will effort to explain this by highlighting any events from the past of the Polish people in Latvia.
Some history.
The past of the Polish number in Latvia begins in 1562 when, under the Vilnius Pact, Infanta became part of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the 17th century many Polish-Swedish wars were fought. As a result, the northern part of Inflant Rzeczpospolita lost in 1621. After the Olive Peace in 1660, the Republic yet renounced these lands for Sweden. From this point on, the division into Infinity Polskie (today's Latgalia region) and Swedish begins. Catholic faith, on Swedish-Protestantism lands, prevailed in Poland. The nobles of Latgalia partially consisted of German families that had undergone polonization, (These include Romer, Plater, Manteuffle, etc..), and partially from the Polish nobility, which moved here from Poland, Lithuania and Belarus during the 17th to the 19th century (specify here: Benisławskie, Borchów, Karnicki, Soltanów, Szadurski or Zyberków).
After the 3rd Northern War in 1721, Sweden lost its territories in the Infants for Russia7, and in 1772 after the First Partition of Poland, Polish Infants were annexed to the Russian Empire.
It should be stressed that at the time there was never a Latvian State or a single Latvian nation. In these areas various separate tribes were inhabited, which constantly led wars (such as: Latgals, Kurons, Semigals, Selons and Livs). The European and Tsar countries of Russia have made a major contribution to the future of the Latvian State and Latvian culture. After the Polish-Swedish wars, the formation of both the Latvian people and the Latvian people began.
W Latgalii in 1912 45.8% of the area land was in Polish hands, the Russians included 22.9%, Germans 19.8% and Latvians 19.8% (mostly Latvians who in Latvia, then and now are not considered a separate nation and their culture is persecuted). The land ownership of Poles in the Dyneburg territory constituted 68.4% of the area of this kind of property, in Rzeżycki – 57.8% and Lucinsk territory – 39.3%.
After planet War I, the conflict between the Polish number and the recently established Latvian state was caused by suspicions of Polish “imperialism and possessivity”, although historically these lands belonged to Poles to the top extent. There was a border dispute with Poland about east Iluksztowsze, for this reason Latvians did not see their ally in Poland and his real intentions about this region. They were afraid with a very strong Polish component in individual regions of Latvia and deficiency of designation of the independency of Latvia by Poland at the time.
When Józef Piłsudski arrived on January 26, 1920, in Dyneburg, the Russians-old officials demanded that the city be annexed to Poland and opposed the surrender of the city to Latvia. However, their delegation was not accepted by the politician of State for political reasons. Similarly, the memorial addressed to Piłsudski was not accepted by Poles from Latgalia, who demanded that the state be ruled by Latvian, who was its native resident, and not from another region of Latvia and who did not realize the local population and possibly hostile to it.
Polish Army in Dyneburg
Today barely anyone knows, but Latvians in secret before Poland collaborated with Russia Radziecka and on 11 August 1920 Latvia signed a peace treaty with the Bolsheviks on favourable terms, ending the war between the 2 countries. Latvia received a certain amount of gold, was exempted from participating in Russian debt repayment and was granted a licence for Riga port to export timber from exploited forests in russian Russia. besides russian Russia was the first country to recognise the sovereignty and independency of the Latvian Republic.
During the Polish-Bolshevik War in 1920, after the start of the 4th July of another Bolshevik army attack against Poland on the Belarusian Front, Latvia, utilizing the retreat of Polish troops, took up disputed territories from Poland – east Iłuksztowsk and the Dyneburg citadel evacuated by Poles.
Despite Poland's request that Latvia enter the war against Bolshevik Russia on the Polish side, The Latvians abstained with military aid for the Republic. The reason for this was the improvement of relations in the Latvian-Lithuania-Rosa Radicka triangle. After the conclusion of the Lithuanian-Soviet Peace on 12 July, Lithuanian and russian troops occupied Vilnius on 14 July, which extended the Latvian-Lithuanian border.
Subsequently, after the Bolsheviks granted Latvian independence, de jure on January 26, 1921 recognized it as Ententy states – large Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Belgium. Poland recognized Latvia de jure on 27 January 1921. And on 22 September 1921, Latvia was accepted into the League of Nations. This was combined with Latvia's acceptance of the league rules for the protection of national minorities.
Latvia and Poles
After the first democratic elections of the typical body of the full nation in Latvia, which took place on 1 May 1920, agricultural improvement became the main social issue. Expropriation of land, ecclesiastical and another property, including livestock and dead, exceeding 50 ha in size. What should be noted is that in German and Polish families property could not exceed 50 ha, and Latvians could own land up to 100 ha.
Before the First planet War, only in Łatgalia 130 property with a full area of 350,000 hectares belonged to people of Polish origin.. In 1920, even before the agricultural reform, there were inactive about 270,000 hectares of arable land and 126,000 hectares of forests, half of which belonged to 10 families of earth, half to the owners of medium-sized farms, with an average area of 200 hectares. After the agricultural reform, the economical dominance of the Polish component in Inflanta was destroyed. In 1 Dyneburg territory alone, assets were separated Michael Reutt in Warków (14 166 ha), the Plater-Zyberków household (29 658 ha), the Broel-Plater household (8938 ha), Monika Storkko in Jerome, Karola Szachno in Józefów, Jerome Mohl in Wyszki, Maria Dymszy in Ruszany and others.
In Lucinian region u Maria Zabły As many as 49 300 ha were separated in Marienhaus. In Rzeżycki territory at Isabella Orłowska in Mala – 19,475 ha, etc. The expropriation of property of landowners in most cases entailed the elimination of ancestral centers, palaces of advanced historical and historical value, which were converted into offices, institutions, schools or fell into ruin. After agricultural improvement across Latvia, the average size of agricultural holdings reached 19.39 ha, while German farms reached 29.64 ha, Estonian 27.33 ha, Latvian 20.94 ha, Lithuanian 19.41 ha, while the average size of Polish farms was 16.93 ha, allowing them to be counted among weaker farms.
Poles in post-war Latvia were the fourth, and after the Germans left in 1939 – the 3rd largest national minority. They were indigenous peoples surviving in these areas for many generations. The authorities in Riga worked hard to weaken the Polish component in Łatgalia and Zemgalia, in which the Polish component was peculiarly strong. Census officials, utilizing the fear of losing farms or jobs, police panic and deficiency of literacy in any residents, as well as the sometimes uneducated sense of the national identity of the listed, recorded them as Belarusians or Latvians (often against the will of the enumerated themselves).
Those Poles who opposed counterfeiting were persecuted. This was besides seen in the censuses of 1920 and 1925, erstwhile the population of Belarusians was fictionally inflated at the expense of Poles. Latvian writer, playwright, writer and social democratic politician Janis Rainis and the state authorities have spread the explanation that Belarusians are actually Latvians who have been forced to undergo polonization and rusification in the past, and for this reason the Belarusian schools in the regions of the erstwhile "forced polonisation" and rusification should be supported. But then the authorities began arresting teachers and Belarusian activists and closing their schools. any specified children had to leave Belarusian schools and go to Russian and Polish schools. 1 typical of the Belarusian School Council explained this with the fear of uneducated peasants from fresh repression.
On February 11, 1925, a census was held in Latvia, where only Latvian national accountants were utilized in the territory of Iluksztaw. Latvians feared that the census would show more Poles in this region. Then Poland can usage this fact in defence of the Polish national number in this territory. There are quite a few documented testimonies from akin events. For example, in the Solonese municipality the wife of the local owner (Lotish) wrote a household as Belarusians against the will (written) based on the position of 1 associate of the household who received a passport with this nationality. In the case of another family, erstwhile asked about nationality, despite the statements of the curious people themselves that they were Poles, the accountant on the card recorded them as Belarusians due to the fact that specified had an entry in fresh passports. In Grzywa, the authoritative replied to Mr Marcinkiewicz's answer that he was a Pole, he powerfully jumped with the words: "You Wierzbicki and the priest taught to say that.”
In the Solonaj municipality in the Iłuksztaj district, Feliks Marcinkiewicz belonged to noble families, and whose household was enrolled in the books of the lake area nobles, in 1920 he received Latvian citizenship. In August 1924, however, a policeman (p. Praulinsz) took his passport and papers from him under the pretext of checking them, and, having stated his "criminal nobility state", deprived him of his citizenship. In the same territory of Iłuksztaj another family, just as Marcinkiewicz suffered from the city police. In 1923 police officer Praulinsz demanded that a Pole (Julian Kolodinski) He enrolled his grandson-orphan in Russian nationality. Grandpa refused to do so, so the police (in revenge?) ranked him as a foreigner. For this reason, all week Julian Kolodyński was called upon to pay the amount – 2 patches of 40 santyms (fees/penalty). The death rate of the child’s parents, his baptism rate in the Borough church, did not help. He was told to get a "national passport" for a insignificant boy. Police advised to save the kid as Belarusian. After this, Kolodyński received an avation from the police that he should pay 60 patches of punishment within 2 weeks for his "illegal stay in Latvia" grandson. erstwhile he didn't pay the fine on time, the police came to bid on the baby's property. Kolodynski explained that the insignificant “wine” has no property. As a result, the police left with nothing.25 There were plenty of specified situations aimed at Poles.
Member of the Latvian Parliament Jan Wierzbicki After his speech in the Sejm, he was arrested on suspicion of treason, for criticizing the behaviour of the local administration in Dyneburg for manipulating the number of people in the region, consisting of converting Belarusians to Latvians, and Poles to Belarusians, as well as the liquidation of Polish schools and associations.
After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Poles in Latgalia were subjected to repression due to class differences. Despite this, there were 4 Polish schools in Riga, and there were 17 schools in 3 Latgal districts! On the another hand, in Dyneburg region 8, in Lucinsk region 4, and in Rzeżycki region 5. After Latgalia was acquired by the Polish Army and transferred to the Latvian Government, the number of Polish schools began to decrease. The reason for the decline in the number of Polish schools was the persecution of Polish education in recently occupied areas by the Latvian authorities.
Analysing the only Polish letter in Latvia "Tygodnik Polski" (from 26 February to 22 October 1925 in Riga) can be found a mass of facts confirming violations of the Latvian Constitution directed against national minorities, committed by officials and another Latvian activists. The Rzeżycki Magistrat required primary school managers to download 20 lats (each school year) from the villagers for their children studying in urban schools. According to education law: "Sending children to primary school was compulsory and free". The School Council of the Polish primary school addressed the region Board of Land and Municipal Governments to reimburse the costs of learning for agrarian children. Unfortunately, they were denied the justification that the parents of the children were wealthy adequate to pay themselves, which was not actual and did not correspond to the constitution of the time.
Latvian chauvinism
Frequent chauvinist charges against Poles were made by Latvian newspapers, whose favourite subjects were: the Polishization of Latvia, the alleged betrayal of state committed by Poles, disloyalty towards Latvia and others. The Latgolas Words of April 8, 1925, of the Latgolas Prostate newspaper, wrote: ”[...] Poles inactive think that Latvia is part of Poland... these voices can be heard not only in common conversation, but besides in print [...]". In this article we find allegations of alleged disloyalty of Poles towards the Latvian State, of eternal polonization, and even of shamelessness and yet of betrayal towards authorities. As the paper “Tygodnik Polski” says, these accusations are already tasteless and old as the “Latgolas Words” itself, and that is no longer surprising. The fresh act of the accusation was an object in the grammatical field, its subject was Polish spelling, strictly – prepositions from Polish grammar.
The preposition “in” seemed to be utilized by Poles in relation to the powers of permanent, or even to the major provinces of Poland, specified as “in Russia”, “in Poland”, “in Germany”, “in Małopolska”, “in Wielkopolska”, “in Galicia”, “in Vilnius”, etc.. However, only and only, as the authors thought in relation to the Latvian State or Lithuania – Poles deliberately usage the preposition “on”. This was expected to be a symptom of alleged disloyalty, e.g. on the part of “Polish Weekly” in which the form was utilized – “in Latvia” and equally “in Lithuania”, alternatively of, as they would have liked, “in Latvia”, “in Lithuania”. [By the way. Doesn't that look acquainted to dear readers? After all, since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine on 24.02.2022 we are constantly bombarded by the proukrain new-word changing our Polish speech so that it tickles exuberant (although truly powerfully complexed) Ukrainian ego. These correct Polish sentences “war in Ukraine” or “go to Ukraine” are now changing to “in Ukraine” or “in Ukraine”. These examples point to a striking resemblance between the 2 chauvinist regimes: Latvian and Ukrainian. There is much to compose about, but possibly not in this article. In the meantime, ladies and gentlemen, let us return to the main theme.]
That was the first point of prosecution. The second point afraid the “indiscretion” of Poles, in relation to the authorities, due to the fact that they let Latvia to be called “Latva” alternatively than like in Latvian Latvia. As stated in the answer in “Polish Weekly”: “[...] It is of large interest why, having in their own regulation and not in the number of the only organ – do not force the French and English and another foreigners to call Latvia not “Lettonnie” or “Flying” and Easy? Why don't they make all the peoples usage only the Latvian language? [...]’
In the Scrudalina municipality, the Polish school was closed in the Iłluksztaj district. Parents were promised that they would not lose anything on it, due to the fact that at the general school in Łamuża there was an open Polish class where children had to have full chance to learn Polish. Not only did it be on paper, but there was besides a teacher assigned to the destiny of this class. In fact, there were no lessons of Polish language and Polish speech. Polish language lessons were held not more than erstwhile a month. erstwhile there was a lesson of religion, it was not there due to the fact that the teacher claimed that the lesson of religion was the same as the lesson of Polish. The teacher did not talk Polish to children, and the children's requests for a conversation in Polish met with a categorical refusal and mocking remark in Russian: "You are Belarusians and you cannot realize and talk Polish." The teacher justified herself by the fact that the inspector prohibited speaking Polish to those who had inscribed Belarusian nationality in the passport. She besides pointed out that children do not talk Polish properly.
In Krasław there was a situation that was ordered to throw distant almost before the end of the school year, 30 children from the Polish primary school and decision them to the Latvian school, where the Polish class was to be. The kids didn't want it, and they defended their right to school.
The school manager solidarityed with this and stated that they would not leave their school until the end of the school year. As a result, he was suspended from paying his salary, declaring that it was a punishment for not being expelled from school. As a result, the manager had to work and service without a salary. Fortunately, thanks to the Polish Educational Board, the school manager was reimbursed the pension due to him.
There were many Poles in the Solonaj municipality, but they did not have any Polish school. On 31 August 1923, a gathering of the territory school board in Grzywa (Dyneburg district) was held, where parents asked to establish a Polish school in Nej-Borni. They received an answer from the inspector with the name Bebrys that at the distance of 2 verst there is simply a school in Gros-Born, while schools so close cannot be located. However, in the presence of Jan Wierzbicki, the Polish class was promised to open in Gros-Boni. Even Mr. Karlovich's Polish teacher was sent. The beginning of the Polish class under various appearances, however, was interrupted by the head of Mrs Szwarc's school.
She claimed that the inspector and the ministry did not want this and that the real Poles were not there, only the Belarusians themselves. Thus came 1923 and 1924. On 5 December 1925 a fresh gathering of parents was convened, attended by the inspector. erstwhile the parents of Poles, on the basis of the minutes of the region school board gathering of 31 August 1923, asked for the beginning of the Polish class, the head of the school on Grzywa powerfully shouted: “Why in Polish? This is Latvia, remember you live in Latvia, learn Latvian. Polonium Latvia, huh? Pray in Latvian, God will know." He continued to say that all people in Latvia should learn all subjects in the state language, and that to spiritual needs, he said that 3 – 4 lessons a week would suffice. Yes, and she was as long as she was the manager of Mr. Szwartz, then they forced Mr. Irbe's manager. This Polish lessons reduced, replacing them with gymnastics. After the large Night, as it was written, Mr Irbe explained to the children that if they spoke Polish, they would be punished in front of the firm's door, which he besides did. Children had to stay silent due to the fact that they understood only a fewer words after Latvian.
In Krasław there was a Polish school in the Dyneburg area since the war (1915). It taught over 300 children. The Ministry of Education tried to shut this school down by all means. erstwhile a typical from the Ministry visited her, he wondered how so many students – Poles – came from the school. He read names and said that it was all Belarusians and Latvians, that in Krasław there could not be so many Poles. To what degree it was right, it turned out erstwhile many fresh schools were established in Krasław – Belarusian, 2 Latvian folk, Latvian agricultural and Latvian average.
As described in the Polish Week, if they were truly Belarusians and Latvians, they would go to their parent schools and not stay at the Polish school. The school could not attract to it a good place, due to the fact that from the beginning it was located in 2 houses inappropriate for the school as regards furniture – they were worse than in another schools. There was no closet or chairs in the teaching room. Even erstwhile the school sought out a suitable place for itself and made a contract with the owner, the place was taken by Latvian agricultural school. Parents themselves raised funds for school furniture, helped the Polish Department in Riga and rented a fresh premises. But in October 1924, a fresh inspector named Strod came from Dyneburg, who reviewed the list of students and had them expelled from the Polish school all children with names, in his opinion, of non-Polish children with orders to go to Latvian schools.
He included specified names as Kamiński, Jurkiewicz, Terlecki, Reutt and others. With the aid of the Polish Department in Riga, the Stroda Regulation was revoked. erstwhile specified repression measures against the school did not help, the Latvian authorities found another means of manipulation. Latvian schools received funds for hot breakfasts for children and for free books and notebooks. For mediocre parents at the cost of life, it was besides strong a temptation and after Christmas, any parents, though very few, began sending their children to Latvian schools where they were fed and given. The “Polish Weekly” asked questions: “ [...] The question is, why is it that, if all Latvian citizens are equal, and there is equal care for education for all, they do not share money so that the Polish school besides has funds for breakfast, books and notebooks?
I besides do not realize why children from the Polish school can be admitted to Latvian even in the second half of the year and without certificates, although this is forbidden? Why can't a kid with a non-Polish name be admitted to the Polish school, calling themselves a Pole, and accepting a Polish and Polish nationality into Latvia?
If all that is required of us is simply a law, then there cannot be 2 laws, 2 measures, 2 truths... [...]”.
In conclusion, I would like to add a joking anecdote from the paper “Tygodnik Polski” describing the real situation in Polish education in Latvia in the 1920s:
The combination.
– I don't understand. What precisely is simply a Belarusian school in Latvia?
– I think it is simply a Russian school, run by the Latvians, to which children must attend .... polish.39
As you now understand, these were not easy times for Poles in Latvia. Persecution, the fight against Poland was at all step of our countrymen's life. In this article, we have touched only a tiny part of the events of that time. There's inactive a lot to say, you can compose a full book about it. Propaganda, unfortunately, tries to describe everything in a way beneficial to itself, closing its eyes to the misfortunes experienced by the people of that time. Our task, however, as critical thinkers, is to draw attention to problems that have occurred but have been ignored and hidden by political authorities. Let us now note the current problems of today.
Current situation of Poles in Latvia in our time
Have you not noticed that past is cyclical and repeats itself often? After Latvia regained its independency in 1991, the Latvian constitution guaranteed national minorities the protection, improvement and preservation of their own culture, language and religion. All this has become a utopia again, and reality has shown that these are beautiful words that appear only on paper.
The Polish community and Polish schools are under full control and authority of Latvians, who are not carriers of Polish culture, and even many of them do not know Polish at all. And even more so, they are not curious in the fair improvement of Polishness in the country, but alternatively its full and full assimilation, including the Latvianization of all Poles in Latvia. In order to discourage Poland in its entirety from defending its people in the North from repression, the Latvian authorities say that “these are not real Poles, but Russians and Latvians”. Today, the ratio of the Latvian State to Russians surviving in Latvia is the same as to Poles in pre-war times. What is even more interesting is that under the meaning of “Russian” there is not only a Russian nationality, but all who are according to their reasoning “unloyal” (they are critical of the Latvian authorities). Russian = occupier. And under the word “Russian” there are all another nationalities – Poles, Germany, Belarus, Swedes, etc. On the basis of all the above mentioned facts, the Latvian state authorities present can be reasonably assessed as aggressive towards another national minorities. The liquidation of the Polish school in Krasław and the full deficiency of reaction of Warsaw and the Polish Embassy in Riga is an authoritative indicator of the real attitude of the Latvian authorities towards Poles in Latvia and a clear sign of the impotence of the Polish Republic. The situation described below can be a large example of this.
In 1993, Polish Experimental Primary School in Riga was established, in which all classes were conducted in Polish at the beginning. Polish national cultural events, as well as various initiatives and projects specified as Scouting, festivals and various cultural competitions were besides very successful. All subjects of teaching were conducted by Polish teachers (except only Latvian), which positively influenced the improvement of children in the Polish environment. Unfortunately, specified a situation did not last long, and in the late 1990 ’ s the question of school closure arose.
The main reasons for closing the school were alternatively vague, specified as: the premises were besides small, or the number of children besides small, etc. But any opinions were that the closure was related to the alleged “optimizacija” (Optimization – erstwhile 1 school is closed and children are transferred to another school) and there were “political forces led by the state” that had a large interest in the closure of this Polish school. The school director, Mr. Bundziński, fought to preserve the school, but unsuccessfully, and in the early 2000s, the Polish Experimental Primary School was liquidated and the school building was immediately occupied by the Latvian educational establishment. Today, we cannot say for certain precisely what happened then, due to the fact that it has not been documented (where on the net we will not find information about the actual destiny of this school) and getting to the fact requires a real investigation. But 1 thing is certain: this school has been abolished, and present the Latvian kindergarten is in its place.
Already today, in Polish advanced schools, all lessons are held in Latvian and the main intent of education in Polish school has become the integration of Polish children into the Latvian environment, by reconciling the specificity of Polish culture with the values of Latvian interests (culture, language, traditions) and the imagination of the future of the Latvian State.
The irony is this, but in the 1920s there was greater freedom of the press than in Latvia. Despite access to the net and an endless stream of information, we are incapable to break through the barrier of modern censorship built by the “party line”. As Poles-Kresoviacs (we inactive call ourselves "Infinant" people), we know quite a few specified events and another persecutions of Polish culture and Polishness in Latvia, due to the fact that these sufferings (both past and present) concern us directly. This besides applies to another national minorities (Russians in particular).
The Latvian government, which present consists of extremist nationalists, erstwhile communists (we call them "painted", each of them trying to criticize the times of the USSR as much as possible and to show their "prolotency". Although they had influence on the power in russian Latvia and under their regulation the Soviets closed Polish schools in the country) and Latvians from the West – whose ancestors served in SS legions. They have the top influence on Latvia (not counting, of course, the Atlantic centres of power). They are now carefully destroying the education and culture of national minorities. They're putting everyone who can defy the repression device in prison. Where the EU closes its eyes.
Today we Poles in Latvia are a bilingual community, with mixed families (Polish-Russian, Polish-Latvian, Polish-Latgian, Polish-Lithuanian, etc.), for us it is average and close to heart to talk many languages. We can easy control from our dialectical Polish to literary Polish, Latvian, Russian, English and another languages.
The hurricane of historical events over the centuries – wars, rusification, latinisation, repression had a large impact on us. Many Polish families talk Latvian or Russian at home today, but there are besides not many specified families who usage our speech present – inflanca (which is close to the speech of Poles in Vilnius) as well as utilizing Polish literary language.
And without looking at it, most Polish families with non-Polish parent tongue always try, as far as possible, to send their children to Polish schools. So that they can revive the Polish language in their families. It was so in my household – the parent of Polk of Vilnius, the father of the Russian, who tried very hard to make me go to Polish school and know my roots. But the liquidation of our educational institutions, full Latvianization, repression and control of our organizations, the non-intervention of Polish governments, discourages people from attending cultural life in Latvia.
We are grateful to the teachers who came from Poland. They worked hard, tried and developed Polish culture in Latvia with the best intentions, putting their hearts and souls in us.
Aleksander Sokołowski
Think Poland, Nos 31-32 and 33-34/2023
