The Red Basin, or the Horsenian Socialist Bastion

At the time of regaining independence, the territory of Chrzanowski was the leading industrial centre of Western Galicia. The economical improvement of the region was primarily based on the extraction of hard coal. The working population concentrated in large mines and factories was well organized and politically informed. It was in the territory of Szrzanów that “the workers were the strongest”, as Zygmunt Żuławski, the union leader and activist of the Polish Social Democratic organization wrote.

During the Austrian business supported by local industrialists, Galician autonomy authorities tried hard to defy the political aspirations of the left. This fight was not avoided from electoral counterfeiting.

The election to the Austrian Parliament in 1911 was peculiarly scandalous in the territory of Chrzanów. Although the majority of votes were received by Zygmunt Żuławski according to the various committees, the authorities announced that the parliamentary mandates had fallen to 2 of his counter-candidates, Ignacy Wróbl of PSL and Jan Zaranski. It was clear that the results had been intentionally calculated incorrectly to lose the choice of PPSD representative. And although the case went to the D.A.'s office, the investigation took so long that the full Austro-Hungarian monarchy had more time to collapse.

Anti-Semitic right in the workers' bastion

The November days of 1918 proved to be very stormy for the region of horseradish. Returning from the front of a group of demobilized soldiers took care of robbing the area. Szakow, Jaworzno, Trzebinia, Chrzanów and Krzeszowice suffered. In any places the local population joined the plunder, and judaic shops became the main mark of the attacks.

Anti-Semitic moods were regularly heated by right-wing environments. At a rally in Jaworzno, Father Joseph Sosin explained to the gathered that “We cannot execution Jews, but we must get free of them”. any of the society boldly appealed for remembrance, specified as Jan Ceremuga, headmaster of the school in Trzebina, who tried to halt gangs looting shops, apartments and judaic idols, crying dramatically: ‘For God's sake, it is simply a disgrace, at the time of the revival of Poland to throw pogroms!’.

Socialist activists were besides active in the suppression of anti-Semitic riots, with a large audience among local workers. Żuławski described in his memoirs the course of his intervention in the mining town of Siersza: “I began to embarrass them how they could do something akin and the situation changed. The same people who had just been bitterly burned and robbed themselves were now extinguishing the fire and inserting robbed judaic stuff.”

At the regional rallies, PPSD representatives repeatedly called on workers to “not let themselves to be provoked by scandals that can bury the substance of the proletariat.” They besides tried to temper the awakened nationalist sentiments, manifested e.g. in demands to remove all "obedients" from the army and from the offices.

According to socialists, Polish society should have seen its enemies not in the judaic minority, but alternatively in the endings and representatives of the clergy. Both of these environments were openly against the Warsaw People's Government Jędrzej Moraczewski co-created by PPSD and against its social reforms. The stigma of anti-government attitudes of political opponents was a constant component of any socialist rally. And the PPSD-dominated Labour Council of Zagłębie Chrzanowski adopted a peculiar resolution in November 1918, in which it communicated that it "warned National Democracy against the assassination of the People's Government and stated that it would not back distant from the harshest measures, specified as the general strike of miners and workers."

Under the Socialist banner

The Socialists argued that they would lead to “the liberation of the people working with the loops of capital, oppression and political bondage.” Their agitation in the working environments was so facilitated that they did not encounter crucial competition on the left side in the region. Even if the Communists were able to organize an assembly, PPSD representatives immediately came there to convince them of “the bankruptcy of Bolshevik methods.”

So the workers were engrossed with socialist banners and were frequently ready for material sacrifices for the party. The employees of the cement plant in Siersze and cement plant in Pieczysce announced, for example, at public gatherings that they would transfer the amount of their one-day earnings to the PPSD electoral fund.

Irrespective of the high-profile propaganda slogans, the workers thought primarily of surviving categories, and it was in the socialists that they saw a warrant of improved surviving conditions. There were demonstrations of support for the People's Government's programme to reduce regular working time to 8 hours. “The time has yet come erstwhile the individual can breathe fresh air” – wrote 1 of the workers from Trzebina – "Now the individual is much more willing to work and do the same work in 8 hours as he utilized to do in 10 due to the fact that he knows he will have time to remainder afterwards."

Limiting working time was only 1 component of the expected improvement package. At the Jeleń rally, on January 1, 1919, for example, employers were asked to pay benefits to workers "overworked and exhausted".

Lisperous Agitation of Priests

The first elections to the Legislative Sejm of independent Poland were appointed on 26 January 1919. The territory of Szrzanowski went to 1 constituency with Oświęcim and Białski districts. The PPSD list was opened by Zygmunt Żuławski, robbed years ago from the parliamentary mandate. The second place came to Francis Rejdych, a miner from the Luszowski Mountains, and Julian Smulikowski, a teacher from Lviv, Wacław Seidl, a doctor from Bystra and Józef Piotrowski, a farmer from Babic.

Their most dangerous competitor was, as quoted in the socialist letter “Forward”, a committee of “the united trinity of endeciations, hubs and clerics”. In the face of the strength of the local leftist right-wing and centre-right-wing party, they issued a common list, in which the leading places were Franciszek Maslanka from the PSL “Piast”, the addek Tadeusz Tabaczyński and the “warring cleric” priest Józef Sosin. The Committee argued that it was certain that 3 of the 5 parliamentary seats per territory could be obtained, and it hoped that the 4th 1 on the list of the people of Jan Kotask could be introduced to the Sejm.

"The people should join the elections under the motto “God and Homeland”, said Fr Felix Bytomski, president of the PSL rally in Chrzanów on December 12, 1918. 10 days later, during the Babicas rally, Jan Kotasek assured that "they want nothing to do with the social-bolshevik programme in the countryside" and "they request that the people of Poland, who consider themselves to be a separate nation, take the right to vote".

The Sands warned the villagers that the triumph of the left was a threat to their possessions. According to the organization magazine, “there can be no communication between socialists and peasants at all, for the simple reason that the eventual goal of socialism is to destruct small peasant property. The goal of socialists is to take the peasant of the land and make it either bankrupt or a state mercenary. In fact, the socialists are the mortal enemies of the peasant.”

This kind of propaganda encountered a strong comeback from PPSD. On December 17 at a rally in the village of Oleśna representing socialists, Roman Shuwara denounced “the slanderous agitation of priests who spread news among peasants that socialists wanted to take the land from peasants.”

During the election campaign, there was frequently a confrontation between representatives of the disputed groups. On 22 December at the right-wing convention in Jaworzno, the leader convinced the gathered that the workers' organizations were robbing miners due to the fact that the money collected from them was actually sent to Vienna. At 1 point, however, he saw that there was a group in the room, agitated by the accusations of socialists, headed by Francis Rejdych. As the press reported, the frightened leader “slowed out the electrical light abruptly and thus prevented the assembly from continuing.” The Krakow socialist magazine “The Law of the People” was taunting himself that “this is simply a typical example, as socialists tend to light and endecide to darkness!”

On January 6, in Krzeszowice, socialists protested so long during a assembly convened by local clerics that helpless speakers were forced to leave the room. A day later, they besides appeared at the “pistains” rally, where they did not let the voice of Francis Maslanka trying to speak.

Although PPSD argued that the interests of the population of cities and villages were converging, post-war poorness and shortage of basic products caused real conflicts between peasants and workers. In December 1918, 1 of the farmers in the region of Chrzanov wrote: “The biggest pain in villages is the deficiency of fuel. While we have quite a few mines, unfortunately coal in them will not buy those who do not bring food. We don't have large hosts, they're only tiny farmers, with a maximum of 3 morga of land. How, then, can we get food to replace coal? We realize that workers besides gotta eat in mines, but it is hard for us to die together with our children from cold due to the fact that we have no food.”

The propaganda war between the socialists and the clergy aroused tremendous emotions. And unless priests came to the condemning politics of the PPSD Church, supporters of this organization regularly attended Masses exchanged by clergymen on the right-wing electoral age. In many temples alternatively of praying together, there were loud protests of the faithful who were appalled by specified a form of political advertising. “Our party’s agitative work will be in advancement throughout the territory of Szrzanowski”, he wrote “Forwards” in January 1919. – “It drives our enemies crazy, especially priests who throw insults to the left and to the right! This slanderous run is led by the pulpit, which is highly agitated and bitter folk masses."

Some places have tried to resolve this conflict amicably. For example, after 1 of the services in the chapel in Sierze, the miners approached the priest and “they asked him not to talk to them any more about politics due to the fact that they already have their own judgement and are socialists, and in the church they just want to pray and hear the word of God.” Sometimes these appeals were effective. According to the People's Law, 1 of the priests from Nowa Góra close Krzeszowice agreed to halt politics in church walls after a strong protest by the faithful.

There was no another place without excesses. The indignant parishioners of the Płok close Trzebini wrote in "People's Law" that the local vicar "instead of sermons shakes and speaks out to socialists", and they themselves were challenged by him in the church from "torebs" and "shrink". The letter concluded with an angry warning: “We are better off stopping him or he will break his teeth.” In response, the enraged parish priest deluded the faithful from the “draps” and “devils” and threatened to shut them down. The patience of the parishioners was at any point exhausted. At 1 of the Masses, they chased the vicar out of the pulpit. The clergyman fled to the attic, where he was rapidly seized and a small subtle conversation was conducted with him. As a result, the so-far-politicized Vicars “improved”, as the People's Law later reported.

Socialists have miners in their possession

“January 26 determines the future of the people working in Poland!” shouted the first page of the magazine “Forward” on the day of the vote – “If you want the exploitation and oppression of capitalism to disappear, so that freedom and equality will prevail, bringing together the brotherhood of peoples, so that there will be no poverty, hunger and wars in your country – vote only for candidates of the social-democratic party!”

In the region of horseradish, the consequence was wide. More than 73 percent of the votes were on the PPSD list. This was the best socialist score in the full country. They did somewhat worse in the Bial and Oświęcim districts, where they obtained 41 and 36% of support, respectively, but it translated into 3 seats in this constituency. Żuławski, Rejdy and Smulikowski were elected to the Legislative Sejm.

“The red horseradish depths almost all stood by the socialist banner!” – The PPSD press was pleased after the election – "The hub-end block with difficulty and the force put the votes for the second mandate. Even the miners lost their proceeding about clericals. And the woman, despite slanders and fairy tales, besides stood by the miner-socialist!’

The Sejm was able to get the people's Maslanca and Tabaczyński Endek, but there was no place for Father Sosin, who wanted to get free of judaic citizens so energetically.

While the good results of PPSD in working environments were easy to predict, it was peculiarly hard for the “pistors” to admit that a large part of the agrarian population besides voted on the list of socialists. In another areas, the votes were taken by the competitive peasant list submitted by the left-wing PSL faction. However, in the territory of Szrzanowski, she received only 1% of support, and residents of the village elected PPSD candidates.

“Today Chrzanowski is the fortress of Żuławski!” wrote Ignacy Daszyński a fewer years later. In the subsequent elections, the socialists did not repeat the advanced consequence of 1919, but as long as the votes were democratically held, they remained the strongest political group in the district. Even the endeck “Warsaw Gazeta” was forced to admit that the socialists “have miners in Zagłębie Chrzanowski in their sole possession.”