On 13 January of that year, the 120th anniversary of the birth of Jan Stachniuk "Stoignev" – 1 of the most first Polish thinkers, historians and cultural theorists, the founder of a political environment centered around the monthly magazine "Zatruga", published from 1937 to 1939.
Unfortunately, Jan Stachniuk's rich writing work remains unknown to the wider circles of Poles. Stachniuk's concepts broke patterns and stereotypes, as well as transcending conventional political and ideological divisions, so they were criticized by both the right and the left. For conservative and Catholic circles, Stachniuk was a “ungodless” and “communist” and for leftist and liberal groups he was a “nationalist” and “fascist”. fewer have analysed the over-political and universal in essence the message contained in the concept of culturalism created by him.
Industrialisation alternatively of the fresh mediate Ages
Jan Stachniuk's life was full of paradoxes, hard choices and tragic events. Coming from the provincial Kowla to survey at the Poznań School of Economics, young Stachniuk experienced a kind of civilizational shock, noticing bright social and economical disparities and differences in the level of improvement between Poland ‘A’ and Poland ‘B’. This had a major impact on his later views, expressed in fascination with industrialisation, technological advancement and economical development. In the 1930s, he saw these trends in dynamic economical changes in the USSR, hence his support for the planned economy and collective forms of ownership, which was met with accusations of communism. These concepts were expressed in his books Collectiveism and Nation and The Heroic Community of the Nation. Jan Stachniuk believed that only the fast industrialization of Poland would enable her to last in the neighbourhood of dynamically developing Germany and the USSR, and although there were neither real possibilities nor political will – these arguments proved prophetic in September 1939. Stachniuk criticised the economical demands of parts of the national camp (especially the "young" SN and ONR-ABC) which aimed to return to conventional forms of management (corporate-state) and deconcentration of ownership. Concepts, specified as those proposed by Adam Doboszynski in his work National economy, considered to be retroactive and harmful to Poland. In the context of the fast industrialisation of European countries, the proposals to "return to the mediate Ages" were simply absurd.
Philosophical Criticism of Catholicism
In 1937, Jan Stachniuk, along with a group of political friends, founded the monthly magazine “Zapruga”. The letter's name referred to the Christian Slavic household community, which is crucial given Stachniuk's repeated appeal to ‘Slavic myth’ and Slavic symbolism. Monthly wore a subtitle "Polish nationalists' letter", and at the same time he powerfully cut himself off from Catholicism, symbolically referring to pagan inspiration. Unlike the mainstream national camp in interwar Poland, proclaiming the thought of creating the “Catholic State of the Polish Nation”, Stachniuk understood the essence of nationalism completely differently. Although after the May bombing, the national camp from individual positions religiously evolved towards Catholicism, a clear signal of which was published in 1927 Roman DmowskiChurch, nation and stateStachniuk thought "Catholicism is the mortal enemy of nationalism", and the function of the Catholic Church in the past of Poland was considered harmful, as he attempted to show in the book No past – explanation of interior improvement of Poland. According to Stachniuk, Poland's political, economical and cultural regression, resulting in a later failure of independence, was mostly due to the Catholic worldview rooted in society, imposing inactivity and anti-Community attitudes. Critically judging the past of Poland, Stachniuk called them ‘slight’. Thesis contained in this work and another publications by Stachniuk later became the origin of attacks of Catholic communities concentrated in the organization of the Polish Revival Front, in which they operated, among others, Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, Witold Bieńkowski, Fr. Jan Ziea and young Władysław Bartoszewski. Kossak-Szczucka wrote a slanderous article during the war attacking Stachniuk and his supporters entitled Under the dictatorship of BerlinIn which she accused Stachniuk that his book No History is plagiarism Myth of the 20th CenturyAlfred Rosenberg and that it is distributed with the consent of the German authorities due to its anti-Catholicism. Interestingly, the article Under the dictatorship of Berlin was utilized as evidence in Stachniuk's conviction after the war behind the alleged ‘fascination of Poland’. It is worth noting that even before the war the monthly magazine “Zapuga” was the subject of intense attacks and even repression. Among another things, against the editor of the magazine Louis of Guest an indictment was directed for the alleged blasphemy he was about to commit in the article Export outlook of January 1939. The study was submitted by Catholic youth organizations. In April 1939, the Komisarical Board of the City of Warsaw ordered the withdrawal from the sale of the monthly magazine “Zapruga”, in connection with the article Józefa GrzankaEnemies of Slavia. It should be stressed, however, that the criticism of Catholicism by Stachniuk and “Zuchruga” was not derived from the shallow anti-cleric motives characteristic of left-wing environments, but was ideological and world-view. With all their originality, Stachniuk's concepts referred to thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche, Georges Sorel, Max Weber is Stanisław Brzozowski. In the political aspect, Stachniuk referred to the classics of Polish nationalism – Jan Ludwik Popławski, Zygmunt Balicki and Roman Dmowski.
Criticism of Fascism
During planet War II, Jan Stachniuk became active with the political and military environment centered around the organization of the National Zriw and the Independent Poland Personnel. In a nutshell, the National Retirement organization Programme provided for a planned economy, classless society and cultural revolution. Although Zriw's environment was opposed to the Warsaw Uprising, Stachniuk and Warsaw's squad took part. After the uprising, Stachniuk escaped from the POW camp and hid to be liberated in Częstochowa. It is worth noting that UK-based teaming (Antoni Wacik, Tadeusz Then and Wilhelm Kwaterniak) issued the monthly magazine “Goreja Wici”. During the war, Stachniuk published a paper The Question of totalizmIn which he was definitely cut off from movements now referred to as totalitarian. In this work he wrote: "If the civilized humanity knew what fascism and totalizm was 10 years ago and what it would lead to, it would undoubtedly be able to master the coming flood, laying impenetrable dams on its way. Unfortunately. What was then to be done with a tiny amount of force, present must be paid with immeasurable blood sacrifices and feeding the mole of war, devouring the fruits of the efforts of generations .... Through hardship and torment, man strives to fulfill his universalistic tasks. The growth of the causative power, as 1 of the elements of this task, forced him first to err after the terrible errors of totalizm. Following the deceptive fire of the temptation of power or the temptation of marazmus, he did so under the force of inconceivable impulses. Looking back, we realize that these errors are based on excessive force. A affirmative force origin led to negative results only due to the fact that it was misused. So present we can look at the Second planet War from a more general perspective, not only seeing the horrifying crimes and horrors, but besides the highly costly experience that should lead in its far-reaching consequences to upbuilding conclusions. These conclusions are simple: they are based on the uncovering that the increase in causative power could be utilized differently; the trails of totalizm are the top temptation due to the fact that they are the easiest, but 1 can besides think about another course of evolution. More even – this another way of utilizing power gain is the right way, according to the nature of things” [1].
Philosophy of Creation
After the war ended, Jan Stachniuk was optimistic about the overall imagination of socio-economic change and improvement of the country. In 1945, the National Zriw organization submitted to the National Council and its leaders Feliks Widy-Wirski and Zygmunt Felczak They took prominent positions in the power apparatus. Stachniuk, however, was not curious in active participation in politics – he decided to devote his writing work. It was after the war that his top works were created – Humanity and Culture and Christianity and Humanity. At the time, he arranged his philosophical concept called culturalism. The basic thesis of culturalism explanation is the presumption that the planet is simply a will that pursues always more complex and higher forms. Throughout history, there is simply a constant process of evolution. All advancement is made not by the interference of supernatural forces, but by the mysterious component of human nature, or creative will. Of all the creatures on earth, only man has the ability to make the culture and perfect the reality in which he lives. The will of creation means an interior imperative through which man strives to scope a higher level of humanity – to become more than he is at present. The surviving conditions of animals do not change over centuries (beyond purely biological evolution) – only man is able to transform the reality in which he lives through the processes of creating culture. The essence of humanity is thus a creative will, through which man can subdue the forces of nature and change material, social, and cultural realities. According to Stachniuk, humanity is the processing of the world, the improvement of it, and the resignation of this task is the resignation of the very essence of humanity. Human life only makes sense erstwhile it is creative and full integrated into cultural processes.
Collective will of power
The essence of the concept of Jan Stachniuk is the eternal conflict of culture against its opposing processes, called ‘infrastructure’. Throughout history, we have faced a constant confrontation of creative attitudes with anti-cultural attitudes. Resigning participation in the creation of culture means alleged bivogetation, that is, sterile and non-reflective duration for the very duration. Biowegetting means reducing the life of an individual to repetitive biological activities and processes. It is an attitude that denies creative, active and heroic life.
For Stachniuk, the fight against culture is simply a fight of good with evil, power with weakness, wellness with illness. In this concept, culture is the highest value, and broadly understood creation is an essential component of human mission. This is reflected in Stachniuk's words: "The good is all that the individual positively binds to culture and its power increases, and the evil is all that the individual pulls from culture" [2]. There is simply a similarity to Friedrich Nietzsche’s doctrine in the work An Anti - Christian: ‘What's good? Everything that increases the sense of power, the will of power, the power itself. What's wrong? Everything that comes from weakness” [3] It can so be considered that the process of creating culture is in fact the personification of the Nietzschean will of power.
Destroyed by Passivity
Together with factions within the PZPR and the elimination of supporters Władysław Gomulka, who was accused of right-nationalistic deviation, besides weakened the position of Protector Stachniuk – Felix Widy-Wirski. Earlier, another prominent political friend of Stachniuk – Zygmunt Felczak died. In an atmosphere of expanding political panic caused by a safety camera personally supervised by James Berman – Jan Stachniuk was arrested in 1949 and charged with "Poland's fascism" before 1939. It was absurd that Stachniuk never praised fascism or Nazism, and that he was affirmative about socio-economic changes after 1945. As a result, Jan Stachniuk was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and went to a dense prison in Barczew. Although the detention was lifted in 1955, as a consequence of traumatic experiences from the investigation and stay in Stachniuk Penitentiary, he never recovered. He was a individual not only incapable to work creatively, but besides capable of surviving independently. He died in a healing facility in Joy on 14 August 1963 at the age of only 58.
Michał Radzikowski
[1] Jan Stachniuk, The Question of totalizm, “Toporzeł” Publishing Company, Wrocław 1990.
[2] Jan Stachniuk, Humanity and Culture, Wydawnictwo „Toporał, Wrocław 1996.
[3] Friedrich Nietzsche, An Anti - Christian"NOMOS" Publishing House, Kraków 1996.
