Gabriel Narutowicz
Encyclopedia
Gabriel Narutowicz (ˈɡabrjɛl naruˈtɔvit͡ʂ; 1865–1922) was a Lithuania
n-born professor of hydroelectric engineering
at Switzerland
's Zurich Polytechnic, and Poland's Minister of Public Works
(1920–21), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1922), and the first president of the Second Polish Republic
.
noble family
in Telšiai
, then in Russian Empire
(former (partitioned)
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
, now in Lithuania). His father, Jan Narutowicz, was a local district judge and also a landlord in the Samogitia
n village of Brėvikiai. For taking part in the Polish patriotic January 1863 Uprising
against Imperial Russia, he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment; he died when Gabriel was only one year old.
Gabriel’s mother, Wiktoria Szczepkowska, was Jan's third wife. After her husband's death, she had to raise her sons herself. She was an educated woman, intrigued by the philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment
, and she had a great influence on the development of Gabriel and his siblings' world view. In 1873 she moved to Liepāja
, Latvia
, so that her children would not have to attend a Russian school, since after the Uprising of 1863, Russification
was less strongly enforced there.
Gabriel Narutowicz’s brother, Stanisław Narutowicz, became a Lithuania
n citizen. In the latter stages of World War I
, Stanisław became a member of the Council of Lithuania
, the provisional Lithuanian parliament. He signed the Lithuanian Act of Independence of 16 February 1918.
in Liepāja, Latvia. He began studying at the Institute for Mathematical Physics in St. Petersburg. Due to illness, however, he was forced to give up those studies. He spent most of his life in Switzerland
, where from 1887 to 1891 he studied at the Zurich Polytechnic.
During his studies he helped the Poles who were on the run from the Russian authorities. He was also connected with an emigration party called “Proletariat
”. Thus, he was banned from returning to Poland; what is more, the Russian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. In 1895 Gabriel Narutowicz became a Swiss citizen and, after completing his studies, he got his first job on the construction of the St. Gallen
railway.
He was an excellent construction engineer. In 1895 he became a chief of works on the River Rhine. Later he was hired by the Kurstein technical office. His works were exhibited at the International Exhibition in Paris (1896) and he became a famous pioneer of electrification in Switzerland. He directed the construction of many hydroelectric power plants in Western Europe (in places such as: Monthey
, Mühleberg
and Andelsbuch
).
In 1907 he became a professor at ETH Zurich
, in the water construction institute in Zurich. He was dean of that institute from 1913 to 1919. He was also a member of the Swiss Committee for Water Economy. In 1915 he was chosen chairman of the International Committee for regulation of the River Rhine.
During World War I he cooperated with the General Swiss Committee that helped victims of the war in Poland. He was also a member of La Pologne et la Guerre, located in Lausanne
. He strongly believed in ideas voiced by Józef Piłsudski. In September 1919, Narutowicz was invited by the Polish government to return to Poland, which he began helping rebuild.
and the first and the second government of Antoni Ponikowski
). After becoming the Minister of Public Works, Narutowicz immediately started to work on the rebuilding of his destroyed country. He used the experience he had acquired while working in Switzerland, where he had been a pioneer of electrification. He reorganized the reconstruction administration and reduced the number of people employed in that field by about four times over the course of two years (in order to increase its efficiency).
He travelled around the country to supervise and control the works. By 1921 almost 270,000 buildings had been rebuilt, over 300 bridges and most of the roads were mended and about 200 km of highways was built. He designed dams and supervised the building of the hydroelectric power plant in Porabka on the river Soła, in Beskid Mountains and worked on river control of the Vistula River.
He was perceived as a reasonable and broad-minded man. He was a member of the government in every subsequent cabinet (it was the period of constant government crises). In April 1922, Narutowicz was delegated (together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the time, Konstanty Skirmunt
) to participate in the Genoa Conference. Thanks to him the Polish delegation was successful. According to some, a lot of foreign diplomats had greater trust in Narutowicz (he was highly respected in the West) than in the government of a newly established country.
On 28 June 1922, he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Artur Śliwiński
’s government. He also held that post in the later government of Julian Ignacy Nowak
. In October 1922, he was a representative of Poland at a conference in Tallinn
.
In the Polish legislative election, 1922
, he supported the National Public Union (Pol: Unia Narodowo-Państwowa), connected with Józef Piłsudski. He was a candidate of the Public Union on Eastern Borderland (Pol: Państwowe Zjednoczenie na Kresach); however, he did not get a seat in the Parliament.
After having lost the elections, Gabriel Narutowicz continued to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Julian Nowak. He was surprised that in December he was chosen to be one of the candidates in the presidential elections. Even Józef Piłsudski dissuaded him from standing for election. At first he wanted to decline the proposal of the members of Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie" (Pol: Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe “Wyzwolenie - PSL “Wyzwolenie”) but eventually accepted it.
At that time (according to the March Constitution of Poland
- 1921) the president was chosen by the National Assembly
(Pol: Zgromadzenie Narodowe – Sejm and Senate). There was no winner after the first round of voting. In the next round the socialist candidate, Ignacy Daszyński
, was eliminated, but no one won either. The next ones to drop out were: the candidate of the united groupings of the national minorities, Jan Baudouin de Courtenay and Stanisław Wojciechowski (supported by some part of the Left). In the last round, which had to be decisive, there were two candidates left: count Maurycy Zamoyski (connected with the right-wing National Democracy movement) and Gabriel Narutowicz (supported by some left wing parties and national minorities).
Narutowicz won thanks to votes of the Left, national minorities (who were opposed to the National Democracy movement) and Polish People’s Party “Piast” (Pol: Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe “Piast” – PSL “Piast”), which (contrary to expectations) in the last round of voting supported Narutowicz, not the candidate of the right wing, Zamoyski. Eventually, Narutowicz got 289 votes and count Zamoyski – 227. Narutowicz was elected the first president of the Second Polish Republic.
Narutowicz's victory in the elections came as a surprise to the right wing. Following Narutowicz's election, Catholic and nationalist groups began an aggressive campaign against him. Among other things, they accused him of being an atheist and a Mason
. Some segments of the press called him “the Jewish president”. The right wing, supported by General Józef Haller, also criticized his relations with Józef Piłsudski and his support of Piłsudski's policies. Manifesting their opposition against the swearing-in of the president-elect, members of the National Democracy movement staged anti-government demonstrations in Warsaw
.
by blocking the streets and throwing mud at his motorcade. Narutowicz was uncomfortable with the widespread belief that he was the representative of the Left
. He only became the candidate of the Polish Peasant Party "Wyzwolenie" by happenstance; he had also not expected to win the election (in the first round Narutowicz gained just 62 of the votes; whereas, count Maurycy Zamoyski – 222).
During his first days after taking office, Gabriel Narutowicz met with the representatives of the Christian Democratic Party and Cardinal Aleksander Kakowski. Narutowicz realized that it would be impossible to form a majority government in the Parliament, so he made an attempt to create a government beyond the purview of parliament. As a gesture to the right wing
, he offered the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs to his recent opponent, Maurycy Zamoyski.
Only five days after taking office, on 16 December 1922, Narutowicz was assassinated while attending an art exhibition, in the National Gallery of Art “Zachęta”
. The assassin was a painter, Eligiusz Niewiadomski
, who had connections with the right wing National Democratic Party
. Narutowicz's murder was the culmination of an aggressive propaganda campaign vilifying him. His assassin was sentenced to death and his execution took place outside of the Warsaw Citadel
on 31 January. Part of the right wing camp perceived him as a hero.
The murder of the first president of the Second Polish Republic and the angry canvassing against him revealed impermanence of democratic mechanisms in Poland at that time. December 1922 revealed a huge level of intolerance and nationalist feeling in Polish society.
The murder of Narutowicz was the main theme of the 1977
Polish feature film Death of a President (Pol: Śmierć prezydenta), directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n-born professor of hydroelectric engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
at Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
's Zurich Polytechnic, and Poland's Minister of Public Works
Minister of Public Works
A minister of public works is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with public works matters.The position exists in many countries under several names:...
(1920–21), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1922), and the first president of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
.
Family
Gabriel Narutowicz was born into a Polish-LithuanianPolish-Lithuanian (adjective)
Polish-Lithuanian individuals and groups are those with histories in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This federation, formally established by the 1569 Union of Lublin between the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, created a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state founded on the...
noble family
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
in Telšiai
Telšiai
Telšiai , is a city in Lithuania with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on Lake Mastis.-Names:...
, then in Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(former (partitioned)
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, now in Lithuania). His father, Jan Narutowicz, was a local district judge and also a landlord in the Samogitia
Samogitia
Samogitia is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai/Šiaulē. The region has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect...
n village of Brėvikiai. For taking part in the Polish patriotic January 1863 Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
against Imperial Russia, he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment; he died when Gabriel was only one year old.
Gabriel’s mother, Wiktoria Szczepkowska, was Jan's third wife. After her husband's death, she had to raise her sons herself. She was an educated woman, intrigued by the philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
, and she had a great influence on the development of Gabriel and his siblings' world view. In 1873 she moved to Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, so that her children would not have to attend a Russian school, since after the Uprising of 1863, Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
was less strongly enforced there.
Gabriel Narutowicz’s brother, Stanisław Narutowicz, became a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n citizen. In the latter stages of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Stanisław became a member of the Council of Lithuania
Council of Lithuania
The Council of Lithuania , after July 11, 1918 The State Council of Lithuania , was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between September 18 and 23, 1917. The council was granted the executive authority of the Lithuanian people and was entrusted to establish an independent...
, the provisional Lithuanian parliament. He signed the Lithuanian Act of Independence of 16 February 1918.
1865–1920
Gabriel finished gymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Liepāja, Latvia. He began studying at the Institute for Mathematical Physics in St. Petersburg. Due to illness, however, he was forced to give up those studies. He spent most of his life in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where from 1887 to 1891 he studied at the Zurich Polytechnic.
During his studies he helped the Poles who were on the run from the Russian authorities. He was also connected with an emigration party called “Proletariat
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
”. Thus, he was banned from returning to Poland; what is more, the Russian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. In 1895 Gabriel Narutowicz became a Swiss citizen and, after completing his studies, he got his first job on the construction of the St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
railway.
He was an excellent construction engineer. In 1895 he became a chief of works on the River Rhine. Later he was hired by the Kurstein technical office. His works were exhibited at the International Exhibition in Paris (1896) and he became a famous pioneer of electrification in Switzerland. He directed the construction of many hydroelectric power plants in Western Europe (in places such as: Monthey
Monthey
Monthey is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.- History :The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mentioned in 1215 as Montez At the 13th century, the counts of Savoy owned the...
, Mühleberg
Mühleberg
Mühleberg is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Mühleberg has an area of . Of this area, 53.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 32.9% is forested...
and Andelsbuch
Andelsbuch
Andelsbuch is a municipality in the district of Bregenz in Vorarlberg in Austria.-External links:...
).
In 1907 he became a professor at ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
, in the water construction institute in Zurich. He was dean of that institute from 1913 to 1919. He was also a member of the Swiss Committee for Water Economy. In 1915 he was chosen chairman of the International Committee for regulation of the River Rhine.
During World War I he cooperated with the General Swiss Committee that helped victims of the war in Poland. He was also a member of La Pologne et la Guerre, located in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
. He strongly believed in ideas voiced by Józef Piłsudski. In September 1919, Narutowicz was invited by the Polish government to return to Poland, which he began helping rebuild.
1920–22
After coming back to Poland, on 23 June 1920 Narutowicz became the Minister of Public Works in Władysław Grabski’s government. He held that post until 26 June 1922 (in four different subsequent cabinets: of Władysław Grabski, Wincenty WitosWincenty Witos
Wincenty Witos was a prominent member of the Polish People's Party from 1895, and leader of its "Piast" faction from 1913. He was a member of parliament in the Galician Sejm from 1908–1914, and an envoy to Reichsrat in Vienna from 1911 to 1918...
and the first and the second government of Antoni Ponikowski
Antoni Ponikowski
Antoni Ponikowski was a Polish academician and politician who served as prime minister in 1918 and from 1921 to 1922....
). After becoming the Minister of Public Works, Narutowicz immediately started to work on the rebuilding of his destroyed country. He used the experience he had acquired while working in Switzerland, where he had been a pioneer of electrification. He reorganized the reconstruction administration and reduced the number of people employed in that field by about four times over the course of two years (in order to increase its efficiency).
He travelled around the country to supervise and control the works. By 1921 almost 270,000 buildings had been rebuilt, over 300 bridges and most of the roads were mended and about 200 km of highways was built. He designed dams and supervised the building of the hydroelectric power plant in Porabka on the river Soła, in Beskid Mountains and worked on river control of the Vistula River.
He was perceived as a reasonable and broad-minded man. He was a member of the government in every subsequent cabinet (it was the period of constant government crises). In April 1922, Narutowicz was delegated (together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the time, Konstanty Skirmunt
Konstanty Skirmunt
Konstanty Skirmunt was a Polish politician. Prior to 1914 he was elected to the State Council of Imperial Russia. He was a member of the Polish National Committee in Paris in 1917–1918, Polish ambassador in Rome in 1919–1921, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1921–22, and Polish ambassador in...
) to participate in the Genoa Conference. Thanks to him the Polish delegation was successful. According to some, a lot of foreign diplomats had greater trust in Narutowicz (he was highly respected in the West) than in the government of a newly established country.
On 28 June 1922, he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Artur Śliwiński
Artur Sliwinski
Artur Śliwiński was the Prime Minister of Poland from 28 June – 7 July 1922. In 1915 he had presided over the National Central Committee, which sought Polish independence from Russia....
’s government. He also held that post in the later government of Julian Ignacy Nowak
Julian Nowak
Julian Ignacy Nowak was a Polish microbiologist and politician who served as prime minister in 1922.Nowak studied medicine at the Jagiellonian University in 1886–1893, and was a professor there since 1899. In 1921–1922 he was a rector of the university. Being a conservative politician, he served...
. In October 1922, he was a representative of Poland at a conference in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
.
In the Polish legislative election, 1922
Polish legislative election, 1922
The Polish legislative election, 1922 lasted from 2 to 12 November and was the second election in the Second Polish Republic. The elections were won by Polish Right party, National Populist Association , however it did not obtain a majority - it got only 98 out of 444 seats...
, he supported the National Public Union (Pol: Unia Narodowo-Państwowa), connected with Józef Piłsudski. He was a candidate of the Public Union on Eastern Borderland (Pol: Państwowe Zjednoczenie na Kresach); however, he did not get a seat in the Parliament.
Elections
At that time (according to the March Constitution of Poland
March Constitution of Poland
The Second Polish Republic adopted the March Constitution on 17 March 1921, after ousting the occupation of the German/Prussian forces in the 1918 Greater Poland Uprising, and avoiding conquest by the Soviets in the 1920 Polish-Soviet War. The Constitution, based on the French one, was regarded as...
- 1921) the president was chosen by the National Assembly
National Assembly of Poland
The National Assembly is the name of both chambers of the Polish parliament, the Sejm and the Senate, when sitting in joint session...
(Pol: Zgromadzenie Narodowe – Sejm and Senate). There was no winner after the first round of voting. In the next round the socialist candidate, Ignacy Daszyński
Ignacy Daszynski
Ignacy Ewaryst Daszyński was a Polish politician, journalist and Prime Minister of the Polish government created in Lublin in 1918....
, was eliminated, but no one won either. The next ones to drop out were: the candidate of the united groupings of the national minorities, Jan Baudouin de Courtenay and Stanisław Wojciechowski (supported by some part of the Left). In the last round, which had to be decisive, there were two candidates left: count Maurycy Zamoyski (connected with the right-wing National Democracy movement) and Gabriel Narutowicz (supported by some left wing parties and national minorities).
Narutowicz won thanks to votes of the Left, national minorities (who were opposed to the National Democracy movement) and Polish People’s Party “Piast” (Pol: Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe “Piast” – PSL “Piast”), which (contrary to expectations) in the last round of voting supported Narutowicz, not the candidate of the right wing, Zamoyski. Eventually, Narutowicz got 289 votes and count Zamoyski – 227. Narutowicz was elected the first president of the Second Polish Republic.
Narutowicz's victory in the elections came as a surprise to the right wing. Following Narutowicz's election, Catholic and nationalist groups began an aggressive campaign against him. Among other things, they accused him of being an atheist and a Mason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. Some segments of the press called him “the Jewish president”. The right wing, supported by General Józef Haller, also criticized his relations with Józef Piłsudski and his support of Piłsudski's policies. Manifesting their opposition against the swearing-in of the president-elect, members of the National Democracy movement staged anti-government demonstrations in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
Presidency
Gabriel Narutowicz was president of the Polish Republic for only five days. He took the oath of office on 11 December 1922. Earlier on that day, opponents of his election tried to prevent the president-elect from getting to the SejmSejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
by blocking the streets and throwing mud at his motorcade. Narutowicz was uncomfortable with the widespread belief that he was the representative of the Left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
. He only became the candidate of the Polish Peasant Party "Wyzwolenie" by happenstance; he had also not expected to win the election (in the first round Narutowicz gained just 62 of the votes; whereas, count Maurycy Zamoyski – 222).
During his first days after taking office, Gabriel Narutowicz met with the representatives of the Christian Democratic Party and Cardinal Aleksander Kakowski. Narutowicz realized that it would be impossible to form a majority government in the Parliament, so he made an attempt to create a government beyond the purview of parliament. As a gesture to the right wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
, he offered the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs to his recent opponent, Maurycy Zamoyski.
Only five days after taking office, on 16 December 1922, Narutowicz was assassinated while attending an art exhibition, in the National Gallery of Art “Zachęta”
Zacheta
The Zachęta National Gallery of Art, short Zachęta, , is one of Poland's most notable institutions for contemporary art. Situated in the centre of Warsaw, the main aim of the gallery is to present and support primarily Polish contemporary art and artists...
. The assassin was a painter, Eligiusz Niewiadomski
Eligiusz Niewiadomski
Eligiusz Niewiadomski was a Polish modernist painter and art critic who belonged to the right-wing National Democratic Party till 1904 and later continued supporting it. In 1922 he assassinated Poland's first President, Gabriel Narutowicz.-Life:Niewiadomski was born into a family of gentry descent...
, who had connections with the right wing National Democratic Party
National Democratic Party
The National Democratic Party could refer to* Afar National Democratic Party* Kamerun National Democratic Party* National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party...
. Narutowicz's murder was the culmination of an aggressive propaganda campaign vilifying him. His assassin was sentenced to death and his execution took place outside of the Warsaw Citadel
Warsaw Citadel
Cytadela is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster imperial Russian control of the city. It served as a prison into the late 1930s.- History :The Citadel was built by personal...
on 31 January. Part of the right wing camp perceived him as a hero.
The murder of the first president of the Second Polish Republic and the angry canvassing against him revealed impermanence of democratic mechanisms in Poland at that time. December 1922 revealed a huge level of intolerance and nationalist feeling in Polish society.
The murder of Narutowicz was the main theme of the 1977
1977 in film
The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
Polish feature film Death of a President (Pol: Śmierć prezydenta), directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
See also
- List of Presidents of Poland
- documentary project Narutowicz.pl
Further reading
- Richard M. Watt, Bitter Glory: Poland and Its Fate, 1918 to 1939, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1979, ISBN 0-671-22625-8.