Józef Kożdoń
Encyclopedia
Józef Kożdoń (September 8, 1873 in Leszna Górna
in Cieszyn County
- December 7, 1949 in Opava
) was Silesian autonomist politician.
(1893–1898) and Skoczów
(1898–1918), active member of Country Teachers Union in Austrian Silesia, founder of Polish public reading-room in Strumień and co-founder of German Reader's Association (Ger. Leseverein) in Skoczów, founder (since summer 1908) and leader of Silesian People's Party
(1909–1938), co-founder and general secretary of Union of Silesians (1910–1938) in East Silesia
, spokesman of autonomy or independence of Silesia and spokesman of Silesian nation, founder of Committee for the Maintenance of Clearness of the Silesian dialect in 1910, the deputy of Silesian Parliament in Opava
in the period 1909-1918, member of the town council in Skoczów
since 1911, editor of most popular Silesian newspaper in East Silesia "Ślązak" (Silesian) and magazine "Śląski Kalendarz Ludowy" (Silesian People's Calendar), member of the Austrian Committee to Support for Soldiers' Families in the period 1914-1918, since October to December 1918 political prisoner
in Polish prison in Kraków
. Kożdoń was also a member of the Czechoslovak delegation at the Paris Peace Conference
in 1919, member of Administration Commission for Country Silesia in Opava
in the period 1919-1927, four-time mayor of Český Těšín
in the period 1923-1938, author of many political articles, letters, petitions and brochures, for example author of petition "representation of Silesian nationality" to Sir Walter Runciman
in the question of plebiscite in the Cieszyn Silesia
in 1938. He was also founder (1925) and president (in the period 1940-1944) of Silesian People's Bank.
and demanded insertion of Polish language to German grammar and gymnasial schools in Cieszyn
. His politics supported German-language Silesian culture, Slavic Silesian folk culture and local Slavic Silesian dialects. Kożdoń's stances on the position of German culture in Cieszyn Silesia remain however controversial, as several historians claim he and his supporters accented German character of the whole Cieszyn Silesia and supported Germanization policies.
On September 18, 1938 Walter Harbich as leader of "assembly of Silesian nationality" sent a telegram to Adolf Hitler
, requesting independence of Cieszyn Silesia under a protection of Nazi Germany
. Petition in the same question was sent to the prime minister of the UK Neville Chamberlain
, too. On October 2, 1938 Rudolf Francus and Walter Harbich - leaders of German-language faction of Silesian People's Party sent a next telegram to Hitler, speaking in protest of Silesian people and German people from Bohumín
against cession of the Zaolzie
to Poland. All the telegrams were sent without knowledge of Kożdoń.
Leszna Górna
is a village in Gmina Goleszów, Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland, on the border with the Czech Republic. It has a population of 576 . It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
in Cieszyn County
Cieszyn County
Cieszyn County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Czech and Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998...
- December 7, 1949 in Opava
Opava
Opava is a city in the northern Czech Republic on the river Opava, located to the north-west of Ostrava. The historical capital of Czech Silesia, Opava is now in the Moravian-Silesian Region and has a population of 59,843 as of January 1, 2005....
) was Silesian autonomist politician.
Biography
He was a teacher (since 1893) and principal (since 1902) of elementary school in StrumieńStrumien
Strumień is a town and the seat of Gmina Strumień, in Cieszyn County, in the Silesian Voivodeship of southern Poland, on the Vistula River....
(1893–1898) and Skoczów
Skoczów
Skoczów is a town and the seat of Gmina Skoczów in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 14,783 inhabitants . It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
(1898–1918), active member of Country Teachers Union in Austrian Silesia, founder of Polish public reading-room in Strumień and co-founder of German Reader's Association (Ger. Leseverein) in Skoczów, founder (since summer 1908) and leader of Silesian People's Party
Silesian People's Party
The Silesian People’s Party was a political organization in Cieszyn Silesia that existed from 1909 to 1938 in Austrian Silesia, which later became international plebiscite territory and finally part of Czechoslovakia. The party included mainly Slavic people, who saw themselves as members of a...
(1909–1938), co-founder and general secretary of Union of Silesians (1910–1938) in East Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...
, spokesman of autonomy or independence of Silesia and spokesman of Silesian nation, founder of Committee for the Maintenance of Clearness of the Silesian dialect in 1910, the deputy of Silesian Parliament in Opava
Opava
Opava is a city in the northern Czech Republic on the river Opava, located to the north-west of Ostrava. The historical capital of Czech Silesia, Opava is now in the Moravian-Silesian Region and has a population of 59,843 as of January 1, 2005....
in the period 1909-1918, member of the town council in Skoczów
Skoczów
Skoczów is a town and the seat of Gmina Skoczów in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 14,783 inhabitants . It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
since 1911, editor of most popular Silesian newspaper in East Silesia "Ślązak" (Silesian) and magazine "Śląski Kalendarz Ludowy" (Silesian People's Calendar), member of the Austrian Committee to Support for Soldiers' Families in the period 1914-1918, since October to December 1918 political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
in Polish prison in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
. Kożdoń was also a member of the Czechoslovak delegation at the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
in 1919, member of Administration Commission for Country Silesia in Opava
Opava
Opava is a city in the northern Czech Republic on the river Opava, located to the north-west of Ostrava. The historical capital of Czech Silesia, Opava is now in the Moravian-Silesian Region and has a population of 59,843 as of January 1, 2005....
in the period 1919-1927, four-time mayor of Český Těšín
Ceský Tešín
Český Těšín is a town in the Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. The town is commonly known in the region as just Těšín . It lies on the west bank of the Olza River, in the heart of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...
in the period 1923-1938, author of many political articles, letters, petitions and brochures, for example author of petition "representation of Silesian nationality" to Sir Walter Runciman
Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford
Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford PC was a prominent Liberal, later National Liberal politician in the United Kingdom from the 1900s until the 1930s.-Background:...
in the question of plebiscite in the Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...
in 1938. He was also founder (1925) and president (in the period 1940-1944) of Silesian People's Bank.
Controversies
Kożdoń wrote: "I'm not a German, but I'm not and I don't want to be a Pole, too. I'm Polish speaking Silesian [...] A language commonwealth don't decide about a national union, deciding factor is spirit commonwealth. Silesia has this commonwealth - own separate land's traditions". His politics supported bilingual Polish-German education, for example Kożdoń supported insertion of German language to Polish elementary school in Górki WielkieGórki Wielkie
Górki Wielkie is a village in Gmina Brenna, Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has a population of 3554 . It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia and was first mentioned in a written document in 1305....
and demanded insertion of Polish language to German grammar and gymnasial schools in Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
. His politics supported German-language Silesian culture, Slavic Silesian folk culture and local Slavic Silesian dialects. Kożdoń's stances on the position of German culture in Cieszyn Silesia remain however controversial, as several historians claim he and his supporters accented German character of the whole Cieszyn Silesia and supported Germanization policies.
On September 18, 1938 Walter Harbich as leader of "assembly of Silesian nationality" sent a telegram to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, requesting independence of Cieszyn Silesia under a protection of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Petition in the same question was sent to the prime minister of the UK Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
, too. On October 2, 1938 Rudolf Francus and Walter Harbich - leaders of German-language faction of Silesian People's Party sent a next telegram to Hitler, speaking in protest of Silesian people and German people from Bohumín
Bohumín
Bohumín is a town in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic on the border with Poland. The confluence of the Oder and Olza Rivers is situated just north of the town. The town lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
against cession of the Zaolzie
Zaolzie
Zaolzie is the Polish name for an area now in the Czech Republic which was disputed between interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name means "lands beyond the Olza River"; it is also called Śląsk zaolziański, meaning "trans-Olza Silesia". Equivalent terms in other languages include Zaolší in...
to Poland. All the telegrams were sent without knowledge of Kożdoń.
Works
- KOŽDON Josef, Über die Sonderstellung der schlesischen Polen, die nationalen Verhältnisse und die allpolnische Propaganda in Ostschlesien (Beilage Rede des Landtagabg[eordneten] Koždon in der Budgetdebatte des schlesischen Landtages (44. Sitzung) am 8. November 1910), Skotschau 1910.
- KOŽDON Josef, Denkschrift der Schles[ischen] Volkspartei an die Interallierte Volksabstimmungkommission in Teschen, (Teschen 1920).
- KOŻDOŃ Józef, Krzyk rozpaczy o pomoc dla Ślązaków (dodatek skargi i żale Śląskiej Partyi Ludowej do międzynarodowej Komisyi plebiscytowej w Cieszynie w sprawie polskich aktów gwałtu i terroru), Morawska Ostrawa 1920.
- KOŽDON Josef, 4. Beschwerde-Eingabe der schlesischen Volkspartei an die internationale Volksabstimmungkommission in Teschen, (Mährisch Ostrau) 1920.
- [KOŻDOŃ Józef], Memoryał Śląskiej Partyi Ludowej w sprawie plebiscytu w Księstwie Cieszyńskim wystosowany do Międzynarodowej Komisyi Plebiscytowej w Cieszynie, (Morawska Ostrawa) 1920.
- KOŽDON Josef, Das Recht unserer schlesischen Heimat auf die verwaltungmässige Selbständigkeit, Troppau 1927.
- KOZDON Josef, Teschen und Teschner Land, Sonderdruck aus dem Werk „Schlesien“ Band 8, Berlin-Fiedenau 1930.
- KOŽDON Josef, "Aus der jüngster Geschichte der Teschener Landes – Erinnerungen und Erlebnisse", in: Schlesisches Jahrbuch, Breslau 1940.
- KOŻDOŃ Józef, Mój stosunek do Polski, Polaków i do ludności naszej, Cz. Cieszyn 1946.
- KOŽDOŇ Josef, Moje zkušenosti ve službě vlasti, můj osud, Opava 1948.
Sources
- Piotr Dobrowolski, Ugrupowania i kierunki separatystyczne na Górnym Śląsku i w Cieszyńskim w latach 1918-1939, PWN, Warszawa, Kraków 1972.
- Kevin HannanKevin HannanKevin J. Hannan was American ethnolinguist and slavicist.- Personal life :He was born in the family of Silesian-Irish background...
, Borders of Language and Identity in Teschen Silesia, New York 1996 ISBN 0-8204-3365-9 - Dariusz JerczyńskiDariusz JerczyńskiDariusz Jerczyński is a Silesian politician and historical writer.-Biography:Dariusz Jerczyński has authored books about the history of Silesia, historical articles in the magazines Czas Górnośląski and Jaskółka Śląska. From 2001 to 2007, Jerczyński was a member of the Silesian Autonomy Movement...
, Historia Narodu Śląskiego (History of Silesian Nation), second edition (implemented and corrected), Zabrze 2006, ISBN 978-83-60540-55-8 - Tomasz KamusellaTomasz KamusellaTomasz Kamusella is a European scholar pursuing interdisciplinary research in language politics, nationalism and ethnicity.-Education:...
, Silesia and Central European Nationalisms: The Emergence of National and Ethnic Groups in Prussian Silesia and Austrian Silesia, 1848-1918 (Ser: Central European Studies; Foreword by Professor Charles W. Ingrao). 2007. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University PressPurdue University PressPurdue University Press, founded in 1960, is a university press that is part of Purdue University. Dedicated to the dissemination of scholarly and professional information, Purdue University Press provides quality resources in several key subject areas including business, technology, health,...
, 386 pp. ISBN 978 1 55753 371 5 - Upper Silesia 1870-1920: Between Region, Religion, Nation and Ethnicity: journal article by Tomasz KamusellaTomasz KamusellaTomasz Kamusella is a European scholar pursuing interdisciplinary research in language politics, nationalism and ethnicity.-Education:...
; East European Quarterly, Vol. 38, 2004
See also
- Silesian People's PartySilesian People's PartyThe Silesian People’s Party was a political organization in Cieszyn Silesia that existed from 1909 to 1938 in Austrian Silesia, which later became international plebiscite territory and finally part of Czechoslovakia. The party included mainly Slavic people, who saw themselves as members of a...
- Josef CichyJosef CichyJosef Cichy was Silesian politician, owner of manufacture in Goleszów, member of the first authorities of Silesian People's Party, a candidate this party in the time election to Silesian Parliament in Opava from country election district Frysztat-Cieszyn-Jabłonków, leader of local group of...
- Union of Upper SilesiansUnion of Upper SilesiansThe Union of Upper Silesians was a mass movement for the independence of Upper Silesia. The lands of Prussian Upper Silesia and Austrian Silesia, which existed from January 1919 to 1924 within the borders of Germany, then in the borders of the international plebiscite territory, constituted Upper...
- Ewald LataczEwald LataczEwald Latacz was Silesian politician, doctor of law, lawyer in Racibórz since 1913 and Wodzisław Śląski, chairman of Workers Council in Wodzisław Śląski and co-founder secret Upper Silesian Committee in 1918, civil law notary since 1919, co-founder and leader Union of Upper Silesians in the period...
- Joseph MusiolJoseph MusiolJoseph Musiol was a Silesian politician. He served as secretary of the Catholic Trade Union, as a member of the town council in Bytom, and as leader of a local group in Bytom...
- Theofil KupkaTheofil KupkaTheofil Kupka was a Silesian politician.- Biography :...
- Silesian Autonomy MovementSilesian Autonomy MovementThe Silesian Autonomy Movement is a movement officially declaring its support for the autonomy of Silesia as part of a unified Europe. The association was founded in January 1990 by Rudolf Kołodziejczyk and is based in the Polish part of Upper Silesia...