Postcards by Leon Prauziński from the collection of the Wielkopolska Museum of Independence

Leon Prauziński (1895-1940), soldier, painter, draughtsman.

Leon Prauziński was born in Poznań and studied at gymnasiums in Poznań and in Ostrów Wielkopolski. Like many conscripts from the Prussian Partition, he was recruited to the German army for the fighting on the Western Front of the First World War (1914-1918). He took part in the bloody battle for the French fortress of Verdun in 1916 and was gravely injured in the Argonne Forest, after a period of recovery he returned to Poznań.

In this exceptional time in history, Leon Prauziński participated in secret preparations for the Greater Poland Uprising, supervised by the Polish Military Organisation of the Prussian Partition. When the Greater Poland Uprising broke out on 27 December 1918 in Poznań, he fought in the group of insurgents led by Stanisław Nogaj and, among other things, took part in the fighting for the Chwaliszewo bridge, which he later portrayed in one of his famous paintings in which he presented himself as one of the insurgents wearing a white scarf and a bowler hat.

Leon Prauziński also fought on the Western Front of the uprising, near Wolsztyn and Zbąszyń, and, from February 1919, on the Southern Front in the vicinity of Miejska Górka. When military activity at the western border came to an end, he took part in the Polish-Bolshevik war (1919-1921).

He passed his final school exams, when the region of Poznań was independent again, at the Maria Magdalene gymnasium in Poznań. In 1923 – 1924, he studied at Poznań University’s Faculty of Agriculture, and in 1927 he went to study in Munich, where in 1928 he graduated from the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. Having returned to Poznań, he preoccupied himself with his artistic work, providing illustrations for magazines such as “KurierPoznański”, “Orędownik”, “PrzewodnikKatolicki”, “Żołnierz Wielkopolski”, and drawing pictures to be used in books.

Leon Prauziński is the artist of numerous paintings and drawings presenting battle scenes from the Greater Poland Uprising. In 1921–1923, on the basis of drawings and sketches made during the Greater Poland Uprising, he painted 12 oil pictures depicting scenes of insurgent fighting. The pictures, however, survived only as reproductions in the form of 12 postcards printed occasionally since the interwar period, the originals having been destroyed by the Germans during the occupation. Everything that reminded the Germans of the Uprising was fiercely annihilated, whereas the insurgents themselves were tracked down, imprisoned and killed. This is what happened to Leon Prauziński.

After the outbreak of World War II, Leon Prauziński’s name was placed on the proscription list. On 1 November 1939, he was arrested by the Gestapo and placed in Fort VII in Poznań, which was the first concentration camp established by the German in the territory of the occupied Polish lands. The camp was referred to by the Germans as the “camp of bloody revenge” for the Poles’ heroic attitude and for the Greater Poland Uprising, which the Germans had lost.

Leon Prauziński was murdered by the Germans in Fort VII on 6 January 1940.

 

  • A meeting convened by the Workers and Soldiers Council in the City Council Hall in Poznań, on Monday, 11 November 1918. At the meeting, after a fiery speech by the late Marjan Głowacki, Ph.D., the decision was taken to remove Mayor Wilms from office.
    A meeting convened by the Workers and Soldiers Council in the City Council Hall in Poznań, on Monday, 11 November 1918. At the meeting, after a fiery speech by the late Marjan Głowacki, Ph.D., the decision was taken to remove Mayor Wilms from office.
  • Paderewski’s arrival in Poznań accompanied by English officers, on Thursday 26 December 1918.
    Paderewski’s arrival in Poznań accompanied by English officers, on Thursday 26 December 1918.
  • A tribute paid by Polish children to Ignacy Paderewski in Poznań, under the building of the Bazar, Friday 27 December 1918, before noon.
    A tribute paid by Polish children to Ignacy Paderewski in Poznań, under the building of the Bazar, Friday 27 December 1918, before noon.
  • The 6th German Grenadier Regiment, accompanied by some of the German population, tearing down Polish and Allied standards from the headquarters of the Supreme People’s Council in Poznań at 40 Święty Marcin Street, on Friday 27 December 1918, late afternoon.
    The 6th German Grenadier Regiment, accompanied by some of the German population, tearing down Polish and Allied standards from the headquarters of the Supreme People’s Council in Poznań at 40 Święty Marcin Street, on Friday 27 December 1918, late afternoon.
  • Distribution of weapons among Polish people in Poznań, at Wolności Square.
    Distribution of weapons among Polish people in Poznań, at Wolności Square.
  • Victorious attack on the Police Headquarters – the death of Franciszek Ratajczak on Friday 27 December 1918.
    Victorious attack on the Police Headquarters – the death of Franciszek Ratajczak on Friday 27 December 1918.
  • Battles in the suburbs of Poznań – by the Chwaliszewo bridge.
    Battles in the suburbs of Poznań – by the Chwaliszewo bridge.
  • Arrest of the commanding general of the 5th German Army Corps, General von Bock und Pollach and his Head of Staff on Monday 6 January 1919 in the corps headquarters in Poznań.
    Arrest of the commanding general of the 5th German Army Corps, General von Bock und Pollach and his Head of Staff on Monday 6 January 1919 in the corps headquarters in Poznań.
  • A historic moment – the retreat of German guards while the Polish guard enter the Old Market Square in Poznań.
    A historic moment – the retreat of German guards while the Polish guard enter the Old Market Square in Poznań.
  • Disarming the remaining German forces in the Poznań forts.
    Disarming the remaining German forces in the Poznań forts.
  • Occupation of the German airport in Ławica near Poznań, by Greater Poland insurgents during the night of 4 to 5 January 1919.
    Occupation of the German airport in Ławica near Poznań, by Greater Poland insurgents during the night of 4 to 5 January 1919.
  • The Polish armed forces, commanded by General Dowbor-Muśnicki, being sworn in on Sunday 26 January 1919, on Wilhelmowski Square (Wolności Square) in Poznań.
    The Polish armed forces, commanded by General Dowbor-Muśnicki, being sworn in on Sunday 26 January 1919, on Wilhelmowski Square (Wolności Square) in Poznań.