Greater Poland Uprising 1918/1919 Remembrance Society

Continuation of the memory of history of the Greater Poland Uprising, its tradition and meaning.

Stefan Barłóg

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The objectives of the Society are accomplished, among other things, by:

- organising readings, lectures and scientific conferences which popularise the history of the uprising and the profiles of its participants among society, especially the younger generation,

- inspiring research and publishing activities and cooperating with scientific institutions and mass media in this respect,

- organising contests, exhibitions and other events which popularise the Greater Poland Uprising, and also providing support for schools and scouting and other organisations whose patrons are the heroes of the Greater Poland Uprising, in the field of educational activity, among other things, by organising national historical-educational rallies and meetings, and distributing historical publications and materials etc.

- keeping records regarding the history of the Greater Poland Uprising (through the acquisition of documents and tokens related to the uprising) in cooperation with museums and scientific and cultural institutions,

- cooperating with state and local government authorities and units of the Polish Army in the organisation of anniversary ceremonies and care of the Greater Poland Uprising remembrance sites as well as insurgent quarters and tombs.

During the 1st National Congress of the Society for the Memory of the Greater Poland Uprising 1918/1919, which took place on 19 November 1994, the 93-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Stanisław Zenkteler said: “What we, the insurgents, did, contributed to the strengthening of the subsequent power of Poland. This must not be forgotten and today’s Congress of the Society proves that this feat is remembered and will be remembered.”

Presently the Society for the Memory of the Greater Poland Uprising 1918/1919 consists of 2608 members who organise their activities in 113 Youth Circles and Clubs.

As well as ordinary members, the Society is composed of schools and units of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association which bear the names of Greater Poland Insurgents.

The activities of the Society for the Memory of the Greater Poland Uprising cover the western part of Poland, especially the Kuyavian-Pomerania, Lubusz and Greater Poland provinces. There are also circles of the society active in Szczecin, Legnica and Warsaw. In the capital city, there is also a complex of schools which bear the names of Greater Poland Insurgents.

Since 6 October 2004, the Society for the Memory of the Greater Poland Uprising 1918/1919 has had the status of a public utility organisation.

In the year2019, the Society for the Memory of the Greater Poland Uprising celebrated the 30th anniversary of its existence.

The achievements of the Society in the past years consist of many projects and initiatives.

One important element of the activities of the Society was the introduction of an inspirational-incentive system for the promoters of the memory of the Greater Poland Uprising and those who organise various forms of popularisation of historical knowledge about the uprising and commemoration of the sites related to the insurgent fighting.

The year 1995 marked the publication of the first issue of the historical-educational yearbook, “Wielkopolski Powstaniec”, whose aim was to present the history of the Greater Poland Uprising 1918 - 1919 and the course of the insurgent activities in the respective cities and communes, to inform people about initiatives regarding the commemoration of the uprising among various circles, and to exchange experiences between, among others, the Circles of the Society for the Memory of the Greater Poland Uprising and Schools in their educational work, especially those schools which have heroes of the Greater Poland Uprising 1918-1919 as their patrons.

24 issues of “Wielkopolski Powstaniec” have been published so far. Another initiative in this system was the establishment of an Honorary Award of the Main Board of the Society for the Memory of the Greater Poland Uprising in the year 1996 – this is a statuette of “The Drummer of the Greater Poland Uprising”.

 

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The statuette is a miniature of a fragment of a monument devoted to the Greater Poland Insurgents. The monument of the “Drummer” was placed on the Śrem market square on 15 November 1925. It was erected according to a design prepared by Władysław Marcinkowski. It was then destroyed by the Germans on 11 September 1939. The monument was rebuilt and unveiled again in the Greater Poland Insurgents Park in the year 1961 and the sculpture of the drummer was reproduced by Jerzy Sobociński.

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