Hunger protests in Rawicz
Hunger protests in Rawicz took place on August 19, 1921. These protests by workers, peasants and the unemployed were bloodily suppressed by the Polish state police.
Causes of the Protests
The protests were triggered by the difficult economic situation in the Prussian territories taken over by Poland. Until June 1921 these areas were separated from the rest of Polish territory by a customs border, at the same time the industry there lost the German sales market. After the abolition of the customs border, prices rose sharply, leading to popular protests.
There were bloody clashes with the police, as in Rawitsch on August 19, 1921.
Course of the unrest
At the end of July 1921 workers and peasants protested in the Rawicz area. For example, the workers working on the construction of the Dąbroczna River (tributary of the Orla , a right tributary of the Barycz ) protested about starvation wages. Led by the worker Lewandowski, they came to Rawicz to submit their demands to the local authorities. However, their demands were denied. The angry protesters threw stones at the town hall building . There were violent clashes between the police and demonstrators. Some police officers have been disarmed. The rest of the police gathered on Paderewski Street and started shooting the protesters with live ammunition. The fighting lasted several hours as farmers armed with pitchforks and scythes came from the neighboring villages. The city was surrounded by soldiers. Many protesters were arrested the following night.
“ There is serious concern here about the inflation riots in Poznan and Pomerellen . As a result of the recent collapse of the currency , the abolition of communal food rations and the opening of the Congress Polish border, through which large amounts of food were drained from the former Prussian Poland, inflation has suddenly risen to such an extent that all permanent wage earners feel threatened in their living conditions . In addition there is a very noticeable unemployment. Communist agitation is also known as the cause of the unrest . There were street demonstrations in Rawitsch, Lissa , Kosten and Posen, in which the police had to intervene. The police shot and killed six people in Rawitsch. The railway workers in the Poznan and Danzig-Pomerellen district have made demands and are threatening a general strike if their conditions are not accepted . "
The arrested protesters were sentenced to imprisonment. After serving their sentences, most of them, including Lewandowski, emigrated to France .
List of victims
During the fighting, three people died on site around 11:30 a.m., the others died from gunshot wounds in the local hospital on August 19, 20 and 21, 1921. They were buried together at the Rawiczer cemetery on August 25th. There were:
- Stefan Cyburski (22 yrs),
- Władysław Dąbrowicz (18 years),
- Franciszek Robaszyński (23 years),
- Wincenty Szukalski (37 yrs),
- Kazimierz Szwarc (17 yrs),
- Jan Tatarek (22 yrs),
- Jan Tyca (26 years)
In 1962, a memorial plaque with the names of the fallen was unveiled at the then Rawicz town hall .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Pamięć o manifestantach ( memento of September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) in the Gazeta Rawicka newspaper (online), date of publication unknown (in Polish, accessed on September 9, 2013)
- ↑ Walerian Sobisiak: Dzieje ziemi rawickiej: Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne, Oddział w Poznaniu: Poznań: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1967
- ↑ a b Tadeusz Becela , Lata górne i chmurne , Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, Poznań, 1965, p. 33
- ↑ Tablica poległych w 1921 roku na rawickim Rynku on the website of the Rawicz parish of St. Andrew Bobola on February 28, 2009 (in Polish, accessed on September 9, 2013)
- ^ The inflation riots in Poznan and Pomerellen. In: Neue Freie Presse , August 22, 1921, p. 3 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ Kwiaty dla zastrzelonych bezrobotnych in the Życie Rawicza newspaper (online) from May 1, 2012 (in Polish, accessed September 9, 2013)