Jan Trepczyk

Jan Trepczyk ( Kashubian Jón Trepczik ; born October 22, 1907 in Nieder Mirchau , West Prussia , German Reich ; † September 3, 1989 in Wejherowo , Gdansk Voivodeship , Poland ) was a Kashubian poet, singer, member of the regional association of the Kashubians in Kartuzy and a teacher .

Life

Childhood and youth

Trepczyk was born in the village of Nieder Mirchau in the Karthaus area as the fifth, youngest child of Jan Trepczyk and Berta Trepczyk, née Hebel. In the years 1914–1921 he went to a primary school in Mirchau , first in German, then in Polish. There he came across Aleksander Labuda , who aroused his interest in Kashubian culture. From 1921 he was educated at the State Men's College in Kościerzyna . He was taught by the Kashubian poet, Leon Heyke , among others . In 1926 he graduated from school and took a job as a teacher in a primary school in Kartuzy. From 1927 he taught in Miszewo .

In the summer of 1928 he and Aleksander Labuda met Aleksander Majkowski , who became his spiritual guide. Together with Labuda and A. Stoltmann, Trepczyk organized a teachers' conference in Kartuzy the following year , where the Kashubian regional association was founded. Labuda later became its secretary. In 1930 Jan Trepczyk married a sister of Jan Rompski , Aniela, with whom he had 6 children. In the same year he made his literary debut in "Chëczy Kaszëbsczi".

In 1934 he was transferred to Rogoźno by the decision of the authorities , as he was accused of separatist actions. On this "emigration" he published a Kashubian songbook, he still published a lot and did not change his views on Kashubian affairs.

Second World War

In 1939 he came to Tłukawy, where the German authorities allowed him to stay. In the summer of 1940 he returned to Kashubia and worked as a cashier at the municipal office in Sianowo . He fought in the Polish armed forces in western Italy .

family

In 1930 he married Aniela nee Rompska, with whom he had six children: Bogusława (* 1930), Świętopełk (* 1931, † 2011), Mirosława (* 1933), Damroka (* 1934), Mestwina (* 1935, † 1943) ) and Sława (* 1937). The great attachment to the Pomeranian region and knowledge of its history is confirmed by the fact that their children receive Old Slavic names that are typical of the Pomeranian dukes. In 1951, after the death of his first wife, he married Leokadia Czaja. In 1967 he retired. Two years later he moved to Ul. Zwycięstwa, where he lived until his death. For over 20 years he worked there as a music teacher in elementary school No. 4. He also taught geography, art and mathematics. Edmund Kaminski, Leokadia's son-in-law, worked on his biography and work.

Since returning to Poland, he has been involved in cultural and social work in Kashubia. He created poems, songs and plays. He had no specialized musical training, but he had an unusual talent and sense of melody, which his works for the choir prove. In the years 1952–1954 he collected Kashubian folklore in villages and small towns, he also studied the Kashubian language, its varieties and vocabulary.

Jan Trepczyk wrote poems, songs and memoirs in the last years of his life, published them and conducted the singing groups alone, usually in small groups with his wife, stepdaughter and son-in-law. He prescribed a Polish-Kashubian dictionary and looked for the possibility of publication. He suffered from throat cancer , had to use a voice enhancer, and at the end of his life was attacked by herpes zoster . He died on September 3, 1989 in Wejherowo , where he is also buried. He lies there in a grave with his wife Leokadia, who died on November 28, 1998, almost ten years later.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ F. Mamuszka: Wejherowo i Ziemia Wejherowska: przewodnik. Wyd. Morskie, Gdańsk 1969, p. 45.