The First Polish reportages from the Fronts of the Great War – in „Nowa Reforma” (The New Reform magazine) and „Ilustrowany T ygodnik Polski” (The Illustrated Polish Weekly) (Genological and Historical Aspects)

The origins of modern Polish reportage is closely related to the outbreak of the Great War (1914–1918). The world’s first mass scale armed conflict was also a particular challenge for writers, journalists and artists, who volunteered to fight in the ranks of the legions under the command of Józef Piłsudski. It was there that the following first reportage texts were written: 1/ Pierwsze Bitwy (The First Battles) by Gustaw Daniłowski – documenting the expedition to the Kingdom and the unsuccessful occupation of Kielce, and 2/ the series of Bitwa pod Konarami (The Battle of Konary) by Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski, describing the first big victories of the legionaries over the Russians alongside the Austrian and Hungarian armies. The genological analysis of these texts and the circumstances in which they were written were presented in view of their role in the idea of independence followed by the periodicals that were issued in Krakow at that time: “Nowa Reforma” (The New Reform) and “Ilustrowany Tygodnik Polski” (The Illustrated Polish Weekly) (the texts were published in both of them).

The origins of modern Polish reportage is closely related to the outbreak of the Great War (1914–1918). The world’s first mass scale armed conflict was also a particular challenge for writers, journalists and artists, who volunteered to fight in the ranks of the legions under the command of Józef Piłsudski. It was there that the following first reportage texts were written: 1/ Pierwsze Bitwy (The First Battles) by Gustaw Daniłowski – documenting the expedition to the Kingdom and the unsuccessful occupation of Kielce, and 2/ the series of Bitwa pod Konarami (The Battle of Konary) by Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski, describing the first big victories of the legionaries over the Russians alongside the Austrian and Hungarian armies. The genological analysis of these texts and the circumstances in which they were written were presented in view of their role in the idea of independence followed by the periodicals that were issued in Krakow at that time: “Nowa Reforma” (The New Reform) and “Ilustrowany Tygodnik Polski” (The Illustrated Polish Weekly) (the texts were published in both of them).