%0 Journal Article
%T “Legiony”. A chapter of Kazimierz Konarski’s memoirs, excised by censorship of Polish People’s Republic
%A Łosowski, Janusz
%J Archeion
%V 2019
%R 10.4467/26581264ARC.19.010.11819
%N 120
%P 203-233
%K Kazimierz Konarski, Polish Academy of Sciences Archive in Warsaw, Polish Legions, Polish-Bolshevik War, Kostiukhnivka
%@ 0066-6041
%D 2020
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/archeion/article/legiony-rozdzial-wspomnien-kazimierza-konarskiego-usuniety-przez-peerelowska-cenzure
%X Kazimierz Konarski (1886–1972) was a preeminent Polish archivist in the interwar period and in afterwar years, with rich archival and academic legacy. In 1965, his memoirs were published, providing a valuable source of knowledge to researchers of Polish intelligentsia. However, from these memoirs one chapter was removed, depicting the future archivist’s service in the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Polish Legions in 1917. Communist censors prohibited its publication, as stated by Konarski’s handwritten annotation on the typescript of the chapter gifted to his colleague, Piotr Bańkowski. The excised part of the memoirs was found by the author of this article in Konarski’s legacy, preserved in Warsaw archive of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The part of the memoirs which pertains to the archivist’s-to-be time in the Legions are an interesting historical source. It contains a number of valuable details regarding Konarski’s service in the regiment named above. After the losses suffered in July 1916 in the famous battle of Kostiukhnivka, the unit was sent to Ostrów Mazowiecka near Warsaw to regroup and replenish the ranks. At the beginning of his service, Konarski had problems with getting accepted by his colleagues, as he was several years older than them, was better educated and had more life experience. However, he was not haughty and tried his best to serve as a private, which earned him respect of the legionnaires. In the removed chapter, the author vividly described the commanding officers, who subsequently became military leaders and politicians, including Felicjan Sławoj-Składkowski, Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski, Stefan Grot-Rowecki, Tytus Filipowicz and others. There is also a lot of valuable information about daily life of the soldiers in the regiment.