%0 Journal Article
%T Funeral Texts as a H istorical Source. A Contribution to the Biography of Aleksy Wdziękoński, the Polish Consul in Jerusalem
%A Patek, Artur
%J Central European and Balkan Studies
%V 2018
%R 10.4467/2543733XSSB.17.008.9983
%N Tom XXVII
%P 125-143
%K Aleksy Wdziękoński, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Jerusalem, obituaries, obituary as a historical source
%@ 2451-4993
%D 2018
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/ssb/article/teksty-funeralne-jako-zrodlo-historyczne-przyczynek-do-biografii-aleksego-wdziekonskiego-konsula-rp-w-jerozolimie
%X 
	Funeral texts (obituaries, posthumous memories) are usually of a standard nature and show the deceased in a positive light. For this reason, they are marginalized as a research source. Wrongly, because they convey specific biographical information, such as the date of death and the age of the deceased, the place and time and the nature of the  funeral ceremonies, and sometimes also the profession, circumstances of death, family name and others. The celebration of the last farewells may be an interesting contribution to the figure of the deceased, and in the case of people who have had their place in history, it also illustrates the state of feelings (patriotic, national, religious) of the local  community. It seems that this additional sense, going beyond the usual rite of burial, focused on the funeral ceremony after the death of Aleksy Wdziękoński, the last consul general of the Second Polish Republic in Jerusalem.

	Wdziękoński (1892–1946) ran the institution from June 1943 to January 1946. For the last months he acted in an unofficial capacity, as the United Kingdom withdrew recognition of the Polish Government in Exile. His death echoed in the emigration environments in Palestine, and the last farewell of the consul was attended by about 2,000–2,500  people