Figure 1.--This portrait was taken in what looks like--Jarostow. (The letter before the last one 'o' is with dash - what you should read like 'oo' in foot). Jarostow is a small town." This boy with his straw hat and sandals looks to be dressed for a summer holiday. He has a white collar and bow which he wears with a kind of blouse and knickers. I'm not sure when this portrait was taken, but would estimte about 1900. Warsaw at the time was part of German Empire, if it is the town in Silesia that we believe it to be.

This portrait was taken in what looks like--Jaroslaw. I thought it might be Warsaw. A Polish reader, however, tells us that "Jarostow pronounced "Yarosooav" deffinetly isn't Warsaw, and i think you should correct it to 'Jaroslow' (the letter before the last one 'o' is with dash - what you should read like 'oo' in foot). Jarostow is a small town." Another reader wrires, "Jarosİİaw is definitely not Warsaw. Mark that the 6th letter is an l with a slash which is a typical feature of Polish orthography. There are at least two places of that name in present day Poland. One is a small village west of Breslau/Wrocİİaw (again that slashed l). In 1930 this would have been almost exclusively German-speaking and indeed part of Germany's province of Silesia. The other one is in Polands southeastern corner very near the border with the Ukraine and has always been Polish-speaking. I think this a more likely candidate. However it is not impossible that there has been yet another Jarosİİaw in the very large territories that were Polish before 1945 but now are situated in the Ukraine and White Russia (Belarussia)." A Polish reader confirms, "There are two Jaroslaws, one is as the other explains, but the second one is in (Lower) Silesia near Breslau. This boy with his straw hat and sandals looks to be dressed for a summer holiday. He has a white collar and bow which he wears with a kind of blouse and knickers. I'm not sure when this portrait was taken, but would estimte about 1900. Warsaw at the time was part of Russian Empire, but Jaroslow if it is the town in Silesia that we believe was in the German Empire. A Polish reader writes, "You cannot consider this Jaroslaw as a Silesia town because before World war II, it was german town or village. It is almost impossible that there were any still Polish inhabitants, especially owning photo studios and signing their photos with Polish name of the village. it's even possible that Jaroslaw of Silesia isn't a Polish traditional names (before the partitions), but was give by special commision after World War II. If this was the Jaroslaw of Silesia, this page may be better placed in the German section. Our Polish reader reports, "In my opinon right Jaroslaw is the second one, 148 km east of Cracow.

Chronology

I'm not sure when this portrait was taken, but would estimte about 1900.

Clothing

This boy with his straw hat and sandals looks to be dressed for a summer holiday. He has a white collar and bow which he wears with a kind of blouse and knickers. This is one of the earlier images we have noted with a boywearing open-toe sandals.

Jaroslaw

This portrait was taken in what looks like--Jaroslaw. I thought it might be Warsaw. A Polish reader, however, tells us that "Jarostow pronounced "Yarosooav" deffinetly isn't Warsaw, and i think you should correct it to 'Jaroslow' (the letter before the last one 'o' is with dash - what you should read like 'oo' in foot). Jarostow is a small town." Another reader wrires, "Jarosİİaw is definitely not Warsaw. Mark that the 6th letter is an l with a slash which is a typical feature of Polish orthography.

Two Possibilities

There are at least two places of that name in present day Poland.

Western Poland

The other one is in Poland's southeastern corner very near the border with the Ukraine and has always been Polish-speaking. I think this a more likely candidate. However it is not impossible that there has been yet another Jarosİİaw in the very large territories that were Polish before 1945 but now are situated in the Ukraine and White Russia (Belarussia)."

Silesia

One is a small village west of Breslau/Wrocİİaw (again that slashed l). In 1930 this would have been almost exclusively German-speaking and indeed part of Germany's province of Silesia. A Polish reader confirms, "There are two Jaroslaws, one is as the other explains, but the second one is in (Lower) Silesia near Breslau.
Warsaw before World war I was at the time was part of Russian Empire, but Jaroslow if it is the town in Silesia that we believe was in the German Empire. A Polish reader writes, "You cannot consider this Jaroslaw as a Silesia town because before World war II, it was German town or village. It is almost impossible that there were any still Polish inhabitants, especially owning photo studios and signing their photos with Polish name of the village. it's even possible that Jaroslaw of Silesia isn't a Polish traditional names (before the partitions), but was give by special commision after World War II. If this was the Jaroslaw of Silesia, this page may be better placed in the German section. Our Polish reader reports, "In my opinon right Jaroslaw is the second one, 148 km east of Cracow.

Nationality

Warsaw at the time was part of Russian Empire, but Jaroslow if it is the town in Silesia that we believe was in the German Empire. A Polish reader writes, "You cannot consider this Jaroslaw as a Silesia town because before World war II, it was german town or village. It is almost impossible that there were any still Polish inhabitants, especially owning photo studios and signing their photos with Polish name of the village. it's even possible that Jaroslaw of Silesia isn't a Polish traditional names (before the partitions), but was give by special commision after World War II. If this was the Jaroslaw of Silesia, this page may be better placed in the German section. Our Polish reader reports, "In my opinon right Jaroslaw is the second one, 148 km east of Cracow. A Polish reader writes, "This suggests that Silesia isn't a Polish regin since the time of partitions, it's true but only partially. Actually Poland lost Silesia during 14th century when most of princes of partitioned Silesia gradually were deciding to pay homage to Czech king. More or less this is why inhabitants of Jaroslaw in German Silesia before the World War I couldn't speak Polish, but Jaroslaw (148 km east of Cracow) placed before the WWI within Austro-Hungarian Empire was still a Polish town."

Sources

Jankowski, Tomek. E-mail, June 29, 2003.

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Created: June 15, 2003
Last updated: June 16, 2003