Figure 1.--This Arthur Szyk drawing was entitled, 'Polish Freedom Fighters'. Szyk was a Polish Jew from a non-religious Lodz family, one of the survivors of the Lodz Jewish community, largely because he was in Britain when World War II broke out. He is a noted artist specializing in historical and political themes. He is best known for his striking World War II posters. The publisher of this postcard was Narodowa in Cracow, probably during the 1950s. The secene depicts 1861 Polish freedom fighters which includes Jews fighting along side Christians as patriotic Poles against the Tsarist forces. Protest like these eventually led to the January Rising.

The January Uprising (powstanie styczniowe) was an uprising in the Tsarist Empire centered in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth which had been absorbed into the Tsarist Empire as a result of the Polish Partitions. Tsarist Russia was defeated in the Crimean War (1854-56). The Empire was weakened economically by the heavy expenditures during the War. And conscription became very unpopular, especially in the non-Russian areas of the Empire. Numerous demonstrations and protest were reported in what is now Poland, Belarus, and the Baltics. The January Rising began (1863). It was a spontaneous protest by young Poles resisting conscription into the Imperial Russian Army, but unlike the many protests that had been occuring, it proved to be neither non-violent or brief. The students and other young Poles were soon joined by high-ranking Polish-Lithuanian officers in the Tsarist Army as well as Polish political figures. The insurrectionists were not strong enough in numbers or arms to openly confront the Tsarist Army. Instead they pursued guerrilla warfare. They won no important military victories and failed tio seize control of important cities or fortresses. They did, however, manage to keep the idea pf the Polish nation alive. Tsar Alexander II abolished swefdom in the Russian Empire. This included Russian-controlled Partioned Poland. Tsarist officials had hoped that this action would win support of the peasantry away from Polish nationalists. Russian reprisals were brutal. There were mass executions of the insurgents as well as deportations to Siberia. Arrests continued through 1865. This was the last major Polish insurrection. Poles for the most part abandoned armed struggle. Many decided to emograte, dispairing of ever expelling the Russians. Others adopted the idea of 'organic work', meaning economic and cultural self-improvement.

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Created: 3:17 AM 9/12/2011
Last updated: 12:55 AM 10/16/2017