JANUARY 5 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JANUARY 5

1818

Ernest Adam Malinowski (dob) was a famous Polish engineer. He designed the worlds first highest railway, the Ferrocarril Central Andino in the Peruvian Andes in 1871–1876.   In 1868, the Peruvian Congress issued a new decree and announced a tender for the construction of a railway line.  A few days later, Henry Meiggs , an American entrepreneur was allowed to conduct preliminary studies of the railway line. He chose Ernest Malinowski to control the project and select his co-workers. On April 3, 1869, Malinowski gave Henry Meiggs a detailed report of the site studies and preliminary calculation of construction costs. Work began on January 1, 1870 and continued for four arduous years in very difficult terrain. In 1874 the financial collapse of the Peruvian economy put a temporary halt to funding, but construction continued through private funding, including Malinkowski's own contributions.  Upon completion the railway line was raised to almost 5000 m above sea level, which was a phenomenon of technology. It attracted interest from professional engineers around the world and Malinowski's accomplishment was written by all major technical magazines around the world.

1925

Gdansk Post Office:  Under Polish control, three post offices were established in the Port of Gdansk: the Maritime (Port), the Railway and the main Polish Post and Telegraph Office. ( Decreed by the Treaty of Versailles 1919)

1938

Nazi Nuremberg Law: The Nazis passed the Law on the Alteration of Family and Personal Names forbidding Jews from changing their names.

1942

The communist Polish Workers Party was founded in Warsaw by Marceli Nowotko, Pawel Finder and Boleslaw Molojec. The old Communist Party of Poland had been liquidated at Stalin's order in 1938-39.

1945

The Soviet Government officially recognized the Polish Committee of National Liberation, also called Lublin Committe (PKWN).  The PKWN was created by Stalin as the foundation of a puppet regime in Poland, under his full control. His objective was to discredit and remove power from the legitimate Polish Government in Exile in London. The allies were greatly disturbed by the outcome, since Stalin had accepted the Atlantic charter and promised to hold democratic elections in countries controlled by the Red Army.  Stalin appointed Nikolai Bulganin to provide support for the PKWN's administration and security apparatus. Bulganin was responsible for destroying any political and military associations representing the Polish Government in Exile. The PKWN claimed to be leftist and represent a broad democratic coalition, but it did not include any of the major Polish political parties. 

JANUARY 4 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JANUARY 4

 1923

Lenin's Testament:  Lenin's letters to Congress, a two part document dictated by Lenin on Dec. 23–26, 1922, and Jan. 4, 1923, was addressed to a future Communist party Congress. It contained proposals for changes to the Soviet political hierarchy and provided concise evaluation of the six party leaders - Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky, Grigory Y. Zinovyev, Lev B. Kamenev, Nikolay Bukharin, and Georgy Pyatakov. The testament was written by Lenin while he was recovering from a severe stroke, and the document concluded with a recommendation that Stalin be removed from his position as secretary-general of the party The second part of the letters was a postscript, dictated by Lenin after he became convinced that Stalin was mishandling the suppression of dissent in Georgia, but on a personal level, Lenin was critical of Stalin's abusive behaviour towards his wife, Krupskaya. The addendum described Stalin as "too rude". Several copies were made and sealed with the instruction that they were to be opened by Lenin personally or, in the event of his death, by Krupskaya. 

1991

Most Respected Economist in Poland: Jan Krzystof Bielecki became premier of Poland. Bielecki is a Polish liberal politician and economist. In the early 1990s, Bielecki was leading figure of the Gdańsk-based Liberal Democratic Congress and served as Prime Minister of Poland for most of the 1991. As a member of the Sejm and one of the leaders of the Liberal Democratic Congress, Bielecki continued his support for stronger political and economic integration into Europe. During his post-premier period in the Sejm, Bielecki served in the Committee on Foreign Affairs.  In a speech from the Sejm in May 1992, Bielecki expressed strong support for Poland's entry into the EEC, saying "Here is the strategy, here is a Polish place in uniting Europe, with Poles benefiting from collective security, Poles enjoying the freedom of movement of people, goods and capital. This is an opportunity to participate in the political structures and the global economy." In the 1990s, Bielecki was a strong proponent for greater integration with NATO. In July 1992, Bielecki supported the appointment of Hanna Suchocka as Prime Minister. Later she appointed Bielecki as a Minister without portfolio, responsible for  relations with the EEC under a coalition agreement between Suchocka's Democratic Union and the Liberal Democratic Congress   Following his political service, he was president of Bank Pekao, chairman of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, and since the early 2000s, a member of the Civic Platform party.  The Warsaw Business Journal in its 2010 issue names Bielecki as one of the most respected economists in Poland.

JANUARY 3 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JANUARY 3

1667

Resistance of Andrusovo in Russia-Poland. ( Pursued by the Russian forces, the Polish army retreated to Novhorod-Siverskyi. During the retreat, the Poles executed Ivan Bohun, who was suspected of handing over important information to the Hlukhiv garrison. The defence of Hlukhiv ruined Polish plans of bringing Left-bank Ukraine back under the control of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the following years, Poland was plagued with internal conflicts (Lubomirski's Rokosz) and active fighting on the Polish–Russian front came to an end. Finally, the Treaty of Andrusovo was signed in 1667, formally ended the armed conflict.)

1939

Death of a Polish Cardinal: The funeral of Cardinal Aleksander Kakowski  took place in Warsaw on this day. The service was led by primate August Hlond, and by Bishop Antoni Szlagowski.  Kakowski was Cardinal and Archbishop of Warsaw (the last titular Primate of the Kingdom of Poland before Poland regained its independence in 1918). He was also a Polish politician, diplomat, and member of the Regency Council.  Archbishop Kakowski promoted the creation of a strong Catholic press. He was one of the authors of Rycerz Niepokalanej, one of the most popular newspapers in prewar Poland. and was one of the founders of the theological faculty at the Warsaw University and of the Catholic Action movement. Kakowski was awarded with the Order of the White Eagle in 1925, the highest Polish decoration, for his role in liberating Poland from foreign occupation.