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Opublikowano: sobota, 23, listopada 2013 21:23

Links between general Józef Haller’s family and St. Lawrence parish in Radziszów

The Haller family came to Poland from Bavaria in the thirteenth century.From 1491, Jan Haller (1467-1525) was a Krakow citizen, merchant and town councillor, and in the years 1505-1525, he ran one of Poland’s first printing houses which popularized publications in Polish.It was only the eighteenth century, though, that brought the representatives of this family a great mercantile success, while the line of the family which, in the second generation, became bound with Polanka and Jurczyce, was established by Józef Antoni Haller (1718-1785) who acquired a large estate as a result of trade in spices, tropical fruit and cloth. The property was inherited by his son, Józef Franciszek.And it was his third son Henryk who, having purchased Jurczyce in 1867, became the progenitor of the Jurczyce line of Haller de Hallenburg.(1)

The whole Haller family successfully sought to transition from the bourgeoisie to the gentry.After retiring from business and purchasing the Polanka estate, the son of Józef Antoni, Marcin Alojzy, who was married to Petronela Bartsch, as a reward for restoring the property to a very good condition, was raised to nobility by Emperor Franciszek I and the byname de Hallenburg was given to the whole family on August 1st 1795. Now, the Hallers would be called de Hallenburg and wear a Haller coat of arms.(2) For the whole family, he also received a coat of arms in the form of an acanthus leaf clover to commemorate the fact that Marcin Alojzy was the first to have introduced crop rotation on his estate.(3)

Henryk and Olga Haller de Hallenburg moved into a single-storey wooden manor house built around 1680.The garden was probably established shortly after the construction of the mansion, and after inspection in 1718, it was reported, "Italian garden, in the garden ten plots with boxwood and various trees planted to the sides."(4) Henryk and Olga renewed and expanded the larch park, established a garden and took care of the neglected fields.(5)

Except for the youngest, Eve, all the other children of Henryk Haller de Hallenburg and Alexandra of the Tretters were born in Jurczyce and were baptized by parson Marcel Zauss at the Radziszów church. In the future, the most celebrated of the brood was to become general Władysław Józef. His memoirs indicate that there was also a drop of French blood flowing in the veins of Henryk and Olga’s children, because his French grandmother (on the mother's side) came from a family of La Sollaye de Malescot whose representatives had been exiled from France after the revolution.(6)

After he was born on July 1, 1885, The youngest son of the de Haller of Hallenburgs of Jurczyce named Henryk was "baptised with water" and the following date was entered as the date of baptism:July 14, 1885.The section concerning the godparents remained empty, because the father’s little namesake died on July 27, 1885, before the church ceremony.(7) The one and only darling Ewa was born in Lviv on November 22, 1881.She was the most energetic of the siblings and always cheerful.(8)

As a child, the most famous of the siblings, Józef, loved to play with the country boys and watch the singing pilgrims headed for Kalwaria Zebrzydowska with feretories for indulgences.The best-known organizers of pilgrimages from the Radziszów parish include "Maciej Pająk of Jurczyce, Klimas "Pazurek z Potoków," Walenty Kościelny of Zadworze, Władysław Pająk (future organist), Maciej Byk of Zadworze , Józef Paciorek of Rynek, Tadeusz Pająk of Jurczyce and Wiktoria Janik of Zadworze."(9) In August 1882,Olga and Henryk Haller with children moved to Lviv, where Józef attended high school and junior high school.Prior to his departure, Joseph passed a school graduation exam before a board consisting of the Radziszów parish priest and Joseph’s father.(10)

The Haller family would spend every summer holiday in Jurczyce.Józef Haller was very close to his family, his village and his parish, because the wedding with Aleksandra Wysocka at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church in Lviv was presided over by an old man, Radziszów’s parish priest from his childhood years, Rev. Marceli Zauss on 23 February 1903.The young couple visited Jurczyce and the graves of the father and grandfather in Krakow in the summer of that year, after their trip to Italy.(11) Joseph, his wife and their son Eryk Maria Józef Aleksander, born in Lviv on August 27, 1904 (and whose godparents were Olga Haller and Karol Haller), paid their next visit to Jurczyce in the summer of 1908 and stayed there until winter.(12) It was exactly then that Joseph and his entire family participated in the Sunday church services in the parish on a regular basis, sitting on the patrons’ bench, which was not to be occupied by the people of the parish for many years after World War II.In 1919, already after his return to Warsaw on late 27 and early 28 April, during a trip to Chełm with his wife and son, Józef Haller experienced moments of emotion when, during a 20-minute stopover in Krakow “A welcome in front of the station – a touching meeting took place because a big delegation arrived from the home village of Jurczyce and the Radziszów parish.There were declamations and choral singing."(13)

After he retired from politics, general Józef Haller focused on the family and social activities.In 1929, it was only in July that he came to Poznań for the first Polish Universal Exhibition on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of independence, because previously he had been filling in for his sister Ewa managing the Jurczyce farm.He dealt with tax issues and took part in the Hallerian meetings and in other conferences.(14) General Józef Haller visited Jurczyce for the last time after the funeral of Wojciech Korfanty, who died on August 17, 1939.The general felt that war was approaching and wanted to say goodbye to his mother and family living in Jurczyce.It was a brief, one-day visit because the very next day, he left taking the opportunity to "cart along" to Kraków with his brother Karol, who was bringing back the mobilized horses to Podgórze, as trains from Zakopane were overloaded.The brothers said their goodbyes at the Podgórze-Płaszów station.(15) Also close to the Radziszów parish was Cezary Haller, estate owner, political activist and officer, born on April 17, 1875, Józef Haller’s brother.He had graduated from the Technical Military Academy in Vienna and served military service in the Austrian army.He then retired from the army to settle down at the family property in Jurczyce.It was owing to him that Radziszów and Jurczyce had been linked by a road that was modern at the time.In 1911, on behalf of the Conservatives, he was elected member of the Austrian parliament (he dealt with the affairs of the Cieszyn Silesia and acted in defence of the persecuted poles from the Poznań region), and during World War I, he would intercede for the legionnaires from the II Brigade detained in Hungary.After Poland regained its independence, he joined the Polish Army in the rank of captain and fought in the Cieszyn Silesia region.He died at Kończyce Małe, finished off with riffle butts by the Czechs.(16)

Also not indifferent to the fate of the inhabitants of the parish of St. Lawrence in Radziszów were the pious Haller sisters, Anna, and Ewa.From 1919, Anna Haller, a teacher and a great patriot, had been an activist throughout Poland.Her sister Eve was running the landed estate in Jurczyce and from 1913, she was very active working at the local parish to reawaken the religious spirit in the rural people and to promote love for the motherland.(17)

The Cracow Diocese Elenchus reports that it was only in 1903 that the Radziszów school was transformed into a four-grade school and, starting from 1905, some of the Radziszów parish youth, living in Jurczyce, began to attend the trivial school which had been built in Jurczyce in an effort of the Haller family.Based on the parish chronicle, this piece of information can be expanded on with the knowledge that initially, the teacher at the trivial school in Jurczyce was Anna Hallerówna, who went on to teach at a secondary school in Mysłowice.

Active at the living rosary of the Radziszów parish in 1897 were 14 Roses from Radziszów and two from Jurczyce.Recorded as Jurczyce Rose at no. 1: Anna Haller (zealot) and at no. 2: Ewa Haller.This indicates that the Haller sisters were devout and tried to set a good example.(18) Already in 1915, Radziszów had a Christian Mothers Brotherhood, because on May 16, 1915, representatives of the brotherhood submitted a request to the bishop of Kraków to appoint administrator Rev. Jettmar as Radziszów's parish priest.

The letter implies that the head of the Christian Mothers Brotherhood in Radziszów was the owner of the Jurczyce estate, Olga Haller and the deputy was her daughter, Anna Haller.As can be seen from the list of those signed up for the Christian Mothers Brotherhood, there were 40 more residents of Radziszów and Jurczyce signed up, including Marya Paciorek, Magdalena Dudek, Rozalija Jezioro, Katarzyna Szwabowska, Stanisława Marszałek, Anna Pająk, Klimas Agnieszka, Marya Klimas, Katarzyna Pocięgiel, Maryja Kaim, Franciszka Jaskuła, Magdalena Krupnik, Agnieszka Ziarko, Maryjanna Płonka, Pająk Marya, Franciszka Zawada, Marya Kościelna, Aniela Kościelna, Anna Myśliwiec, Józefa Pająkowa, Magdalena Jamrozowa, Regina Ściborowa, Salomea Paciorek, Anna Krupnik, Rozalia Sermet, Marya Szwabowska, Zofija Łachman, Salomeja Kowalczykowa, Maryja Kościelna, Katarzyna Kościelna, Magdalena Łachmanowa, Anna Paleta, Anna Niechajowa, Apolonia Radomska and Anna Paleta.The ranks of worshipers of St. Francis also included residents of Radziszów and Jurczyce, as that is what appears from the correspondence between parish priest Władysław Prorok dated 5 February 1916and the Bishop Consistory concerning the foundation of an association of the 3rd order of St. Francis in Radziszów, because "a few dozen members of the local congregation are put down for to that Order at the Franciscan church in Krakow, who ask for a third Order to be set up for them and I am unable to find out about it for certain from the Franciscan Order."After receiving confirmation from the Consistory that the 3rd Order had not been set up canonically at the Radziszów church, parish priest Prorok started the preparations and, in a letter dated February 24, informed the Consistory:"For the glory of God and to facilitate the salvation of souls of my parishioners, I wish to set up the 3rd Order fraternity..... I request gracious permission for the canonical erection of this fraternity at the local parish church.The erection is expected in Jurczyce."The relevant permission was issued on 26 February 1916.(19) The canonical erection of the 3rd Order of St. Francis took place on 7 March 1916 and the Jurczyce court was honoured because of the great devotion of the Hallers, as evidenced by their participation in the parish missions in 1895 where they set a "positive example" to the entire parish community (20)

The great religiousness of Ewa Haller, who was still active socially after her sister had left for Katowice, is also evidenced by the fact that a representative of archbishop Adam Sapieha, Akcja Katolicka and Sodalicja Mariańska made a speech at her funeral in Radziszów in 1930, "praising the merits of the deceased as teacher of the young generations."(21) Ewa died on 15 January, in the presence of her brother and sister and a few nuns, who handed her a lit blessed candle, the day before her mother’s arrival.As general Józef Haller recalled:"We transported her body in a special car to lower it into the family tomb at the Radziszów cemetery.Her dear Silesia bade farewell to her warmly.Crowds of people, children and female religious orders with the clergy accompanied her beyond the Mysłowice limits.After that, myself, my mother and my sister alone accompanied her to Oświęcim.When entering Skawina, ahead of the bridge, we were halted by a procession from the parish church in Skawina, headed by the parish priest and with waving flags to say goodbye to her with mourning vespers at the Church.Apparently, Skawina was retaining a memory of her social work.Finally, we reached Jurczyce, from where a funeral procession set out the next day to the parish church in Radziszów, and from there to the cemetery.That was how the village of Jurczyce, as well as all the surrounding mansions and the Radziszów parish, were giving her their last favour.(22) What draws attention to its otherness at the Radziszów cemetery is the family tomb of the Haller family of Jurczyce, whose links with Radziszów in the past were very strong.

Mounted on a three-piece plinth is a concrete cross with a wreath.The upper part of the pedestal bears the inscription "THE HALLER FAMILY TOMB", the middle part says "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE: HE THAT BELIEVETH IN ME WILL LIVE."Buried in the tomb are:Edmund Haller (2 July 1872-20 August 1916), Olga Haller (1847-1940), Ewa Haller (22 November 1881-15 February 1930) and Anna Haller (1876-1969).A token of recognition of the life and activities of Anna Haller, who had to live estranged from her home village of Jurczyce in the years after World War II as the family property was seized by the communist government, was a solemn funeral in the Radziszów parish in 1969.After the funeral ceremony at the St. Lawrence parish church, her burial at the Radziszów cemetery was attended by a funeral procession of many people, led by the then archbishop of Kraków, cardinal Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II.It was the last burial in the family tomb of the Hallers of Jurczyce, because Karol – the last owner of Jurczyce, had spent the last years of his life in Kraków, where, in 1967, he was buried beside his grandfather and father in the Rakowice cemetery, and the memory of his son Kazimierz Haller, who was murdered in a concentration camp in Auschwitz, is commemorated only by a plaque set in the outer wall of the Radziszów temple.It brings tears to the eyes if one thinks that the wonderful initiative of a fervent patriot of our small Radziszów Motherland (then a 7th grade local elementary school student), Janusz Bierówka, to bury Józef Haller’s ashes that were brought back to Poland at the Radziszów church or in the family tomb at the Radziszów cemetery, did not meet with the acceptance of the then parish priest, Rev. Stanisław Kwak and the Radziszów parishioners.But this judgment may be unfair, because it could have been the government at the time who did not like the idea.Whatever happened in the end, if we want to celebrate our great compatriot and the pride of our parish, we have to visit the garrison church of St. Agnes in Kraków.Locally, the best form of celebrating our great compatriot and fellow parishioner should be to take care of the grave of his mother – Olga Haller and her children, as well as to say a prayer for the peace of their souls as they came from a very religious and very socially aware family.

 

Author:Andrzej Śliwonik

Stowarzyszenie

ul. Jana Pawła II 7
32-052, Radziszów

Nasz rachunek:
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Oddział Skawina

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