Preserving the Fifth School in Vilnius in written form

During the celebrations of the 60^th anniversary of establishing the “Kurier Wileński” (“Vilnius Messenger”) newspaper in the Polish communities in Vilnius and the Vilnius Region the history of the newspaper was being recollected, as well as its merits for saving the Polish culture. Old and new publications were being commented, the management was discussed, obviously, as well as journalists and people associated with the “Czerwony Sztandar” (“Red Standard”) and later with the “Kurier Wileński” in general.

These topics were also discussed during the traditional meeting of graduates of the Fifth Vilnius High School, which is presently named after Joachim Lelewel.

As always, it took place on the last Sunday of June in Antakalnis, near the old school, on Piaski. Basically, graduates from the years 1946-1960 participate in those meetings. People from younger generations also enjoy taking part in the event. This year, over 60 people arrived.

It was impossible for participants not to talk about the Polish newspaper since among its employees there are a lot of old students and teachers of the Fifth High School. This school is said to be, in the past and now, the forge of the Polish intelligentsia in Vilnius. When it comes to our editorial team, it is enough to mention Jadwiga Bielska, Łucja Brzozowska, Barbara Znajdziłowska, Halina Jotkiałło – journalists, whose articles were the best ornaments of the newspaper. Or Krystyna Adamowicz, a person extremely devoted to the Polish newspaper! She devoted almost 50 years of her life. She was the deputy chief editor but very often it was her task to deal with the difficulties of managing the editorial office. She managed to perform all the tasks perfectly because already in her school she was taught responsibility and love for anything that is Polish.

The late Jadwiga Ambrożewicz-Kudirko, Stanisław Jakutis and Stanisław Aleksandrowicz also could not be forgotten.

In the most difficult, we could say the hottest place of the editorial office worked Mieczysław Radziwiłłowicz, Włodzimierz Podmostko, Andrzej Malkianis — who were graduates of the Fifth High School in Vilnius as well.

I ask the colleagues from the editorial office whom I have not mentioned here to forgive me. There are still many of them and what connects them is the school of great tradition.

How to preserve the tradition? How to pass the knowledge to the younger generations? The knowledge about what was the Fifth School for Poles living in Vilnius in those hard times. It is the biggest wish of all those who arrive from nearby areas and from far away for the annual meetings: to safe the memory of the historical Polish school in Vilnius from fading. This matter has troubled participants of the meetings for a long time. To change the word into an act, a few years ago they founded the Association of Graduates “Always faithful to the Fifth School”. Its task is to collect chronicles, notes, memories, materials: the decision to write a book about the history of the Fifth High School, of its former students, teachers and many prominent persons associated with it has been taken. After all, in October 2014 there will be the seventieth anniversary of the foundation of this Polish school.

A famous activist, Janina Tumasz-Gieczewska — the chairwoman of the Polish Section of the Community of Political Prisoners, the chairwoman of the Polish Section of the Community of Political Prisoners and Lithuania’s Deportees, 1946 graduate — brought with her for the meeting many pictures from the school, notebooks, diplomas, student’s diaries and she handed those souvenirs to the present deputy-headmaster, Alina Sawlewicz. Ms Alina comes to the meetings of senior graduates every year, in order to open the school for guests, to show the Room of Memories, rooms etc.

Both she and the headmaster of the Fifth School of Lelewel, Edyta Zubel, are interested in keeping contacts with the old students and in the future book about the school. Even more so, since in the circle of the former students there are many well-known teachers, regular participants of the meetings, such as Maria Magalińska, Zofia Kuncewicz, Janka Subocz, Alina Laurynavičienė, Łucja Mołczanowicz. Indeed, one could find a hundred of them in all those generations.

Other regular participants of the annual meetings are dr. Hanna Strużanowska-Balsienė, Halina Hołub-Kalwajt, Jan Pakalnis, the tireless chronicler of the school and the Polish culture in the Vilnius region, veterans of „Vilia”, Stanislaw Krzywicki and Fryderyk Szturmowicz and other citizens  of Vilnius. But the most moving guests are those who come from Poland, from distant cities, such as Stanisława Kowalewska-Kociełowicz from Szczecin, the chairperson of the Management of the Szczecin District of the World Association of the Home Army, Irena Woronko-Berger from Pruszków near Warsaw, the well-known optician from Warsaw Jan Pilść and many other people.

It was pleasant to see how energetically Janina Gieczewska reacted when the conversation about publishing the book about the school took place:

—Why are we still talking and talking? We know that money is needed. Publishing a book has some costs. Before we find sponsors let’s start the project today. Please, how much can you give now?

And people started giving money. In the end it turned out that a whole thousand litas was collected.

So, if there is a good beginning, there will be a good continuation. After all, the people of Vilnius and the Vilnius Region as well as compatriots in Poland were never indifferent to preserving traces of the Polish culture in the Vilnius Region.

Source: http://kurierwilenski.lt/2013/07/03/utrwalic-wilenska-piatke-w-slowie-drukowanym/

Tłumaczenie by Emilia Zawieracz w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Emilia Zawieracz within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.