Abstrakt
The paper presents the ethos, social activities, and political attitudes of teachers in the region of Cieszyn Silesia at the turn of the 20th century, based on the memoirs of two educators and social activists – Jan Kubisz and Jan Żebrok. As a multiethnic and multi-denominational region, Cieszyn Silesia was characterized by complex conditions for the development of education during the crucial period of the formation of national identities in the second half of the 19th century. Teachers and Polish educational organizations (e.g. the Educational Society for the Duchy of Cieszyn) were active in both Protestant and Catholic communities, often cooperating with one another. Kubisz, a Protestant, completed a German-language secondary school in Cieszyn, while Żebrok, a Catholic, attended a Polish secondary school there. Their professional careers diverged significantly: Kubisz taught in Gnojnik and remained in the Czechoslovakian part of Cieszyn Silesia after 1920, while Żebrok worked in several regional schools (Marklowice, Dąbrowa, Orłowa, Skoczów, Cieszyn) and settled in Poland after the division of the region. Their memoirs depict the efforts to strengthen national identity among border communities, the far-reaching changes caused by the division of Cieszyn Silesia between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and the political difficulties in the reborn Polish state.
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