In the time of forced evacuation of the Galician people

Rev. Dr. Jan Trznadel in Styria

Abstract

One of the people who decided to leave Galicia in the late autumn of 1914 was Reverend Doctor Jan Trznadel (1860–1920), a Roman Catholic catechist who taught in the I Gymnasium with Polish as the language of instruction in Przemyśl. He wrote some memories of his wartime wandering, published in two series of articles in the local Catholic periodical “Echo Przemyskie” in 1916. This excellent source not only describes what happened to the author but it is also a good case study of the fates of average inhabitants of Galicia forced to emigrate in the years 1914-1915. Most of his time Trznadel spent in Reichenburg, but also refers to other places where Galicians were places such as: Lichtenwald (Sevnica), Gurkfeld (Krško) and Rann (Brežice). Rev. Trznadel’s memories are part of the series of recollections which the “Echo…” published during the Great War, including texts by soldiers, priests and local intellectuals of both sexes.