On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of the Legislative Sejm, the first parliament of the independent Second Republic of Poland, the opening ceremony of the academic conference "Foundations of Independence. Legislative Sejm (1919-1922)". The event was attended by Speakers of the Sejm and Senate Marek Kuchciński and Stanisław Karczewski, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Head of the Presidential Chancellery Halina Szymańska, parliamentarians, government representatives as well as teachers, historians and scouts.
Before the meeting began, the participants observed a minute of silence in memory of the late Jan Olszewski, former prime minister, member of Parliament of the first, third, and fourth terms, and a defender of the opposition in political trials during the People's Republic of Poland.
In opening the conference, the Speaker of the Sejm emphasized that the centenary of the Legislative Sejm is an occasion to emphasize the breakthrough stage in the history of Polish parliamentarism and to recall the merits of the parliamentarians of that time. - The convening of the Parliament was regarded as the realization of the nation's subjectivity, the ultimate symbol of Poland's regaining independence. The enormity of the legislative work had its source, first of all, in the diversity of laws in force in individual districts of the country devastated after the partitions," said Marek Kuchciński.
The Speaker of the Sejm also noted that the Constituent Assembly of the Second Republic laid the foundations of modern Polish democracy. - One hundred years ago, in the time of great change, at a crucial moment for the country, as the Speaker of the Constituent Sejm Wojciech Trąmpczyński said then, the first Polish post-war parliament overcame internal antagonisms by making a collective effort in the interest of the state. This extraordinary message is still valid," concluded Marshal Kuchciński.
Stanislaw Karczewski in his speech emphasized the joy that Poles felt one hundred years ago because of regained independence. - 75 percent of Poles went to the polls in those elections. It was an expression of how happy they were that they were a free nation and that the Polish Sejm would decide their matters," said the Speaker of the Senate, referring to the words of Józef Piłsudski said during the inaugural session of the Constituent Assembly: - One and a half centuries of struggle, sometimes bloody and sacrificial, have found their triumph today. A century and a half of dreams about a free Poland have been waiting to be fulfilled at this moment. Today we have a great holiday of the nation, a holiday of joy after a long, hard night of suffering.
- Democracy for Poland has always been a promise of modernity, equality and freedom. This promise is still with us today," assessed Mateusz Morawiecki, the third speaker of the first part of the event. The Prime Minister noted that due to the establishment of passive and active voting rights for women, nine female parliamentarians sat in the Legislative Sejm. In his speech, the head of government stressed that the Constituent Assembly was supposed to bring Poland together after the partitions, a task that the Sejm fulfilled. - We can say in the Sejm: here is Poland. There was a French king who said: "The state is me." We rather say: the state is us, and the Sejm is an excellent representation of the state," said Prime Minister Morawiecki.
The letter of President Andrzej Duda to the participants of the conference was read by Halina Szymańska, Head of the Presidential Chancellery. "The convening of the Legislative Sejm was one of the first acts of reconstruction of free Poland. The first Diet of reborn Poland was a model of wise and responsible exercise of legislative power. I am convinced that the attitude of its predecessors is worth drawing inspiration to work for the common good, for a free nation and an independent state" - assessed the President in his correspondence.
The first part of the conference, entitled "The Significance of the Legislative Sejm," was led by Dr. Zbigniew Girzyński of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. - The moment that was missing was the seal, the moment when the whole nation says 'yes, we are independent!' That moment was the moment of inauguration of the Legislative Sejm,' said the former parliamentarian. Senator Prof. Jan Żaryn from Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University spoke during this part of the event about the heritage of the first parliament of the Second Republic of Poland. - The Legislative Sejm adopted all decrees, which were passed both by the socialist government of Jędrzej Moraczewski and that of Ignacy Padewski - noted the historian. The next speaker, Arkadiusz Adamczyk, PhD, professor at Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, discussed the image of the first parliament of the Second Republic of Poland. - The best evidence of the Legislative Sejm and its image is the year 1939, the moment of its 20th anniversary. We will not find there any negative evaluations. Everybody paid homage to the creators of the state, indicating that this Sejm fulfilled its role - said the historian. Dr Marek Białokur from the Opole University focused in his speech on the image of the constitution in the contemporary historical education. - Education is not only lessons, school, not only a textbook. As a part of historical olympiad since 2007 under the patronage of the Speaker of the Sejm a contest of knowledge about parliamentarism is held - he reminded.
Subsequent sessions of the conference were held in the Senate building. The speeches concerned, among others, the election campaign and the formation of the Legislative Sejm, political disputes and the state-forming achievements of the Constituent Assembly, the Sejm debates on the Polish question at the peace conference in Paris, the attitude of parliamentary clubs to the Bolshevik threat in 1920, and work on the constitutions of the Second Republic. Researchers also presented the profiles of the parliamentarians of the Constituent Sejm, introducing, among others, the figures of Marshal Senior Ferdynand Radziwiłł and MP Maria Moczydłowska.
The conference is accompanied by an exhibition devoted to the Chamber's achievements entitled "The Good of the Republic is the Highest Law". Deputies, senators, conference participants and guests of the parliament thanks to the presented exhibits can familiarize themselves with the atmosphere of the election campaign for the first parliament of the Second Republic, the course of the inaugural session of the chamber and recall its main legislative achievements. - Despite the internal diversity of the members of parliament, most of them expressed a sense of community and responsibility for their homeland. They were all united by the conviction that the Republic of Poland is a special value, that it is the supreme good. This was the maxim of the Legislative Sejm," said Marek Kuchciński, Speaker of the Sejm, during the opening of the exhibition.
text: CIS
Photogallery: Flickr, Instagram
Conference rebroadcast: YouTube
Photo: Marta Marchlewska/Sejm
Photo: Rafał Zambrzycki/Sejm
Photo: Adam Guz/ KPRM
