Rally as an Important Element of Living in a Rural Community in the Interwar Period Based on Deputy Jan Pieniążek’s Activities

Abstract

The article is an attempt to show rallies as an important element of living in rural communities in the light of the activities of deputy and people's activist Jan Pieniążek in the interwar period, i.e. 1918–1939. The rally in this period was the most effective form of reaching the rural population with its message, clearly winning over the press (illiteracy, lack of access to printed material, unwillingness to read, after 1926 restrictions due to increasingly repressive censorship). Rallies became one of the main means of exchanging information, presenting one's achievements, or discrediting opponents. Therefore, they were also often a place of ‘political struggle’, sometimes taking on rather violent forms (the so–called “breaking up” of rallies). At the same time, however, they were also genuine spaces for meaningful discussion on various issues, becoming a manifestation of a kind of local democracy (an example is the rally referendum in 1933, in which the inhabitants of the village Mokra Strona decided to join the city of Przeworsk). This article describes in detail issues related to the organisation of the rally and its setting. The role and significance of the rally presidium and the resolutions adopted at the rallies are examined. The topics discussed at these meetings are also presented. Finally, issues of attendance and the emotions evoked by the rally speeches are addressed.