Pawlikowscy z Medyki wobec powstania styczniowego 1863–1864

In 1863 an uprising against the Russian invaders started in the Kingdom of Poland (“the Congress Poland”). The insurgents’ goal was to free Poland from bondage. Although the hostilities took place in the territory annexed by the Russians, the land of Galicja (under the Austrian rule) also significantly contributed to the organization and logistics of the uprising. Among the many Galician patriots a major role, although now forgotten and hardly present in modern historiography, played Helena and Mieczysław Pawlikowski from Medyka near Przemyśl. Mieczysław was deputy commissioner of the Polish National Government for Eastern Galicia and he was among the creators of the Galician insurgent organization. Helena took care of provisioning for the insurgents; in Medyka she played host to Marcin Borelowski (“Lelewel”) who organized his unit there. On the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of the uprising it seems necessary to remember their great effort for the homeland in the years 1863-1864. The article focuses on two issues: presenting Helena and Mieczysław Pawlikowski against the background of the 1863-64 events and, based on the fragments of their letters, showing the motives of their activity, emphasizing the significance of patriotic instruction and service for the country despite particularistic interests of various opposing parties.