Of Poems and Postcards

“I Want!” is the last poem in the book of poetry that has been preserved by my family for a century. It is a fitting tribute to the theme that was interwoven among all the poems contained therein: the desire for the reemergence of an independent Polish state and the preservation of Polish ethnic identity and culture. There are also undercurrents of support for the pan Slavic movement in general; a political movement that was anathema to the German, Russian and Austrian oligarchs representing the various Eastern European empires that had contributed to Poland’s demise. As I stated in an earlier post, the book actually presented more questions than answers: Who were the authors? Why did they meet? Were they part of a bigger group or were they like so many of the early twentieth century immigrant organizations, dedicated simply to preserving their culture in a foreign land? Why did my great-great grandfather end up in possession of this book? Most of these questions will never be answered because anyone that could has passed away.

The next translation piece is more inclined to the prosaic than the poetic (although the countless protestations of undying love by Theodore Gera tend to be poetic.) The correspondence is in the form of postcards. Some are religious greeting cards by work colleagues or extended family. Most are written by Theodore Gera to his sweetheart and later his wife, Bronislawa Rudnicka. Some of her postcards written back to him have survived as well. Like the poetry, we have to piece together the context of the writings. Fortunately, most have dates stamped on the postmark and we can figure out what happened in their lives by what happened in the world at large. We know World War I started in June 1914, and the postcards reflect their reactions to the subsequent events. We know their oldest daughter died of ptomaine poisoning and the postcards talk about “sadness” that they are coping with. We also have the addresses they were sent to. Were the people like Miss May, Miss Linton, and the Pawloski family their land lords with whom they were boarding? Or were they their employers? Family oral tradition is that Bronislawa Rudnicka worked in the homes of wealthy New Yorkers as a domestic servant. Tradition states she even saved many of their belongings when a fire broke out by throwing them out the window. Further research is warranted and could result in corroborating these stories.

Like the book of poetry, I leave it to the reader to analyze the subject matter and form their own conclusions. I am including both the front and the back of the original postcard along with any notes the translator included in his work.