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Sept. 28, 2006
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Milwaukee couple returns historic documents to Poland |
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13th century papers returned to Polish national archives |
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Marquette University theology professor Wanda Zemler-Cizewski examines a 13th-century document that was recently turned over to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s archives in 2003. The parchment was one of numerous documents given to the archives by Philip Gavin, whose father George found them in Austria during World War II. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero)
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ST. FRANCIS — Thanks to a Racine family, the Milwaukee Archdiocesan archives and Neal Pease and Ewa Barczyk, 13th century documents have been returned to their rightful place in the Polish national archives.
The documents were found in 1945 in Austria by George Gavin, an engineer for the military in World War II, according to a Sept. 18, 2003 story in your Catholic Herald.
Not knowing what they were, Gavin picked up the muddy documents that he found lying along burned railroad tracks, and sent them home as a souvenir of the war.
For years, the documents lay untouched in Gavin’s home, but after his death, Gavin’s son, Philip Gavin, found them and tried to find the rightful owners.
In 2003, he turned to the Milwaukee Archdiocesan archives and then-archivist Tim Cary. With the help of Wanda Zemler-Cizewski, a Marquette University theology professor who can read medieval scripts and handwriting, they determined the documents, written in a Latin script, were from the 13th century and described grants of land and other property to religious communities and churches in Wroclaw in southwest Poland.
Some were written by popes, including Popes Alexander IV and Gregory X, or by other high-ranking Roman Catholic Church officials.
Once authenticated, the Polish archives wanted the documents returned. Earlier this year, Cary, who now works for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee archives, turned to his friend Pease and his wife, Barczyk.
Pease, an associate professor of history at UWM and Barczyk, interim director of the UWM libraries, both speak Polish. Barczyk was born in England following World War II of Polish parents who had fought in the war.
When Cary asked Pease if he was interested in taking the trip to Poland to return the documents, Pease recalled jokingly, “I thought it over for about two seconds, before saying, ‘Yes.’’’
Concerned for the documents’ safety, the Polish archives wanted the documents to be hand delivered rather than sent by mail. The Polish state archives paid for Pease’s airfare and a night’s accommodations.
His family, including Barczyk and children, Krystyna Pease, 21, and Alexander Pease, 19, also went on the trip from Aug. 28 to Sept. 10.
During the trip from Milwaukee to Poland, Pease said he was cautious never to let the box of documents — small enough to fit under his arm — out of his sight. Ironically, when the family arrived in Warsaw, a piece of their checked luggage was lost, so he said he was happy he chose to carry the documents on the plane.
“I carried the documents through the airport, through security,” said Pease, explaining how cautious he was with the precious papers. “These documents are tough babies. They are not paper, they’re made of vellium and cured animal skins and they’ve been through a lot. The last thing I wanted to do was spill salad dressing on them (during the flight),” said Pease.
The collection of 11 documents was transported in a standard archival storage box, according to Pease, who described it as smaller than the size of a DVD player.
“It was a lot lighter than carrying my wife’s luggage,” he joked.
Once they landed at Warsaw, the family, members of St. Robert Parish, Shorewood and St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, Milwaukee, was surprised to see that their arrival was an event of national importance.
They were greeted at the airport by two representatives of the Polish national archives and a Polish-based reporter from the Associated Press.
Three days after arriving, the family attended a press conference and ceremony in Wroclaw to officially mark the documents’ return.
Expecting that the official portion of their journey was through and they could become Polish tourists for the next week or so, the family was surprised when their landlord told them the following morning, “I think you better see the morning paper.”
A banner headline across the front of the national newspaper — translated into English — read, “King Elbowhigh returns to Poland in a suitcase.”
The king is referenced because one of the documents was written by a man who would become the famous Polish king known as Vadislav the elbowhigh or Vlad the short.
The documents’ return also made the BBC news.
Although Pease said the family was taken aback by the attention their visit generated, he understands the significance of the documents’ return.
“Poland has a long and troubled history and literally much of its historical record has gone up in smoke. (The Polish) attach great importance to their history,” said Pease, noting the documents were almost immediately put on display during the reception and press conference. “They are treating them as if they are among the oldest materials they have. They are treating them as very special.”
Even after the official ceremony, the Pease family experienced celebrity for the remainder of their trip. Frequently people on the streets would recognize them from the publicity generated from the media coverage.
In fact, days later, as they were hiking on a remote trail in the Polish mountains, they met a couple who ironically had lived in Milwaukee for a short time, who recognized them from the television coverage.
Pease noted it was satisfying to be part of a historical project.
“We were in a sense representing the Milwaukee Archdiocese who wanted to fulfill the request of this fellow Philip Gavin who wanted to do the right thing,” said Pease. “Because we’re both Catholic, with strong ties to Poland, and Poland is one of the strongest Catholic cultures in the world, it gave us a feeling of some satisfaction to be a part of all this.
“There are lots of people who helped out on this project and we happened to be the ones who stumbled into it at the end and got the glory job of being able to take the documents back. We feel fortunate and honored to complete a mission that goes all the way back to 1945 or 1208, the date of the oldest manuscripts,” he added. |
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