| Abstract: | The aim of the thesis was to document and present the publishing
and educational activities of the Cieszyn’s Society, indicate its role in the process of shaping
the national, cultural, and religious identity of the Polish Evangelical community in Cieszyn
Silesia in the years 1881 – 1905 in historical and cultural context of these times.
The dissertation consists of eight chapters. The first one presents a general historical overview
of Cieszyn Silesia taking into account administrative, economic, and political conditions as
well as characteristic aspects of social, national, and cultural life which influenced the local
Lutheran community in the late 19th and early 20th century. The second chapter characterizes
the circumstances that led to the foundation of TEOL, its objectives, organizational structure
and the main stages of its activity.
The next chapters bring the analysis of the publishing repertoire – a typologically ordered
review of the main operating segments of the Society’s publishing activity, proceeded by the
discussion of the organisational and material aspects of editorial activities (chapter 3). The
fourth chapter presents the repertoire of religious literature, represented most extensively by
original works or translations (homiletics, prayer books and devotionals, dogmatic literature
and Church history, missionary literature). Chapter 5 discusses didactic literature, for schools
but also for personal use (educational materials, songbooks), self-study literature and for
public education (TEOL readings and reports, popular science works, polemical and
abstinence texts, fiction). Chapter 6 presents TEOL press organs, opinion-forming for the
local protestant community, popularising literature and readership: ‘Evangelical Calendar for
the Year …’ (since 1882) as well as the biweekly ‘Friend of the People’ (since 1885). Chapter
7 outlines the cultural and educational initiatives undertaken by the Society: lectures, contests,
exhibitions and forming of its own library. Chapter 8 presents activities for the popularization
of literature: both ‘its own’ – published by the Society, as well as the nationwide.
All the activities undertaken by TEOL were supposed to address the reading, educational,
cultural and religious needs of Polish Lutherans mainly from Cieszyn Silesia, but also from
other regions, to educate, raise national awareness, shape national and moral attitudes, form
opinions on social issues, as well as reading opinions. The Society wanted to shape, through
books and the press, an integral and versatile Pole’s identity – a Lutheran, cognisant and
involved in not only religious, but also social and cultural activity. |