Summary The French Polonica in the collective consciousness of the organisers and members of the first societies and institutions of the Great Emigration

Abstract

One of the most significant elements, strongly binding the politically divided Great Emigration, were the joint efforts on documentation of the Polish heritage. This article discusses a rare phenomenon in Europe – a collective and spontaneous action taken abroad by expatriates to find, collect, and develop French Polonica. This type of action was a collective effort of the whole national minority living in Paris. It shows a unique social effort: the association of citizens deprived of their own state in various groups and unions working jointly in order to prove the Polish rational status, legitimacy of Polish nationality. By showing the different stages of working on French Polonica, the dedication of individuals and societies, one must pay attention to the favorable French circumstances: some earlier interest in Russian literature and the uniqueness of Polish romantic writing. In addition, we observe the development of national ideology. Writing about the role of Polonica, the transcendent thinking and action taken jointly by the people of the Great Emigration, we present the organizational phenomenon of registration of Polish literature and the entire Polish culture. Part of the article is devoted to the most important methodological problems, related to the formal classification of closely-identified French Polonica which have been identified, thus indicating further research fields.