Figure 1.--This family was from Ostrołęka Poland (Ostrolece / Ostroleka) in Russian Poland. The photographer was F. Walz Fotografja. The name of the family and dates are written on the reverse right hand side with a date of July 2, 1912. (I can't make out the names, perhaps a HBC reader can.) Put your cursor on the image to see the ornate back of the card. . Ostrołęka is a town in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Warsaw. The tunics the boys are wearing appear to be a school outfit. Notice one boy has a book and the other a cap which is a military-style school cap. We donot know if this means it was a military school.

As a result of repeated war, invasion and partition, Poland had ceased to exist as an independent country (18th century). Poles were part of the Russian, German, and Austrian Empires as a result of the Polish Partitions (1772-95). Russia had by far the largest portion of Poland, including Warsaw and central and eastern Poland. These three empires had differing policies on the ability of national groups to express their nationalism, but all in one way or the other sought to supress Polish nationalism. The Russians granted a degree of autonmy after the Napoleonic Wars, but resistance to Russian rule caused the Russians to reassess this policy. We know that Tsar Alexander III initisted a major effort at Russification thoughout the Empire. He revoked the constitution that had been granted Poland and in Poland and other areas initiated efforts to Russify not only Poland, but other national groups. Schools were required to operate in Russian. We do not have details on the extent to which Polish-language schools were permitted in the areas of Poland annexed by Austria and Prussia. We believe that the Austrians were more flexivle on this than the Russians and Prussians. Eve Currie's biography about her mother Madam Currie has a chapter about Marie Currie's education. It is in the early chapters of the biography that describe Russiaification. Polish language school were driven underground. [Curie] We have little information on the uniforms or clothes worn at these schools. Here we see the school outfits of boys going to school in the Russian sector of Poland (figure 1). They wear a Russian blouse-syled uniform. Note the belts worn over the tunic top. We also note two Polish brothers in the Austrian sector of Poland duing 1918. The boys look to be wearing some kind of school uniform, but quire different than the boys here.

Sources

Curie, Eve. Vincent Sheean (trans.) Madame Curie: A Biography (DaCapo Press, 2001), 448p.

Navigate the Relate Boys Historical Clothing Style Pages
[Long pants suits] [Short pants suits] [Lederhosen] [Kneesocks] [Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers] [Blazer [School sandals]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing School Uniform Pages
[Return to the Main Polish School Uniform Page]
[Return to the Main School Uniform Page]
[Return to the Main National School Uniform Page]
[Australia] [England] [France] [Germany] [Ireland] [Italy]
[Japan] [New Zealand] [Singapore] [Scotland] [Singapore] [United States]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Page
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 12:37 AM 4/5/2008
Last updated: 12:37 AM 4/5/2008