Witold Bełza

Witold Stanisław Kazimierz Bełza (1886–1955) was a Polish librarian, writer, publicist and cultural activist. He was the director of the Provincial and Municipal Public Library of Bydgoszcz from 1920 to 1939 and from 1945 to 1952.

Biography Youth and First World War Witold Bełza was born on 8 May 1886, in Warsaw. His father, Stanisław Bełza (1849–1929), was a Silesian lawyer and journalist and his mother, Jadwiga née Kobylańska, the daughter of a Warsaw doctor. Witold, in his early years, was impressed by the strong patriotic feelings of his father and his travels, his social activities: he even attended a rally organized by Stanisław in Opole while aged 7. He lived downtown at 6 20 Stycznia 1920 Street, apartment 3. On 1 September, he sat at the position of director of the Municipal and People's Library. In 1945, the City Council handed it over back to the Soviet Union as a gift from the Polish People's Republic. From the 75,000 volumes (almost exclusively in German) in 1920, Bełza increased the collection of the library to more than 136 000 volumes in 1939, and up to 231 000 volumes in 1952.

Bełza was active in other socio-cultural organizations: the Polish Intelligentsia Organization (from 1921), disseminating Polish literature and the History of Poland; the Society of the Lovers of the City of Bydgoszcz , which he co-created in 1923. Bernard Śliwiński, then mayor of Bydgoszcz, was its first president till 1925; the Regional Museum in Bydgoszcz, as one of the initiators of the establishment; the Artistic and Cultural Council in Bydgoszczz (1934–1939). With his hectic activity, he significantly contributed to the growth of Bydgoszcz as a cultural center in Pomorskie Voivodeship and in the country. In 1933, thanks to the efforts of Zygmunt Malewski, an employee of the Municipal Archives, Witold Bełza launched the first issue of "Przegląd Bydgoski" (Bydgoszcz Review), a scientific journal devoted to the history of the city, to religious and secular art, and literature. Although Bełza joined the United People's Party and participated in the ideological training, he was no more conveniently considered by the ruling organs. As a consequence, in April 1951, he had to leave his apartment at 7 Asnyka street, which was soon put at the disposal of the Provincial Public Security Office. As a result, he moved to live in a flat at 33 Gdańska street. His fall was pushed down further as on 1 December 1952, he was removed from the position of Library director and deprived of the associated allowance. Finally, on 31 December of that year he was put to retirement. For some time, Witold worked in the Municipal Library as an assistant, but he eventually left for good the institution on 31 August 1953.

Witold's father Stanisław was a lawyer, writer and an independence activist. He traveled across Europe, Asia and Africa. He published his impressions of his journeys in the form of small brochures which he gave to libraries, e.g. "Holandia" (1890), "W kraju tysiąca jezior" (In the country of a thousand lakes (1896), "Obrazy i obrazki z Indii" (Images and Pictures from India) (1912) or "Echa Szwajcarii" (The echoes of Switzerland) (1927). Stanisław was a member of the Poznań Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences. He was at the initiative of the creation of the municipal library in Chorzów, Silesia, in 1922.

Witold's uncle, Władysław Bełza (1847–1913), was also a writer, journalist and administrative secretary of the National Ossoliński Institute in Lviv. Like his brother Stanisław, he was a social activist and a correspondent member of the Poznań Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences.

Witold's grandfather, Józef Bełza (1805–1888), was a Polish chemist, pioneer of the sugar industry in Poland.

Commemorations Witold's son donated his father's diary to the University of Bydgoszcz. The book was bought by Witold's father in 1910. Inside, one can discover articles, watercolours, sketches, thoughts of the librarian, but also mementoes from famous scholars he met: lines from Teofil Lenartowicz, Aleksander Brückner or Stanisław Przybyszewski, a photo of William Morfill while in Oxford in 1909, a sketch by Konstanty Laszczka, fragments of music scores by Feliks Nowowiejski, Ludomir Różycki, words of appreciation from Adam Grzymała-Siedlecki, a sketch of a poem by Józef Weyssenhoff.

On 24 February 1984, thanks to the efforts of his daughter Halina,