Physical activity of Ukrainian people interned in camps on the territory of the province of Łódź in the years 1920 – 1938

After the truce between Poland and Russia had been signed in October 1920, the soldiers of the Ukrainian People ’ s Republic who crossed the Polish border were first disarmed and then impris-oned in internment camps. In 1921 over 15 000 people were sent to camps on the territory of the province of Łódź, namely to Kalisz -Szczyp iorno, Piotrków Trybunalski and Strzałkowo. The camps functioned until 1924 and after their liquidation, the internees had to leave the territory of Poland or, after obtaining the status of political immigrants, they were granted a permit to stay. Those who stayed settled in Kalisz, in the so-called Ukrainian Stanitsa. They lived in shabby conditions. However, although isolated and subjected to hostile agitation by Bolshevik authorities, they managed to restore their patriotic and national spirit as well as their sports and health character. Cultural and educational activity, apart from theatres, choirs, libraries, the press was run primarily by schools. The Ukrainian people attended both camp (Ukrainian) schools and Polish schools where they participated in PE classes as part of the curriculum. Moreover, the sports movement developed, supported by the American YMCA association. Their sports level made it possible to compete with the leading regional teams. Sports Activities, apart from their pro-health impact, integrated the Ukrainian community. of


Introduction
This article aims to present forms of physical activities which were undertaken by Ukrainian soldiers kept in camps in 1920 prepared for them, a.o. in the territory of the Province of Łódź which the Kalisz County was part of after Poland regained independence. The beginning of the period of my research was marked by the arrival of the first groups while the ending -1938 -by locating the Kalisz County along with Ukrainian Stanitsa in the Poznań Province due to the administrative reform.

Research methods and problems
The circumstances of interning Ukrainian soldiers in camps on the territory of the Province of Łódź have already been analysed by both Polish and Ukrainian researchers 1 . However, the research problem formulated in the title of this article 25 has been either treated merely as a contribution or neglected. It has to be mentioned though that the author of this article does not claim the right to fully present the title problem. 1995; A. Ukraińcy i ich życie w Kaliszu w latach 1920-1939[Ukrainians and their life in Kalisz In the years 1920-1939 1920-1924 of Ukrainian People's Republic army soldiers interned in Kalisz and Szczypiorno in the years 1920-1924, "Rocznik Kaliski" ["Kalisz Yearbook"] 1996/1997K. Paszkiewicz, Szkolnictwo i oświata wojsk Ukraińskiej Republiki Ludowej internowanych w Polsce w latach 1920-1924[Schooling and education of Ukrainian Peoples' Republic soldiers interned in Poland In the years 1920-1924 Strzałkowem 1914-1918, 1919-1924[The camp of war captives and the Internet near Strzałkowo 1914-1918, 1919-1924 (Чехія, Польща, Румунія, Єгипет, 1919-1924) [Natcionalno-duchowne samostwierdżennia, cz. 2: Presa internowanych ukraijintców ta cywilnoji emigraciji (Czechija, Polsza, Rumunija, Egypet, 1919-1924 [National and spirituals acceptance, part 2: The press of the Internet Ukrainians and citizen immigration (Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Egypt 1919-1924 Methods such as induction, deduction, synthesis and comparative methods were used in this research. The source material were the archives, press and literature sources. The following research problems were formulated: 1. What conditions determined sports activity? 2. What forms of physical activity did the Ukrainian people practise in the internment camps?

Results and discussion
The Province of Łódź was constituted by the Temporary Act of August 2, 1919. It encompassed 13 counties with Łódź as the place of residence of the authorities of the Province 2 . The most important revision of the borders of the province took place in 1938 when the counties of Kalisz, Koło, Konin and Turek were transferred to the Poznań Province 3 and the counties of Kutno, Łowicz, Skierniewice and Rawa as well as Końskie 4 and Opoczno were incorporated 5 the province of Łódź, which was of agricultural and industrial character (textile industry was predominant). It was determined by national and social diversification 6 . The first general census of 1921 distinguished the following nations out of 2 252 769 inhabitants of the province: Poles -81%, Jews -12 %, Germans -4,6% and a few less numerous nations, such as Czechs, Russians, Ruthenians (Ukrainians), Belarusians, Lithuanians and others. In 1921 Ukrainian (Ruthenian) 7 nationality was declared by 846 people 8 . It soon changed reasonably, because in October 1920 a truce between Poland and Russia was proclaimed in Riga. As a result of the truce between Poland and the Ukrainian People's Republic (URL) was undone. Then the bereft troops of URL, forced by Bolshevik army, passed onto the territory of Poland.
Here, The Ukrainian soldiers, were disarmed by Polish army and interned in several camps in Aleksandrów Kujawski, Wadowice, Piotrków Kujawski, Pikulice, Łańcut, Strzałkowo and Kalisz. In December 1921 all the interned soldiers and civilians -15 326 -were sent to camps on the territory of the Province of Łódź. 8454 of them were sent to Kalisz and Szczypiorno, 372 to Piotrków Trybunalski and 6500 to Strzałkowo.
The soldiers and their families, as well as civilians, teachers, doctors, students, writers and artists among them lived in shabby conditions. Their number decreased as a result of the living conditions as well as due to Bolshevik agitating activities, amnesties proclaimed by Bolshevik authorities and emigration to the West and, in many cases, because they assimilated with Polish society. The growing downward trend in the number of internees resulted in the closure of the camps on August 31, 1924 9 . Those who stayed in Poland, higher -rank officers, the sick, invalids, the old, got the status of political immigrants and lived in Kalisz Ukrainian Stanitsa (1924Stanitsa ( -1939 10 . In 1920, the interned Ukrainians were sent to the internment camps of the Great War (Kalisz, Szczypiorno 11 , Strzałkowo 12 ). Unfortunately, there is no possibility to locate the Internment Camp no. 11 in Piotrków Trybunalski. Hence, it is impossible to estimate the living conditions there. It arises from the scraps of information that some of the internees lived at 13, Krakowska Street (now it is Krakowskie Przedmieście 13 ). The camps were semi-open. As a result, their residents found employment in nearby towns and farms. The wages improved their bad financial situation, though one has to remember that the established food rations were impossible to fulfil the demands for a long time.
The economical collapse of Poland after the Great War caused shortages, both for the soldiers and for civilians 14 not only in food but clothes, shoes and fuel as well. The food crisis began to step down only in 1921. Apart from a diet, the state of health was also determined by conditions of accommodation. Overcrowded, cold shanties were the source of diseases like typhoid or dysentery.
The sanitary and epidemiological situation in Strzałkowo and Kalisz camps was bad, although preventive activities were undertaken, like the ones in Strzałkowo in August 1920. Captain Władysław Gabler was appointed the commander of the hospital and managed to limit the spread of infectious diseases by separating the sick and increasing the number of beds 15 . Despite the improvement of the conditions the reports reveal a very poor living situation in the camps.
In the post-inspection report of 1936 we can read: "[...] the rooms, where they reside are against all hygienic standards. The ceilings are leaking, wooden walls are the home for vermin. In the majority of inspected flats, it is cold and damp. Two or more people sleep in one bed, the healthy with the sick…" 16 .
The camp medical personnel watched the state of health of the interned people. The number of sick balanced between several and several dozen per cent due to the introduction of vaccinations against infectious diseases 17 . Sometimes, how- ever, their efforts were defeated by sanitary conditions. In the aforementioned post-inspection report it was noted in the description of the sick rooms: "[…] it happened that the sick lay naked, covered by shags with swarms of vermin, the insane are deprived of daylight because the only window in their shanty is tightly nailed with boards..." 18 . After a relative improvement of camp living conditions in mid-1921, there were activities undertaken, which strengthened the moral attitude, national and patriotic, sports and health awareness. In every camp, there were various sections organized, such as: general, publishing, historical, visual arts, science, library and sports. Through organizing courses of reading and writing organizations and cultural societies eliminated illiteracy. Libraries, choirs, theatres and publishing houses organized educational, cultural and publishing activities 19 .
Schools were one of the first cultural and educational centres. They were open in Kalisz, Szczypiorno and Strzałkowo. There were different levels of education in camps: primary, secondary and tertiary.
From 1921, there functioned a school for adults which in 1923 was transformed into the T. Szewczenko Ukrainian Secondary School 20 . The school continued its activity after the camps were closed and the Ukrainian Stadnitsa was created 21 . Its graduates continued their education at universities in Poland and abroad, i.e. in Czechoslovakia, France or Germany. However, after a few years, there was a shortage of Ukrainian primary school (in 1925 -108 boys and girls). That is why in 1926 they opened S. Petlura Primary School and in 1935 they created a seven-grade coeducational school with Ukrainian as the language of instruction 22 .
In Szczypiorno, in a scouts' boarding school (płastun school) orphans from all camps were collected (about 100 people versity was relocated from Łańcut to Strzałkowo, with 758 students and four faculties: economics, mathematics and nature, history and philosophy and military science (235 people) 23 .
In the same year, with the help of Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), they started a sports secondary school.
The state of Ukrainian education was not far from their general living conditions in the camp. Working in Ukrainian schools as well as learning there made the financial situation of teachers and students deteriorate because they were deprived of any possibility of extra paid jobs and they had to rely only on camp rations.
The curriculum in Ukrainian schools was similar to the one in Polish schools. Extracurricular subjects were the Ukrainian language and the history and geography of Ukraine.
Classes were held in Ukrainian. Lack of finance and later on the shortage of teachers negatively influenced camp schooling. Nevertheless, school inspectors expressed positive opinions on the activity of the school in Stanitsa in the years 1925-1927 24 .
Unfortunately, in the mid-1930s this required state continued to deteriorate. Schools in shanties did not meet the required conditions for school premises. That was the most probable reason for low attendance. There were only 50 students in the Stanitsa school where classes were attended by 5-7 children on average 25  Instead, Ukrainian children attended better-equipped Polish schools in Kalisz. It also concerned PE classes and the possibility of participating in student sports clubs 27 .
The residual character of archive sources does not allow to present the full picture of PE classes in camp schools. The preserved report of 1937/1938 reports that in the Ukrainian primary school (Ukrainian Stanitsa) body exercises of 2 hours a week were conducted in a recreational room by Stefan Kość-Kostenko 28 .
We can find very interesting information on a sports secondary school in Strzałkowo in 1921. It was established thanks to material and programming support of the American YMCA organization. Photographs kept in the Regional Museum of Słupca document training classes in 1922. They also depict the outlook of the so-called exercise house organized in one of the camp shanties.
Practising was based on American curriculum. Classes lasted till late hours in the evening (10 pm). Students (400, 25 women team among them) were taught elements of athletics, general and equipment gymnastics, wrestling (American and French), jiu-jitsu, weight lifting, fencing, tennis, basketball and football 29 .

32
Julian JAROSZEWSKI The equipment and sports clothes were delivered by the YMCA. The participants tried to make up for the lacking equipment on their own. In the picture, you can see ketlebells and axels. After closing down the camp in Strzałkowo, the YMCA mission was relocated with the interned people to scouts' school (płastun school) in Szczypiorno. There, apart from obligatory subjects, they put special attention to military training and physical education. It was YMCA again which equipped the school. An instructor of gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, football, athletics and boxing was employed.
Pic. 2. A group of men practsing in the gym (March 1st, 1922) Source: Regional Museum of Słupca.
You did not have to wait long for the results. After several months, Ukrainian scouts competed against their peers from Kalisz schools 30 . Sports activity complemented cultural, educational and artistic classes in the military environment. It integrated the Ukrainian community. It heated readiness for action and stabilized the emotional state of the interned soldiers for whom the active way of life was of great importance. The greatest sports impulse integrating the Ukrainian community were the contests, especially football matches. This kind of activity among the interned soldiers and school students was promoted by sports clubs. In Kalisz Officer Sports Group whereas gymnastics and fencing school was within the 3 rd Armoured Division 31 .The members of "Zaporożec" Association and (Ukrainian) "Sokił" 32 . Sports club members were recruited from among school students. There is no information from Strzałkowo about formal sports associations, the most common description is a "camp team" or YMCA.
The members of scouting (płastun) "Zaporożec" were students of the T. Szewczenko Secondary School. At the end of each school year, during the organization festival, there were championships organized connected with taking an oath by new members and scouting academy. All members of "Zaporożec" belonged to "Sokił" Sports Club. Although the sources say "Sokił" came into being in 1925, Kalisz press commented on "Sokił" matches in 1922.
Apart from football section, "Sokił" trained its members of athletics section 33 , that is why Ukrainian athletes from Strzałkowo competed with Polish sports clubs in athletics, volleyball and football 34 .
Football was the most popular discipline. "Sokił" team from Kalisz played matches against its counterpart 'Sokól' Gymnastics Association, Student Sports Club and "Prosna' Sports Society (all from Kalisz). In the case of the first two rivals, the victory was interchangeable 35 while the loss 7:0 with a "B"-class players of "Prosna" shows the differences in training 36 . The Ukrainian players from Kalisz and Szczypiorno were also members of the camp representation team from Tuchola.
It is in Strzałkowo where there is the best-kept memory of a camp football team because football matches attracted great interest of camp and local people. It has to be stressed, however, that not only football matches were played on a playground organized on a territory of the camp, but other sports disciplines as well. The Ukrainians most often played against the team from Słupca, but they also left for matches to Toruń. In Słupca, the rivals of the camp team were the players of "Rozwój" Słupca Sports Club. BognaWojciechowska remembered the name of a Ukrainian goal-keeper -Białas 37 . Stefan Korboński, a player of "Rozwój" remembering the camp team many years later, wrote: "They had a magnificent football team and several times we played with either good or bad luck. They were better…but we were young, energetic, enthusiastic and… better fed" 38 . The level of training of MikołajBielajew, the leader of "camp team", enabled him to play in the colours of SKS "Rozwój" Sports Club, despite limiting the membership of the club to Polish members 39 . On an everyday basis, the camp field was the place of training for athletes, fencers, boxers and wrestlers. Sometimes it served volleyball players, tennis players or athletes during sporting events. On July 9, 1922, YMCA organized a sporting event under the American flag. The prizes were goods of everyday use, i.e. it was a coat, underwear or tobacco in a chess tournament 40 . The achieved sport level... enabled Ukrainian teams to play in regional sport unions' tournaments. Ukrainian press, apart from national and patriotic content, also promoted physical activity among the interned people. On the pages of "Ukrainian Trumpeter" and "For Ukraine" newspaper they published information about sports clubs and Ukrainian "Sokił" 41 . In the subject of our interest, a special place among immigration camp press was kept by "The Sportsman" published in Strzałkowo. The newspaper, financed by YMCA, promoted the sport in Strzałkowo and other internment camps. A few articles were published in Russian. A magazine usually published news concerning various sports disciplines practised in camps (football, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, boxing and chess) but also other news, like this connected with possibilities of spending holidays by the interned people in the area of Strzałkowo 42 . Based the published accounts one can conclude that in Strzałowo and other camps other sports game, such as football volleyball and basketball were very popular.

Conclusion
At the end of 1920, there came dozens of thousands of interned soldiers and civilians from Ukraine. Separated from their homeland, forced to stay in a foreign country in very difficult camp conditions they had to face the lack of food, clothes, agitation from Bolshevik authorities and what is more longing for their motherland All this forced them to undertake activities which were to encourage their national, patriotic, health and sport aptitudes. It was schools, theatres, libraries, orchestras and camp newspapers that played the role. Different forms of encouragement mutually complemented one another. Physical activity played an important role. Apart from health-oriented influence, practising sport strengthened their fighting ability, stabilised their emotional state and integrated the community. Ukrainian people educated in (Ukrainian) camp schools and Polish schools participated in obligatory PE classes. They were initiated by the American YMCA organization and developed sport skills in many so far unknown sport disciplines (volleyball, basketball, jiu-jitsu). YMCA support enabled on-camp competition (sport festivals) and competition with Polish teams (football, volleyball, athletics). Ukrainian association "Sokił" and sports clubs of military units managed their sport activity. Football was the most popular discipline. The athletic level of Kalisz-Szczypiorno and Strzałkowo camp teams made it possible to play with footballers from other teams. Playing matches with Polish teams, however, integrated Ukrainian society and influenced positive reception by Polish society.