Pastor Andrzej Krzywoń (Andreas Krzywon), Moravian-Silesian Superintendent, and His Attitude towards National Issues

An article devoted to Andrzej Krzywoń, the Moravian-Silesian superintendent, and his attitude towards national issues may at fi rst glance seem valuable only from the perspective of the history of Cieszyn Silesia or the history of Protestantism in Austrian Silesia and Moravia. However, in a certain way – as Krzywoń came from a Polish peasant family – this article should be the starting point for a much broader discussion on the issue which is the so-called nationalization of Polish peasants in the “long nineteenth century”. Although the issue has been discussed extensively,1 authors mostly focus on the lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, assuming that Polish (Polish-speaking) peasants were, as a rule, Catholics. Th ere were however exceptions – it is not just about individuals or individual settlements. Th e fl agship example is the eastern part of the crown land of Austrian Silesia, referred to in today’s literature as Cieszyn Silesia (Czech: Těšínsko; German: Teschener Schlesien, Polish: Śląsk Cieszyński), and by contemporary people – the Duchy of Cieszyn (Czech: Těšínské knížectví; German: Herzogtum Teschen; Polish: Księstwo Cieszyńskie).2 Th is region was inhabited by three ethnic (linguistic) groups: Germans, mainly concentrated in the so-called Bielsko-Biała language island (German: Bielitz-Bialaer Sprachinsel) and gaining an advantage in cities, Czechs (Moravians), living in the western and south-western part of the region, and


Michael Morys-Twarowski
An article devoted to Andrzej Krzywoń, the Moravian-Silesian superintendent, and his attitude towards national issues may at fi rst glance seem valuable only from the perspective of the history of Cieszyn Silesia or the history of Protestantism in Austrian Silesia and Moravia. However, in a certain way -as Krzywoń came from a Polish peasant family -this article should be the starting point for a much broader discussion on the issue which is the so-called nationalization of Polish peasants in the "long nineteenth century". Although the issue has been discussed extensively, 1 authors mostly focus on the lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, assuming that Polish (Polish-speaking) peasants were, as a rule, Catholics. Th ere were however exceptions -it is not just about individuals or individual settlements. Th e fl agship example is the eastern part of the crown land of Austrian Silesia, referred to in today's literature as Cieszyn Silesia (Czech: Těšínsko; German: Teschener Schlesien, Polish: Śląsk Cieszyński), and by contemporary people -the Duchy of Cieszyn (Czech: Těšínské knížectví; German: Herzogtum Teschen; Polish: Księstwo Cieszyńskie). 2 Th is region was inhabited by three ethnic (linguistic) groups: Germans, mainly concentrated in the so-called Bielsko-Biała language island (German: Bielitz-Bialaer Sprachinsel) and gaining an advantage in cities, Czechs (Moravians), living in the western and south-western part of the region, and Th e situation was also complex in terms of denomination. Most of the inhabitants were Roman Catholics (in 1869 -162 920, that is 70.08%; in 1910 -329 460, or 75.77%); the second religious group were Lutherans (in 1869 -64 601, or 28.13%, in 1910 -95 566, or 21.52%), the third largest group were Jews (in 1869 -4 078, or 1.75%; in 1910, 10 965, or 2.52%). 4 Th e denominational and linguistic divisions overlap partially. In general, the Czech-speaking population was mostly Catholic, and the Catholics prevailed among the Polish-speaking and German-speaking population, but Lutherans were a signifi cant minority.
Th is leads us to the question: what was the attitude of Polish-speaking Lutheran peasants from Cieszyn Silesia to the Polish national ideology? Contrary to appearances, this is not an issue which is important solely from the perspective of regional historiography. If, based on the example of Poland and Poles, one wants to build any sort of theory about national issues, then the Duchy of Cieszyn, due to its unique linguistic and religious structure, is a an excellent litmus test verifying that theory's value. It is no coincidence that Józef Chlebowczyk , one of the greatest scholars of national issues in Polish historiography, took the history of Cieszyn Silesia as the starting point for his research. 5 Returning to the question posed, as early as 1862, in the newspaper Dziennik Literacki published in Lviv, lawyer and journalist Ludwik Gumplowicz contrasted Catholics in Austrian Silesia (clinging to Germany) with Lutherans (rooted in Polishness) seeking the roots of this attitude in the tradition of resistance in the face of religious oppression in the era of counterreformation. 6 Also in Polish academic literature the view holds that, as a rule, Lutherans supported the Polish national movement. 7 In fact, religious divisions and national divisions did not overlap, but rather intersect. 8 It is the author's belief that in order to clarify religious, ethnic and national ties in Cieszyn Silesia between the Spring of Nations and World War I, it would be advisable to analyze the attitudes of Lutheran pastors towards national issues. On the one hand, being people with great authority, they infl uenced the attitude of their congregation; on the other hand, the faithful oft en paid attention to a pastor's views on national issues when choosing which church to attend. Th e pastors who had been researched to date are solely those involved with the Polish national movement: Leopold Marcin Otto (1819-1882), pastor in Cieszyn in 1866-1875, and Franciszek Michejda (1848-1921, pastor in Nawsie (Czech: Návsí), and one of the leaders of the German party in Cieszyn Silesia -Th eodor Haase (1834-1909), pastor in Bielsko and Cieszyn, Silesian senior, and from 1882 Moravian-Silesian superintendent. 9 Th e rest were only described in concise biographies in various biographical compendia and mentions in monographs of the place where they served. 10 Th is article is devoted to Andrzej Krzywoń (1844-1911). He was born into a Polish family, but became involved with the German party and was regarded as an opponent of the Polish national movement in Cieszyn Silesia. He was a pastor in Międzyrzecze, and then in Skoczów. He was also a Silesian senior, and from 1909 the Moravian-Silesian superintendent, the most important position in the Lutheran Church in Austrian Silesia and Moravia. In literature, he has barely a few (usually brief) biograms, but he is undoubtedly a fi gure deserving much closer attention, and not just from regional historians. 11 Among Austrian crown lands, Austrian Silesia had the largest percentage of Lutherans, and the Moravian-Silesian superintendenture was the largest one in Austria. 12 In other words, at the beginning of the 20th century, Andrzej Krzywoń was one of the most important fi gures in the Protestant Church in the entire Habsburg monarchy.
Th e genealogy of the Krzywoń family could only be reproduced until the fi rst half of the 18th century. Th e family came from Dębowiec, a village located roughly halfway between Cieszyn and Skoczów. Th ey belonged to a group of rich peasants known in Cieszyn Silesia as "siedlak" (Czech: sedlák; German: Ackerbauer; Polish: siedlak). Th e oldest known male ancestor of the pastor is Jan Krzywoń (a Lutheran) from Dębowiec Dolny, who on 28 October 1736 married Maria Michalska, daughter of Paweł, from the same village. 13 He was probably the same Jan Krzywoń who died on 4 January 1761 at the age of about 50 as the mayor of the village ("Iudex") of Dębowiec. 14 Th eir eldest son, Jerzy Krzywoń, on 13 October 1761, in the Protestant Church of Jesus in Cieszyn, married Maria Mrozik, the daughter of a cottager (Czech: domkář; German: Häusler; Polish: chałupnik) from Hażlach. 15 As a peasant in Dębowiec Dolny he was recorded in the urbarium (list of peasant duties) from 1770. 16 Th e eldest son of Jerzy was Jan Krzywoń (born 1763), who in 1791 bought out the family land in Dębowiec Dolny. He married Anna Lazar, with whom he had, among others, a son named Mateusz, born in 1799. 17 He got his education at the Protestant secondary grammar school in Cieszyn, 18 and later, from 2 January 1817, he worked as a teacher in the Protestant school in Żuków Górny (Czech: Horní Žukov; today within the borders of Český Těšín). 19 Th e school was founded at the end of the 18th century, 20 and the pupils were taught "in Polish and a little in German". 21 Th e rich peasants in Cieszyn Silesia reluctantly divided farms, trying to pass them on to one descendant. 22 For the peasants, regardless of whether they came from poorer or richer families, a fairly frequent chosen way to get the land was through marriage. Th is is also what Mateusz Krzywoń did. On 17 October 1820 Mateusz Krzywoń married Ewa Supik, the daughter of an innkeeper from the nearby village of Ropice (Polish: Ropica), 23 29 and Zuzanna (born on 5 April 1834). 30 Despite having six children, their relationship seems to not had been a happy one. Mateusz's wife abused alcohol and had a poor reputation. When she died on 20 August 1834, she was buried at the catholic cemetery in Ropice. 31 Shortly aft erwards, her corpse was dug out under the cover of the night. Lutherans accused the local Catholics, who did not want a person of such reputation resting in a Catholic cemetery. Mateusz Krzywoń had to bury his wife for the second time, but her corpse was dug out yet again. Th is time, the perpetrators threw it into a burning lime kiln. 32 Soon aft er these tragic events, Mateusz Krzywoń moved to nearby Střítež ( of Vienna, and in the years 1864-1865 at the University of Heidelberg. 45 In 1865, he returned to Cieszyn Silesia. He immediately found himself at the center of a theological dispute between liberals (advocates of rational neoprotestantism) and conservatives. Together with his friend from secondary school, Jan Karzeł, he passed church exams and helped as a preacher in the Lutheran church in Cieszyn. Both young theologians were supporters of the liberal trend. Krzywoń's sermons oft en provoked outrage among some of the faithful. Among them was Jan Borbis, a teacher at the Lutheran secondary school. At his request, Jan Kalinčiak, deputy headmaster, moved the student's church services to the school hall "because of a theological abuse of the pulpit" and "inadequate guarantee of proclaiming a pure Gospel". A scandal broke out, and the case ended up in front of the Supreme Church Council in Vienna, which obliged Krzywoń and Karzeł to sign a pledge to "preach the teachings of the Holy Bible in line with the confession of the Church". 46 As can be observed, from the very beginning Krzywoń took a fi rm stand in the theological dispute between liberals (supporters of rational neo-protestantism) and conservatives. Th e leader of the liberal trend in the Lutheran church in Cieszyn Silesia was Th eodor Haase, a pastor in Bielsko (later, from 1876, in Cieszyn) and a Silesian senior. Th is German pastor born in Lviv supported the germanization of Cieszyn Silesia, while his main theological opponent, Cieszyn pastor Leopold Otto, was one of the pillars of the Polish national movement in Cieszyn Silesia. Th ese theological and national divisions were to determine the fate of Protestants from this region for decades to come.
Th e matter of sermons delivered in the Cieszyn church did not have major consequences for the two young theologians. the rubric "everyday language" (colloquial) 55 . His eldest son Bruno is said to have been a German who did not know Polish. 56 And while Krzywoń could easily be impressed by German culture -he studied in Vienna and Heidelberg and married a German woman -in the case of the Polish-speaking Protestant population in Cieszyn Silesia, the situation was more complex. Seemingly Haase and his supporters were fi ghting a lost cause. How do you convince a Polish speaking peasant (who oft en had little or no knowledge of the German language) that he is a German?
First of all, it was necessary to emphasize the positive aspect of Germanness. Th e fact was that acquiring an education and achieving social advancement was determined by the knowledge of German. It could be pointed out that successful people, especially those educated and from cities, speak German. German culture in this way became very attractive for the residents of the Cieszyn villages, especially aft er the abolition of serfdom in 1848, when the chance of social advancement became a tangible possibility for the peasant masses. 57 Secondly, it was necessary to create the impression that Polishness is unappealing. Here, one could use the example of Galicia, where the peasantry was poorer and less educated. Th is was strengthened by the vision of a corrupt Polish nobility, squeezing the last penny from their subjects. In addition to that, the fact that Polishness was strongly associated with Catholicism was a valid argument for Protestants. 58 Th irdly, it was necessary to torpedo postulates regarding language equality. Supporters of the Polish national movement in Cieszyn Silesia emphasized that they have the right to deal with administrative and judicial matters and to obtain an education in their own and their ancestors' languages. Th is caused resistance on the part of the German party, because linguistic equality would mean the end of germanization of Cieszyn Silesia.
Due to the fact that many residents of Cieszyn Silesia were able to read, the local press soon became the battlefi eld. Th e fi rst newspapers were created in 55  Th e newspaper was born in pains. Initially, it was supposed to be called Nowy Czas (English: New Time), but eventually it was decided on Nowiny Śląskie (English: Silesian News) so that it would not be associated too much with the liberal trend. Th e choice of the editor-in-chief was tricky. Two candidates resigned, the third did not know Polish. Th e fourth one, printer Karl (Karol) Prochaska, became the offi cial editor, but the actual creator and head of the magazine was the pastor Th eodor Haase, whose distinctive language errors gave him away. 61 One of the contributors to Nowiny Śląskie was Andrzej Krzywoń, who was regarded as the right hand of Haase. 62 Presumably, most of his correspondence (if not all) from Międzyrzecze came from him. 63 In response to the actions of the pro-German faction (Haase even led to the imprisonment of Paweł Stalmach), Andrzej Kotula, a lawyer and journalist associated with Gwiazdka Cieszyńska, wrote a lampoon entitled Nowy krakowiak (English: New Cracovian), in which he attacked people associated with Haas, including Andrzej Krzywoń, accusing him of shortcomings in faith ("He does not know God") and criticizing his young age ("And on his beard / Th ere is still milk"). 64 Gwiazdka Cieszyńska and Nowiny Śląskie can be compared to boxers, who at fi rst walk around the ring, stay at a distance and do not attack. It was 59 Homola-Skąpska, Irena: "Tygodnik Cieszyński" i "Gwiazdka Cieszyńska not until ten weeks that the exchange of blows began. Th e fi rst hot spot was the announcement of a Polish "national game" (rally), which was planned to be organized on 6 September 1868 in Ropice, a village located near Cieszyn. Th e editors of Nowiny Śląskie did not see any sense in organizing such events, which is best refl ected in the commentary that "Attempts and activities aimed to arouse national feelings are astonishing". 65 Nowiny Śląskie remained in circulation for 9 months and ceased to exist in March 1869. Gwiazdka Cieszyńska diplomatically did not dispute the texts from the last issue, stating: "With a live Nowiny we were fi ghting fi ghts because we knew that there was a clique behind them. About the dead Nowiny, which at the hour of their death appear like a gladiator of freedom and great ideals, we will say nothing, because they would not be able to answer us. Fighting the dead is impossible, and it would be an ugly thing to hit a corpse". 66 In the autumn of 1877, Th eodor Haase, then already a pastor in Cieszyn, decided for the second time to publish a Polish magazine, this time under the title Nowy Czas (English: New Time). 67 Th e target audience was mainly the Protestant population, and among the authors of the texts there were many clergymen. In 1885, thirteen out of seventeen pastors in Cieszyn Silesia collaborated with this magazine in some way; among them was Andrzej Krzywoń. 68 For the pro-German faction this was the last moment for a propaganda counter-off ensive.
Th e Polish national camp was able to get its representatives to the State Diet (Czech: Slezský zemský sněm, German: Schlesischer Landtag, Polish: Sejm Krajowy) in Opava and to the Imperial Council in Vienna (Czech: Říšská rada, German: Reichsrat, Polish: Rada Państwa), founded further associations and began raising funds for the opening of the fi rst Polish secondary school in Cieszyn Silesia. Th is was also the aim of Macierz Szkolna Księstwa Cieszyńskiego, an organization founded in 1885. 69 Andrzej Krzywoń was also involved in the fi ght against the Polish national movement. He chose the best method in this case, scaring his supporters with the perspective of an invasion of bureaucrats from across the Białka river. On 15 August 1881, he spoke at an assembly in Aleksandrowice near Bielsko, where nearly 200 people from several municipalities from the Bielsko county were present. 70 Gwiazdka Cieszyńska published a fragment of his speech there: "Our good offi cials would be rushed out and their seats would be occupied by Galicians themselves, and do you know what kind of people they are? When they meet someone, then they reply to a greeting no diff erent than with "damn you". And do you know what kind of language is that highly pure, Galician-Polish, which the devil himself does not understand? You would renounce it later, but it would be too diffi cult, because neither in Silesia, nor in Galicia, it is diffi cult to fi nd a man who would understand it even a little. And how good it is now with German, when you get a letter, then you go to the priest or to whichever land tenant, or best to "go to the Jew", there is one in every village, he will explain it all to you perfectly even without payment, what could be better?". 71 On the pages of Gwiazdka Cieszyńska, Krzywoń was oft en reminded of these words, even aft er more than 20 years. 72 Shortly aft er the assembly in Aleksandrowice, Jan Cichy (who was present there), a member of the State Diet in Opava, made a proposal to thank the Silesian deputies in the Imperial Council in Vienna for their speech against linguistic equality. 73 Another deputy from Cieszyn Silesia reacted strongly, Father Ignacy Świeży, son of a peasant from Kończyce Wielkie near Cieszyn: "Concerning the applicant himself, Mr. Cichy, I must declare that I once read his appeal issued by him to Silesian voters. And in what language did he give this proclamation? Maybe in some Silesian dialect, when he says that people here do not understand Polish? Oh no, the message was written in the purest Polish language! And so it is not true what he says that our people do not understand Polish, and that he would not even dare to show himself in public with some dialect, or I am forced to suppose that he had a reason to wish that this proclamation would not be understood". 74 Eight years later, on 11 August 1889, at the funeral of the very same Jan Cichy, a sermon was delivered by Pastor Krzywońa sermon in Polish of course. At the end of the 19th century, the choice for a church position in the Protestant Church was infl uenced by a struggle between supporters of the liberal trend and the pro-German side on the one hand, and the conservatives associated with the Polish national movement on the other. So happened in 1888. On 15 September, 78-year-old Paweł (Pavel, Paul) Terlica (Terlitza) died, a pastor in Goleszów and a Silesian senior, originally from Moravia. 76 Fift een days later there were elections that did not bring about a result. Th e second round was a battle between Krzywoń (11 votes) and Jan Pindór (8 votes), one of the three pastors in Cieszyn. 77 On 21 October 1888, Krzywoń was elected senior, defeating Pindór with a ratio of 14 to 9 votes. Gwiazdka Cieszyńska, an organ of the Catholic wing of the Polish national movement in Cieszyn Silesia, wrote directly about the victory of the German party and the defeat of the Polish national party. 78 Th e new senior took offi ce on 25 November 1888 in Międzyrzecze. On this occasion, Krzywoń, an opponent of language equality and the Polish national movement, gave a sermon in Polish. 79 Shortly thereaft er, the new senior began to apply for the position of pastor in Skoczów, a town halfway between Cieszyn and Bielsko. On 11 November 1888, he gained support from the local presbytery. 80 In the election on 9 December, Józef Folwarczny from Bludovice (Polish: Błędowice) won with 132 votes (Krzywoń received 71). 81 It turned out that Folwarczny, a recent theology graduate, did not have the right to be elected, therefore, on 1 January 1889, a decision was made to repeat the election. 82 On 27 January 1889, Krzywoń won with 144 votes out of a total of 226. 83 On 14 May Krzywoń arrived in Skoczów, which thus became the seat of the Silesian seniorate. Th e installation of the new pastor took place on 19 May 1889. 84 As a Silesian senior, Andrzej Krzywoń ceased to engage, at least as much as before, in political activity. Th e confi rmation was the fact that he was elected unanimously for a second term in 1894. 85 Th e Przyjaciel Ludu (English: Friend of the People), a press organ of Polish Protestants, published since 1885 by Pastor Franciszek Michejda of Návsí (Polish: Nawsie), commented on it in the following way: "Pastor senior Krzywoń in the fi rst six years in offi ce showed himself to be a guide and elder of our Silesian seniorate and church, that he wants to be fair to all, equally favourable to all, to equalize, alleviate contradictions, to institute among the brothers "the unity of spirit in peace". Th e unanimity of his choice was an expression that all of us wish that a brother should not despise his brother, that a brother should respect his brother's beliefs, that a brother should admonish his brother in a brotherly way, that a brother should be fair to his brother, that a brother should not see his brother as the enemy, […] and all trust in him that in this direction he will continue to govern our seniorate more and more clearly. God willing!". 86 A year later, pastor Andrzej Krzywoń was part of a group of 15 out of 18 town councilors in Skoczów who protested against the founding of a Polish secondary school in Cieszyn (it was opened in 1895). 87 Despite this, both on 14 October 1900, 88 and 21 October 1906, the Skoczów pastor was unanimously elected Silesian senior. 89 Th e increasingly ill Moravian-Silesian superintendent Th eodor Haase, the undisputed leader of the pro-German Protestants in Cieszyn Silesia, said that Krzywoń would be his most worthy successor. 90 With each passing year, the relations between the Polish and German parties in Cieszyn Silesia became more tense. In 1909, supporters of the pro-German party started a strong counter-off ensive. On  On 27 March 1909, Th eodor Haase, longtime leader of the German faction and Moravian-Silesian superintendent, died. Th e choice for the most important position in the Lutheran church in Silesia and Moravia became another battlefi eld between supporters of the liberal and conservative movements, as well as supporters of the Polish and German factions. Th ere was a surprising turn of events in all of this. 92 Krzywoń, who come from an ethnically Polish family, became a candidate of the German party, while the Polish party supported Martin Modl, the son of a peasant from Mitterdorf in Carinthia. Th e situation was further complicated by the fact that Modl was a pastor in Bielsko, but it was this church that put forward Krzywoń's candidacy. In turn, the presbytery of the church in Opava was the fi rst one to suggest Modl, and it was supported by all congregations in Moravia. Also the Przyjaciel Ludu, an organ of Polish Protestants, supported Modl. Th e newspaper pointed out that the Carinthian is a conservative in religious matters and does not dabble in national issues. 93 It is worth noting that Modl was a school colleague of pastor Karol Michejda from Bystřice (Polish: Bystrzyca), an important fi gure among Polish Protestants, brother of Franciszek, a pastor in Návsí and publisher of Przyjaciel Ludu. 94 Th e election campaign was fi erce, including both parties accusing each other of giving false information about the resignation of the competitor. 95 In the elections that took place on 16 May 1909, Andrzej Krzywoń received 29 votes, and Martin Modl 19. 96 On 12 August, Emperor Franz Joseph approved the choice of Krzywoń. 97 Jan Stonawski, son-in-law of Franciszek Michejda, argued in Przyjaciel Ludu that for Polish protestants, the result of the election is not bankruptcy, but an honourable failure. 98 But this was just putting on a brave face. On 5 September 1909, the installation of a new superintendent took place in Skoczów. 99 On 1 October 1909, pastor Andrzej Glajcar from Drogomyśl, a prominent representative of the pro-German Protestant party, publisher of the Nowy Czas, was elected Silesion senior, the position left vacant by Krzywoń. 100 Aft er the election, Krzywoń fi nally dropped any pretence of neutrality. It is symbolic that when the Czech Evangelický Církevník described him as a Pole, the Poseł Ewangelicki, an organ of Polish Lutheran nationalists, rectifi ed this information and stated that Krzywoń was a German. 101 Opavský týdenník called him "a Polish renegade" ("byl polský odrodilec"). 102 Kurier Lwowski wrote succinctly: "based on his convictions, he was a German". 103 Th e new superintendent also turned out to be vindictive. He blocked the election of Oskar Michejda for pastor in Jaworze, because the congregation in Bystřice, whose pastor was Karol Michejda, Oskar's father, voted against him. 104 In Stare Bielsko, he approved the election of pastor Hugo Bartling, brother-in-law of his son Bruno, even though he did not speak Polish, although this language was used by over 10% of the faithful. 105 He did not agree that the Czech church in Hodslavice collect a contribution for the construction of a school in Mořkov in the Silesian congregations. 106 Paweł Sikora, a traveling preacher in Cieszyn Silesia, sympathetic to the Polish national movement, was deprived of his position -a decision which Krzywoń supported. 107 Disintegration threatened even the Moravian-Silesian superintendence itself. Krzywoń himself calmed the situation with a special circular letter, when at the same time the Germans organized the "fi rst German-Lutheran people's rally" in Olomouc. 108 Th e Polish newspaper Poseł Ewangelicki admitted that the superintendenture boundaries were artifi cial, because they were designated in 1784 in accordance with the contemporary administrative division, when Moravia and Austrian Silesia were one governorate. On the other hand though, the newspaper opposed postulates of a division of the support of the Polish national movement. Th ree years later, when he became the Moravian-Silesian superintendent, the situation was completely diff erent. Th e temperature of disputes, judging by the press and memoirs from that time, increased signifi cantly. In the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, no model of functioning of the administration, judiciary and education was created which would satisfy all nationalities. Th e quarrels in this respect not only divided the Lutheran Church in Cieszyn Silesia, but became one of the causes of the breakup of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918.

Pastor Andrzej Krzywoń (Andreas Krzywon), Moravian-Silesian Superintendent, and His Attitude towards National Issues
Th e article presents a biography of Andrzej Krzywoń (1844-1911), a pastor in Międzyrzecze and Skoczów in Cieszyn Silesia, a Silesian senior, and from 1909 a Moravian-Silesian superintendent. He was one of the most important fi gures in the Th e Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Habsburg Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. I pay special attention to his attitude towards national issues. Krzywoń came from an ethnically Polish family, he studied in Vienna and Heidelberg. Aft er returning to Cieszyn Silesia, he became involved with the (pro)German faction, similarly to most pastors in the region. In elections for Silesian senior he even obtained the support of proponents of the Polish national movement. Aft er being elected in 1909 as Moravian-Silesian superintendent, he abandoned political neutrality and actively combated the Polish national movement.
His biography is an example of the radicalization of political moods in the Habsburg Empire. It also illustrates the attitudes of the majority of Lutheran pastors in Cieszyn Silesia. Until now, there was a false conviction among researchers that that in this region, Lutherans in general supported the Polish national movement, and the Catholics supported the German party.