The Image of a Village and the Life of its Inhabitants on the Example of Selected Lublin Press in the Mid-1930s.

Abstract

The interwar period (1918–1939) was a time of intense social, economic, and political transformations in Poland, including rural areas, and the Lublin press played a significant role in shaping the image of the countryside and the lives of its residents. Articles from that period depicted rural Poland as a space full of contradictions: on the one hand, marked by poverty, backwardness, and inequalities, and on the other hand, as a place of dynamic changes, growing awareness, and aspirations for modernization. The heterogeneity of the narrative stemmed primarily from the ideological differences between individual publications. Whereas left-wing and peasant newspapers highlighted socio-economic hardships, conservative and Catholic press emphasized the morality, religiosity, and patriotism of villagers. Regardless of the political line, the countryside remained a significant topic in public discourse, and its development and problems constituted an important element of the public debate. Articles analyzing the economic and social situation of the Lublin region in the 1930s point to numerous challenges faced by farmers. The economic crisis, the weakness of cooperative organizations, income inequalities, and absence of educated elites in rural areas were seen by their authors as key factors hindering the development of the countryside. At the same time, the writers recognized opportunities for improvement through the expansion of cooperatives, education, and more active participation of farmers in politics and rural economic management. They emphasized that only through conscious actions and organization could improvements be made in rural living conditions and an increase in its significance within the national economy be achieved.