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Jerzy Jeliński

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Jerzy Jeliński
Jerzy Jeliński in 1928 during his trip around the world. Jeliński in the USA; shaking hands with the son of a Native American chief. Visible Buick car
Born(1901-06-21)June 21, 1901
Warsaw,Poland
DiedNovember 30, 1986(1986-11-30)(aged 85)
Warsaw
Occupationtraveler
AwardsCross of Merit

Jerzy Leon Jeliński(21 June 1901 - 30 November 1986) was a Polish traveler and scout. From 1926 to 1928, he completed a successful trip around the world by car.

Early life

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Jeliński spent his childhood in Warsaw and the surrounding area (Stara Miłosna[pl]). In 1918, as a high school student, he joined the Polish municipal militia in Warsaw, organized after the withdrawal of German troops.[1]

In 1920, he was one of the first volunteers to enlist in the newly establishedPolish Navy.He fought with the Marine Battalion during thePolish–Soviet Warand was injured in the hand nearOstrołęka.After the war, he was promoted toboatswainand transferred to the Navy's headquarters in Warsaw.[2]

Career

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In 1926, Jeliński, together with Eugeniusz Smosarski (brother ofJadwiga Smosarska),[3]Brunon Bredschneider (a filmmaker),[4]and Jan Ława (a sailor),[5]and their dog Oranek, organized a trip around the world by car. The expedition was initially planned by Smosarski to be undertaken by bicycle, but Jeliński persuaded the group to use a car instead. To fund the purchase of the car, Jeliński and Ława sold most of their belongings.[6]

The travelers set off in aFord Model Tspecially adapted by theCentralne Warsztaty Samochodowe.[7]The trip, thanks to governmental support (including the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and non-governmental support (from organizations such as thePolish Scouting and Guiding Association,Sokół movement,Polish Automobile Club[pl],Polish Olympic Committee,and Polish Economic Association), became known as thePolish Scouts' Round-the-World Expedition(participants received patches in English readingPolish Scouts Round the World).[7]Among their luggage, the group carried two rifles, four revolvers, a tent, a portable radio, a gramophone, and apleograph.[7]

The route of the expedition passed through Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Italy.[5]In Rome, Ława left the group due to increasing problems with his behavior.[8]The remaining three continued throughSicilytoTunisandAlgiers,where Bredschneider ended his journey, finding further travel tiring and unprofitable.[9]Jeliński and Smosarski continued the trip. InCasablanca,they loaded the car onto theSinsinnawaship bound for North America.[10]US immigration authorities did not allow Smosarski, who was ill withtrachoma,to enter; Jeliński continued alone.[11]Thanks to his perseverance (he gave many lectures to the Polish diaspora) and the help of Polish Americans,[12]he traveled through the United States (fromNew YorkthroughWashington– where he had an audience withPresident Coolidge–Pittsburgh,Detroit– from where he continued in a newBuick Master Six[13]–Cleveland,Buffalo,Niagara Falls,Chicago,Milwaukee,Saint Louis,Denver,Los AngelestoSan Francisco).[14]In Toledo, he declined a young Polish woman's offer to join him on his journey as inappropriate.[15]The journey continued by shipTaiyō Marufrom Hawaii to Japan, where he traveled fromYokohamatoKobe(throughKamakura,aroundMount Fuji,Nikkō,Tokyo,Kyoto,Osaka).[16]He planned to return to Poland through China, but due to the ongoingcivil warthere, he abandoned the plan to travel through India because of insufficient funds.[17]He loaded his car onto theKashima Maruship[18]and, through theSuez Canal(Port Said), visiting ports inNagasaki,Shanghai,Penang Island,Hong Kong,Singapore,andColomboonCeylon,he reachedMarseille.[19]He then returned through France, Belgium, and Germany to Poland.[20]The trip lasted over two years, from 30 May 1926 to 31 October 1928.[5][21]

During the expedition, the travelers met many heads of state, mayors of various cities, and university professors. Among those who hosted them were: President of PolandIgnacy Mościcki,MarshalJózef Piłsudski,President of CzechoslovakiaTomáš Masaryk,President of AustriaMichael Hainisch,AdmiralMiklós Horthy,Italian Prime MinisterBenito Mussolini,Pope Pius XI,President of the United StatesJohn Calvin Coolidge Jr.,Japanese MinisterGotō Shinpei,French Prime MinisterGaston Doumergue,and King of BelgiumAlbert I.[22]Information about the expedition appeared in Polish[5][23]and foreign newspapers (including American, Japanese, and German), with about 2,000 articles published about it.[24]

Upon his return, Jeliński was greeted by a large crowd of Warsaw residents, and he was received by President Mościcki.[25]

The expedition was described byWładysław Umińskiin the bookPod flagą polską samochodem naokoło świata[pl](Under the Polish Flag: Around the World by Car) published in 1929.[5][26]

Later years

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DuringWorld War II,he was involved in the resistance against the occupiers. His family home was used to store weapons for theHome Armyunits, and he also participated in theVolunteer Fire Department[pl]in Stara Miłosna.[27]

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^Umiński (1929,p. 8)
  2. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 8–11)
  3. ^Hendrykowska, Małgorzata (2007).Smosarska(in Polish). Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza. pp. 11, 14, 175, 194, 195.ISBN978-83-232-1797-8.
  4. ^Skaff, Sheila (2008).The Law of the Looking Glass: Cinema in Poland, 1896–1939.Ohio University Press Polish and Polish-American studies series. Athens: Ohio University Press. p. 182.ISBN978-0-8214-1784-3.OCLC156817260.
  5. ^abcdeKwestorowski, Mariusz."Podróż Jerzego Jelińskiego; Władysław Umiński – Pod polską flagą samochodem naokoło świata"[Jerzy Jeliński's Journey. Władysław Umiński – Under the Polish Flag: By Car Around the World].www.ee.pw.edu.pl(in Polish).Retrieved2024-09-09.
  6. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 10–11)
  7. ^abcUmiński (1929,pp. 12–15)
  8. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 28, 47–48, 50)
  9. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 53, 59, 66–67)
  10. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 88–90)
  11. ^Umiński (1929,p. 96)
  12. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 101, 104, 114)
  13. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 113–114)
  14. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 103, 107, 115, 123, 129, 153)
  15. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 110–111)
  16. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 154, 156, 159, 163–166, 168, 172)
  17. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 174, 182)
  18. ^Umiński (1929,p. 168)
  19. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 173–174, 179, 182, 186)
  20. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 188–191)
  21. ^Umiński (1929,p. 192)
  22. ^Umiński (1929,p. 5)
  23. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 16, 110)
  24. ^Umiński (1929,pp. 119, 141, 161, 189, 192)
  25. ^Umiński (1929,p. 191)
  26. ^Poros, Sławomir (30 May 2022)."96 lat temu ruszyła polska ekspedycja dookoła świata. Ratujemy klasyka!"[96 Years Ago, the Polish Expedition Around the World Set Off. We're Saving a Classic!].Śniadanie & Gablota(in Polish).Retrieved2024-09-09.
  27. ^Wierzchowski, Henryk (1971).Anin Wawer(in Polish). Warsaw: PWN. pp. 71, 84.
  28. ^abUmiński (1929,p. 154)

Bibliography

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