Excerpts from the Polish chronicles in the magazine Wieści z Polski. This issue extensively mentions the issue of Polish education in Northern Belgium, including where Polish schools exist (including Waterschei, Eysden-Stebarbe etc.), a brief history of the region and the issue of the consulate in Antwerp. There are about 600 children in Polish schools. In addition, the Polish "White Eagle" colony in Brazil is mentioned in the issue, as well as celebrations in the USA connected with K. Puławski (Source: "Wieści z Polski", Warsaw 1931, R: 5, no. 11, pp. 15-16, after: Jagiellonian Digital Library).

A modernised reading of the text

Polish schooling in Northern Belgium

The indomitable vitality of the Polish element abroad shows itself, among many other symptoms, also in the real, effective effort around the creation and expansion of Polish education abroad. Polish society, with unflagging seriousness and a certain national pride, is following the development of these endeavours and is eager to see in the press the soundings of these peaceful but real gains. The various centres of Polish emigration in Europe and overseas endeavour to keep their Motherland informed of the state of their education. Only about Belgium is the information possessed by the Polish public rather scanty, however the efforts and results in the field of education present themselves impressively.

In the north-eastern corner of Belgium, known as Limburg, a new coalfield has been discovered in the last few decades, which is developing at a truly American rate, since, for example, the municipality of Genek, which twenty years ago had only 3,000 inhabitants, has now become a city with a population of 28,000. Before the coalfield was discovered, the Belgian Limburg had the lowest population density in Belgium. The sudden need for thousands of workers forced the new industry to fill its labour force with immigrants and foreigners, among whom Poles came first, both in terms of numbers and mining expertise, a fact that the Belgian side could not underestimate.

The Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Antwerp, under the leadership of Consul General T. Biliński, very early on became aware of the permanence and possibility of development of this new area of exile, as well as of the fact that Polish exile in Belgian Limburg included and would always include an exceptionally large number of Polish families and, consequently, a serious contingent of schoolchildren. With a view to the future, therefore, the Consulate of the R. P. in Antwerp has launched an effective action to ensure that the young Polish generation is brought up in the spirit of Polish statehood and in connection with the Motherland.

This action was met with great appreciation and cooperation from the Polish émigré community itself, which showed a deep state consciousness by supporting Consul Biliński's initiative, making school demands on the spot, sending their children en masse to a Polish school and not shrinking from certain financial sacrifices. Today, the results of this sensible and solid action can be summarised as follows: the school needs of the Polish community in Belgian Limburg are one hundred percent satisfied: out of five centres of exile, Limburg can boast five schools.

Indeed, Polish schools exist in Beeringen - Mines, Eysden - Stebarbe, Waterschei, Winterslag, Zwartberg. In terms of organisation, Polish schooling in Limburg is divided into separate male and female schools in Winterslag, co-educational schools in Beeringen, Eysden Ste Barbe, Waterschei and Zwartberg, and kindergartens in Waterschei and Zwartberg. Approximately 600 children benefit from education in Polish schools, with the proportion of Polish children attending Belgian schools being a negligible 3%.

Teaching in these schools is provided by a teaching staff of 16, not including Mr Wachoniak, the educational instructor for Belgium and the Netherlands, whose energetic work is also based in Limburg. In terms of numbers, the school in Waterschei comes to the fore, which together with the kindergarten educates 215 Polish children with a teaching force of five. By sufficiently staffing the schools with teaching forces, Polish education in Belgian Limburg is able to fulfil its task for both the State and the child.

For this school fully follows the programme outlined for general schools in Poland, and thus ensures the inculcation of state thinking in its pupils as indicated by the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment. However, with a view to the future of the child, who will in most cases seek a job in a foreign environment, the Polish school also pays serious attention to the familiarisation of the Polish child with the local language, thus encompassing all aspects of education in exile.