O Dziennikach Stanisława Ossowskiego

Abstrakt

This article was written on the occasion of the completion of the 3-volume edition of “The Diaries” of the eminent Polish sociologist Stanislaw Ossowski (1897–1963). These diaries were written during a long and turbulent period, from the Russian Revolution of 1905 until the author's death in 1963. The author of this article, who prepared Ossowski's diaries for publication and annotated them extensively, discusses their character, describes the fate of their manuscripts and reveals her editorial workshop. “The Diaries” are a valuable collection of Ossowski's notes of daily life, wars and politics, his scientific travels, comments on his readings and more general reflections on society. They provide material for Ossowski's scientific biography and are an important source for the study of the history of sociology and intellectual life in Poland. The value of Ossowski’s diaries lies in the fact that he wrote them for himself. This makes them free of the bias common in autobiographies and diaries written with a view to future publication.