French and Polish history through …3 love affairs !

Poland History from the 18th to the 20th century has a lot of links with French History ! Here is a small presentation of the buzzy story of Poland through the stories of three Polish women that were intimated linked to French History too …

First story : In the 18 th century A Polish wife for the French king... Marie Leszczynska Marie Leszczynska was born in 1703 in Trzebnica ( in Silesia, Poland). She was Stanislaw Leszczyński’s daughter and became the first and only Polish queen of France !

Stanislas ( Stanislaw in polish) Leszczynski) Marie’s father, Stanislaw Leszczyński, was king of Poland during a short time, between 1704 and 1709 and a second time between 1733 and At that time, in the 18th century, Poland had a lot of problems with finding a royal family to run the country. Sweden and Russia took part in decisions and Poland underwent war for succession and this lasted a long time…

Despite the help from his French son-in- law, Stanislaw couldn't keep his crown. However, he was given the title of duke of Lorraine by the French king, Louis 15, his son-in-law. Stanislaw finished his life in that French area where he did a lot of work to embellish his capital, Nancy. Stanislaw ‘s castle, the Luneville castle is also very famous. It is known as a small Versailles castle. The name of the main place of Nancy is still known as Stanislaw's place. It is said to be the most beautiful place in France!

But why did the French king marry a poor Polish princess whose father was not king anymore ? Marie was a devout catholic like Louis 15, she was young ( 22 years old ) and healthy… a perfect mother for the futures French heirs ! They got married in First they were really in love but by the time, Marie suffered from her ten pregnancies and she got older ! Louis XV had some mistresses but they still remained good friends.

Marie devoted her life to culture: she was fond of music and paintings : she received a lot of musicians in Versailles palace like the famous castra Farinelli and the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She was also friend with the famous French philosopher Voltaire. Marie was also the first to introduce the costume of Christmas tree in France !

2nd story : in the 19 th century: Napoleon‘s Polish lover At the end of the 18th century, Poland lost her independence for a long time, divided between Russia and Germany. The French emperor, Napoleon I used to employ polish soldiers in his troops as he found them very good soldiers.

In 1806, Napoleon stayed for several months in Warsaw, where he met a young Polish countess, the beautiful Marie Walewska. When the French emperor met her for the second time at a sumptuous ball given by the Polish nobility, he kept looking at her ! Marie Walewska, a twenty-two years old girl made him fall in love ! Patriotic friends of the countess tried to push her into becoming his mistress, which she refused to do at first. But Marie Walewska was a patriotic girl and she deeply wanted her country to become independent again. So she finally accepted to become Napoleon’s mistress in the hope of inducing the emperor to treat Poland equitably.

But finally their affair was passionate ! It is said that « Her character enchanted the emperor and made him cherish her more and more every day ! ” In May 1810 Marie gave birth to an illegitimate son, Alexandre Walewski. Is it because of his love for Marie ? In 1807, Napoleon created the duchy of Warsaw which was during a short time a kind of independence for Poland. Unfortunately, with Napoleon’s defeated against Russia, the duchy of Warsaw disappeared and Russia occupied Poland once again

Marie could never forget Napoleon : in 1815, she made a discreet trip to Elba with their son Alexander to comfort the exiled emperor. Later in September 1816 she married a second cousin of Napoleon I, Count Philippe d’Ornano. She died giving birth to her third son in Napoleon and Marie’s son,Alexandre Walewski became the French Foreign Affairs Minister under Napoleon III and later a distinguished French statesman.

3rd story : in the 20th century : Marie and Pierre Curie, love and science ! Marie Skłodowska was born in Warsaw in 1867 and lived there until she was 24. At that time, Poland was still under Russian occupation.

In 1863, after an important polish national uprising, Russian authorities forbade university to polish girls. But Marie who attended a female gymnasium from which she graduated on 12 June 1883, wanted to pursue mathematics and physics. She entered the clandestine floating university and became a brilliant student even if she also had to work as a governess to pay her studies : her family was quite poor at that time because on both the paternal and maternal sides, the family had lost their property and fortunes through patriotic involvements in Polish national uprisings. Then,Marie began her practical scientific training in a laboratory at the Museum of Industry and Agriculture run by her cousin.

As a lot of Polish students did at that time, Marie’s sister Bronisława started medical studies in Paris in Polish students often preferred to study in Paris rather than in Moscow because of the Russian occupation of their country. In October 1891, at her sister's insistence and after receiving a letter from her first love definitively broke up with her, Marie decided to go to France. Once in Paris, Marie went on with her studies of physics, chemistry and mathematics at the Sorbonne, a famous university in Paris. In 1893, she met Pierre Curie. He was an instructor in the Paris School of Physics and Chemistry. It was their mutual interest in magnetism that drew Marie and Pierre together. in July 1895, she and Pierre Curie married. In 1897 and 1904, they had two daughters, Irene and Eve. Marie later hired Polish governesses to teach them her native language, and sent or took them on visits to Poland.

In 1903, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Pierre Curie, Marie Curie, and Henri Becquerel the Nobel prize of Physics, for their joint researches on the radiation phenomena. Marie and Pierre Curie suddenly became very famous. The Sorbonne gave Pierre a professorship and allowed him to establish his own laboratory, in which Marie became director of research. Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize. Eight years later, she received the 1911 Nobel prize in chemistry. Nevertheless in 1911 the French academy of sciences refused to abandon its prejudice against women and she failed by two votes to be elected to membership

During World War I Marie pushed for the use of mobile radiography units, which came to be popularly known as petites Curies ("Little Curies "), for the treatment of wounded soldiers and she donated her and her husband's gold Nobel Prize Medals for the war effort ! Even if she became a French citizen, Marie never lost her sense of Polish identity. She named the first new chemical element that she discovered (1898) polonium for her native country. In 1932 she founded a Radium Institute (now the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology) in her home town Warsaw headed by her sister Bronisława. In her later years, Marie headed the Pasteur Institute. She visited Poland a last time in the spring of 1934 before she died in July 1934 the remains of Marie and Pierre were transferred to the Paris Pantheon. She became the first woman so honored.

THE END !