Date: 3 September 2024 Author: Szymon Polewka
Łódź: A New Promised Land
Łódź – emblematic of nineteenth-century Polish capitalism – endures as a neglected city yet embedded into modern national consciousness.
“Yes. I have no money; neither have you. Nor has he.” And Max burst out laughing.—”So,” he went on, “we have just enough, just exactly enough to start quite a big factory.“
Władysław Stanisław Reymont, The Promised Land
Łódź––emblematic of nineteenth-century Polish capitalism––endures as a neglected city yet embedded into modern national consciousness. This is notwithstanding its status as one of the most populous cities in Poland and its central geographical position within the nation and the continent alike. The city renowned for its factory chimneys, celebrated film directors, and the literary legacy of Julian Tuwim, despite historical adversities, now stands at the threshold of promising opportunities that ensure its dynamic development in the coming decades.
A Capitalist “Promised Land”
In the nineteenth century, Poles entered a period marked by the recent loss of statehood and inspired by the romantic ideals of overturning their adverse circumstances. Hope swiftly collided with reality following the defeat of Napoleonic France and the subsequent quashing of the November Uprising. Despite national adversity, Łódź emerged as the city that experienced the greatest gains during the 19th century. The establishment of the puppet Kingdom of Poland in 1815, bound in a personal and customs union with tsarist Russia, granted Łódź access to a vast Eurasian market. The natural topography, characterized by numerous small rivers traversing the Łęczyca-Sieradz region, facilitated the rapid advancement of the steam industry.
In 1820, through the efforts of Rajmund Rembieliński, the city was elevated to the status of what were known as factory towns. Following this, in 1823, the founding of the “Cloth New Town” marked the outset of an industrial era. Since then, Łódź evolved into the “promised land” envisioned by Władysław Reymont for the impoverished masses from rural and small-town areas. From an obscure settlement nestled amid swamps and peat bogs arose a flourishing metropolis that amassed wealth and cultural achievements. Over the next century, the city witnessed an unparalleled population increase on a global scale, setting new records for growth at that time. Population growth doubled every decade during the 19th century. In 1830, the small town of Łódź was home to 4,000 residents. By 1860, the population had grown to 30,000, reaching 300,000 in 1897, and just before the outbreak of the war in 1914, it peaked at 500,000. A demographic transformation akin to that of Łódź had to await the second half of the 20th century to occur in China and India.
I know every firm here, every house, ”he went on to say with strong feeling. “I remember when Łódź had but twenty thousand inhabitants; there are three hundred thousand now! And I shall see it with its half a million; I will not die till then! I have to see it with my own eyes, I have to be happy.”
Władysław Stanisław Reymont, The Promised Land
The nascent industrial society of the Lodzeremnschs (German Lodzer – Łódź, Mensch – man) coalesced into a heterogeneous conglomerate encompassing Poles, Germans, and Jews under Russian governance. The realities of Łódź at that time were vividly depicted in The Promised Land by Władysław Reymont, portraying the city as a vibrant symbol of Polish capitalism, where conditions changed daily, favoring the strong and motivated while proving relentless for the weak. The accumulation and dynamic evolution of processes within Łódź rendered it a bold symbol of the Polish lands in the 19th century. Just as Kraków thrived under the Jagiellons, Gdańsk under the Vasa dynasty, and Warsaw under the Saxons, the positivist nineteenth century, particularly its latter half, belonged to Łódź. In the national consciousness, however, this memory remains significantly displaced, largely due to the trauma endured during the 123 years of partitions.
The Vicissitudes of the Twentieth Century
According to Prof. Przemysław Waingertner, the 20th century is noted in Łódź’s annals as a period marked by significant oscillations in urban demography and development. During this period of growth, its trajectory was abruptly interrupted by two wars and the political transformations in the 1990s. Following World War I, Łódź experienced a 43 percent reduction in its population. However, the most grievous blow for the city proved to be the loss of access to the Russian market and crucial raw material resources. In the interwar years, Łódź struggled to reclaim its former pre-war splendor. The city shared with the Second Polish Republic the economic challenges of the interwar period: post-war chaos, the Polish-German customs conflict, hyperinflation during 1922-1923, and the Great Depression of the 1930s.
On the brink of World War II, Łódź had a population of some 672,000 people, with 231,000 Jews (34.4 percent) and 86,351 Germans (12.8 percent) among them. Initially, as a consequence of Nazi German actions, the Jewish population was decimated, followed by the displacement of the German population due to the advancing Soviet front. The tragedy of war also afflicted the Polish population deeply, especially during the Nazi occupation. By early 1945, the population of Łódź had dwindled to some 300,000 people. The relatively intact urban infrastructure, coupled with an influx of war refugees seeking shelter, spurred a rapid population resurgence. By the end of 1945, the city’s population had reached 502,000, increasing to 646,000 by 1951.
Following the extensive destruction of Warsaw, in the early post-war years, Łódź served as an informal Polish capital. Owing to its historical alignment with worker solidarity and leftist ideologies, coupled with its comparatively limited wartime devastation, the city was portrayed by the people’s authorities as an exemplar of a proletarian urban model. Once Warsaw was destroyed, a new wave of Polish intelligentsia migrated to Łódź, where institutions like the University of Łódź, the Łódź University of Technology, and the Academy of Fine Arts were established. Subsequently, the world-renowned Łódź Film School also came into prominence on the city’s cultural and educational map. Many residents of Łódź harbored hopes that official recognition as a capital city was only a matter of time. However, this notion collapsed within a few years, as the Communists concluded that such a move would expose their vulnerabilities. Ultimately, the decisions regarding reconstruction were made by Stalin himself, who entrusted the Polish delegation, led by Bolesław Bierut, with the responsibility for overseeing the capital’s rebuilding.
Łódź Revisited
Upon the conclusion of the Communist era, Łódź attained its pinnacle in population, reaching a peak of 854,000 residents in 1988. However, the political transformation proved to be exceedingly harsh for the city. The conundrum of transformation was eloquently articulated by Leszek Balcerowicz in his interview with Dziennik Łódzki, a local daily. “We wept for Łódź, but we had to escape from socialism,” he recalled.
In the collective consciousness, Łódź is frequently regarded as one of the principal victims of the transformational period. In reality, the textile town proved to be among most severely affected by Communism. The years of Communism were encapsulated by nineteenth-century factories in an industrial backwater, churning out low-quality goods for the USSR and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon). The recurring historical deprivation of access to Eastern markets precipitated the collapse of exports from sectors characterized by inefficiency and low-quality production. The burgeoning prominence of Warsaw since the early 1990s, coupled with the ongoing industrial restructuring, has precipitated adverse population shifts elsewhere.
A pivotal moment in the modern history of the city occurred in 2007, when Kraków surpassed Łódź to become the second-largest city in Poland. Despite the formidable challenges faced during the transformational years, Łódź has in recent times begun to gather momentum and chart a promising course forward. Strategically situated at the nation’s nexus, where vital national and continental transportation arteries converge via railways and roadways, Łódź stands ready to capitalize on robust expansion within the logistics sector. Moreover, a notable advantage of the city is its distinction from Warsaw. The ongoing exodus of talent from across the nation has rendered the cost of living in the capital prohibitive for young aspiring Poles in recent years. In contrast, Łódź stands out as a city where the market, responding to demographic shifts and migration patterns, has fostered an appealing housing environment capable of attracting young Poles. The proximity to Warsaw and the duopolistic nature of both metropolises renders Łódź an intriguing alternative to the costly capital.
Historical precedent reveals that epochs of rapid urban growth, notably in the 19th century, were intricately linked to the accessibility and integration with Eastern markets. Initially, it was a market guaranteed by tsarist Russia—later by the USSR and its puppet organization, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon). Today, China has ascended to the position of predominant hegemon in the Eastern market.
In recent years, Łódź has pursued a flagship initiative to position itself as a key cargo transshipment hub along the Chinese railway Silk Road route. Since its establishment in 2012, the Łódź-Chengdu connection has fostered a steady escalation in the exchange of goods between these urban centers. However, 2022 proved to be a watershed moment for these relations, as the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resulting in the closure of the Ukrainian railway corridor. Eventually, the hostilities had negligible direct repercussions on the trade in goods, whereas the economic conflict between Russia and the EU, coupled with escalating business risks, proved markedly more impactful. Despite a brief downturn in trade volume since 2023, there has been a resurgence driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East. Beginning earlier this year, Yemeni Houthi fighters have been targeting ships navigating the Red Sea, thereby disrupting trade along the Suez Canal.
The incorporation of Łódź into the New Silk Road represents an opportunity for the city to finalize its economic evolution from a monocultural industrial center to a contemporary commercial hub and logistics gateway for Central and Eastern Europe. Moreover, the emergence of the Warsaw-Łódź duopoly offers Łódź a unique opportunity to attract young talents who seek an alternative to the elite lifestyle of the capital city. The absence of Warsaw elitism or Krakow bourgeois culture stands as one of Łódź’s greatest assets, positioning the city as a new promised land for the aspiring middle class.
References:
Brzózka Piotr, Leszek Balcerowicz: Płakaliśmy nad Łodzią, ale musieliśmy uciekać z socjalizmu, Dziennik Łódzki, November 2, 2014, [accessed: July 14, 2024]: https://dzienniklodzki.pl/leszek-balcerowicz-plakalismy-nad-lodzia-ale-musielismy-uciekac-z-socjalizmu/ar/3630548
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Reymont Władysław Stanisław, The Promised Land, London, translated by M. H. Dziewicki
Sieroń Arkadiusz, TRANSFORMACJA GOSPODARCZA MIASTA PO 1989 ROKU, Forum Obywatelskiego Rozwoju: https://bank.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/raportlodztransformacja-gospodarcza-miasta-po-1989r.pdf
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The „Dumni z Polski/Proud of Poland/Stolz auf Polen” project was funded by the National Institute of Freedom – Centre for Civil Society Development as part of the Government’s Youth Fund Programme 2022-2033.
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