Scientists of Polish sport: Adam Wolff – sailor and historian
Krzysztof Szujecki
We begin our series on outstanding scientists and sportsmen with a profile of Professor Adam Wolff – historian and active sailor.
In the history of our country, especially in the Second Republic, there has been no shortage of people who have been able to successfully combine their skills and commitments in different fields, even those that are very distant from each other. And this was done with great success, not only nationally but also globally. Certainly, the dynamic development of Poland between the wars was to a large extent due to such individuals. One group that deserves special attention here are the scientists who were successful in various sports, and we begin our series on them with a profile of Professor Adam Wolff – historian and active sailor.
ADAM WOLFF- Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
He was born in Warsaw on 14 August 1899, the son of Gustaw and Maria Romiszewska. He began his primary education at home. He then attended the Konopczyński Gymnasium and the Mazovian Gymnasium in Warsaw. He was known as a gifted pupil with an excellent memory – he quickly learnt both different names and foreign languages. Once, when a French teacher asked pupils to read a novella and then summarise it in writing, Adam Wolff caused general consternation when he memorised the text so well that he reproduced it word for word in a test! The teacher accused him of cheating, unable to believe that he had such an excellent memory…
From 1917 he studied at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Warsaw. However, his enlistment in the Polish Army the following November forced him to abandon his studies. Wolff, who had become a scout at the age of twelve, served in a scout battalion that was later incorporated into the First Division of the Polish Legions.
In the autumn of 1921, having attained the rank of sergeant, he continued his studies at the University of Warsaw. His favourite subject became palaeography, and he approached the reading of ancient manuscripts with extraordinary passion and devotion.
In 1921, Wolff was the initiator of the creation of a ‘scouting water club’, which the following year joined the water sports section of AZS (Academic Sports Association) Warsaw. After several years of activity, the section was transformed into the independent Yacht Club AZS Warsaw.
A turning point in Wolff’s scientific and research development was his work on a chronological census of Mazovian officials from the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. After several years of work, he became a highly qualified expert on the Mazovian sources. As a researcher, he also began to attach great importance to the source material, marginalising studies – including the work of many established researchers.
As a student, Adam Wolff took part in a number of sports and excelled in dancing. From 1925, however, he devoted himself exclusively to sailing, a sport in which he achieved great success. The greatest of these was his participation in the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.
In sailing, we were represented by two competitors at that time, apart from Wolff, the Olympic nomination went to Władysław Krzyżanowski, who competed in the colors of the Military Yacht Club Warsaw. Unfortunately, the preparations were not carried out carefully, which resulted in the Polish crew’s unsuccessful start.
Krzyżanowski only took part in the first race of the Zuider Zee Regatta. He finished last, so the manager and then president of the Polish Sailing Association, Ludwik Szwykowski, decided to replace him with our second sailor.
The Olympic competitors sailed single-handed dinghies in the 12-foot class. Wolff sailed the next three races but did not do so well, and in the second race, he capsized before the start… This meant that the Poles had no chance of reaching the final. They finished a distant 17th in the final standings, ahead of only three teams – Czechoslovakia, Austria and Monaco.
At the beginning of 1924, Adam Wolff began working at the Central Archive of Historical Documents. At that time he continued his research on Mazovia from the point of view of sources, system and law. Interestingly, despite his obvious achievements, he did not even have a master’s degree at the time. This was because he was not interested in the acquisition of titles and degrees at any price, above which he placed real knowledge and skills. It was not until 1936 that he obtained his Master’s degree, followed two years later by his Doctorate. As Anna Borkiewicz-Celińska reflected in her sketch of Professor Wolff: ‘Perhaps it was also due to the fact that the way in which he acquired historical knowledge – despite attending workshops and seminars – had certain characteristics of self-education in the most positive sense of the word: supplementing theoretical knowledge with the extensive practice of constant contact with sources. In fact, Kętrzyński, the initiator and then supervisor of the work on the Mazovian Metrics, had little need to help his student, who already knew and understood the Mazovian sources comprehensively.’
As early as 1937, his source edition of ‘Mazovian Coat of Arms Notes’ was published in Krakow by the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. This work received very positive reviews and was considered a fundamental heraldic publication. His interest in the Old Polish system and legislation resulted in the publication of a work entitled ‘Starszeństwo urzędów’ (‘Seniority of officials’).
Adam Wolff worked at the Central Archives for a total of thirty years. A few years before the war, Aleksander Gieysztor had trained him as an archivist. Wolff did not stop working at the institution during the occupation; he was only forced to take a break due to an illness he contracted in 1943.
After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, Wolff moved to Krakow, where he became a member of the Commission for the Historical Atlas of Poland of the PAU. After returning to Warsaw, where he worked at the Historical Institute of the University of Warsaw, his teaching activities focused mainly on his favourite subject – palaeography, but he also lectured on archival science and publishing methodology. He habilitated in 1947.
In May 1954, he took up a post at the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Polish Academy of Sciences as Head of the Editorial Department. After two months, he received the title of associate professor.
Adam Wolff died on 7 February 1984. He was buried in his family grave at the Evangelical Cemetery in Warsaw.
Krzysztof Szujecki
Polish sports historian, specializing in the history of the contemporary sports movement. Author of books, m.in. the several-volume “History of Sport in Poland”, “Encyclopedia of Olympic Games” or “Sports Life in the People’s Republic of Poland”.
Source:DlaPolonii.pl
