Leon Heyke (
Kashubian: ''Léón Heyke'') (10 October 1885—15 October 1939) was a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
priest, theologian, educator, poet and Kashubian-Polish activist.
Biography
Heyke was born on 10 October 1885 in the
Kashubian village of
Cierżnia
Cierżnia is a settlement in the administrative district of Gmina Wejherowo, within Wejherowo County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately south of Wejherowo and north-west of the regional capital Gdańsk.
For detai ...
, in
Wejherowo County
__NOTOC__
Wejherowo County (, ) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the Baltic coast. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government ...
.
Father Heyke was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on 13 March 1910 in
Pelplin
Pelplin () is a town in northern Poland, in the Tczew County, Pomeranian Voivodship. Population: 8,320 (2009).
Pelplin is located in the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in Pomerania. It is home to one of the finest collections of medieval art ...
. In 1913 he completed his doctorate in theology with a dissertation on the letters of
Saint John
Saint John or St. John usually refers to either John the Baptist or John the Apostle.
Saint John or St. John may also refer to:
People Saints
* John the Baptist ( – ), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ
* John the Evangelis ...
. During this time he traveled widely throughout
Kashubia
Kashubia or Cassubia ( or ; ; or ) is an ethnocultural region in the historic Eastern Pomerania (Pomerelia) region of northern Poland. It is inhabited by the Kashubian people, and many in the region have historically spoken the Kashubian langua ...
, particularly through the northern part, gathering information about Kashubian culture and language. Although he was associated with the
Society of Young Kashubians
The Society of Young Kashubians (, ) was an association founded in 1912 in Gdańsk (Poland). Its leader was Dr. Aleksander Majkowski, already a well-known Kashubian writer and author of The Life and Adventures of Remus. Other influential members ...
from its start, he gradually distanced himself from the Society's cultural objectives and focused on his priestly vocation and his poetry, which he published under the
pen name
A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
Stanisław Czernicki.
When Poland regained its freedom after the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Father Heyke was based from 1920 to 1935 in
Kościerzyna
Kościerzyna (; Pomeranian language, Pomeranian and ; former ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with 23,327 inhabitants as of June 2023. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship si ...
, where he served as chaplain and teacher of religion and French at the National
Gimnazjum. He resumed his prolific publication of poetry and historical works, preferring to emphasize northern variants of the Kashubian language. In addition, he became known as one of the leading Kashubian activists. Among other things, he was the featured speaker at the 1931 dedication of the monument to
Hieronim Derdowski
Hieronim Derdowski ( Kashubian ''Hieronim Derdowsczi'' or ''Jarosz Derdowsczi''; March 9, 1852 – August 13, 1902) was a Kashubian intellectual and activist. He was born to Kashubian parents in the Pomeranian village of Wiele in the German Empi ...
in
Wiele.
After the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, Father Heyke attempted to join the Polish Army as a chaplain. However, he was arrested by the Germans in the
Kociewian town of
Wda
The Wda () is a river in Poland; it has a lowland character. The Wda is one of the 15 main canoe trails in Poland. It is 198 km long and the surface of its catchment area amounts to 2325 km2. The Wda's average gradient is 0.7‰ and i ...
and executed with other clergy and intellectuals on 15 October in the
Szpęgawski Forest near
Starogard Gdański
Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; formerly ) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County.
Founded in the Middle Ages, Starogard is a city with ...
.
Although Father Heyke's works were rarely published during the period of Communist rule, his life and writings now enjoy a renewed recognition in Kashubian culture. In 2005 the Kashubian Institute of Gdańsk sponsored a conference on Father Heyke entitled ''Świętopełk literatury kaszubskiej'' (''The Swietopelk of Kashubian Literature''), in reference to the revered Kashubian historical figure
Swietopelk II, Duke of Pomerania. The conference proceedings have been published under the same title.
Works
* ''Piesnie północny'', 1911-1912
* ''Die Moraltheologie der sieben apokalyptischen Sendschreiben'', Gdańsk 1913
* ''Bardzenskji wergle'', 1922-1923
* ''Kaszëbski Spiewe'', Chojnice 1927
* ''Wojewoda, cz. II'', Toruń 1928
* ''Podania kaszubskie'', Kościerzyna 1931
* ''Zarys dziejów i działalności Państwowego Seminarium Nauczycielskiego Męskiego w Kościerzynie'', Kościerzyna 1935
* ''Sfinks kaszubski'', 1935
* ''Agust Szloga'', Kartuzy 1935
* ''Katilina'', Kartuzy 1937
* ''Kaszëbsczié spiewë'', Gdańsk-Wejherowo 1972, 1978
* ''Dobrogòst i Miłosława'', Gdańsk 1999
* ''Kaszëbsczé spiewë'', Gdańsk 1999
* ''Szôłôbùłki. Agùst Szlôga, Katilina'', Gdańsk 2002
Bibliography
* A. Bukowski, ''Regionalizm kaszubski. Ruch naukowy, literacki i kulturalny. Zarys monografii historycznej'', Poznań 1950
* L. Bądkowski, ''Zarys historii literatury kaszubskiej'', Gdańsk 1959, 2006
* R. Ostrowska, I. Trojanowska, ''Bedeker kaszubski'', Gdańsk 1962, 1974, 1979
* F. Neureiter, ''Geschichte der kaschubischen Literatur'', München 1978, 1991; in Polish: ''Historia literatury kaszubskiej. Próba zarysu'', Gdańsk 1982
* J. Drzeżdżon, ''Piętno Smętka. Z problemów kaszubskiej literatury regionalnej lat 1920-1939'', Gdańsk 1973
* H. Popowska-Taborska, ''Kaszubszczyzna. Zarys dziejów'', Warszawa 1980
* ''Słownik biograficzny Pomorza Nadwiślańskiego'', vol. 3, Gdańsk 1992, 1997 (entry ''Heyke'', author: A. Bukowski)
* B. Bork, ''Piesniodzej lesôcczich strón. Ks. dr. Leon Heyke z Cierzni koło Bieszkowic'', Bojan 1992
* T. Bolduan, ''Nowy bedeker kaszubski'', Gdańsk 1997, 2002
* R. Osowicka, ''Bedeker wejherowski'', Gdańsk-Wejherowo 1997, 2002, Wejherowo 2006
* St. Janke, ''Poeta z kaszubskiej nocy. Życie i twórczość ks. dr. Leona Heykego (1885-1939) '', Wejherowo 1998
* J. Treder i in., ''Historia, geografia, język i piśmiennictwo Kaszubów'', J. Borzyszkowski, J. Mordawski, J. Treder - J. Bòrzëszkòwsczi, J. Mòrdawsczi, J. Tréder: ''Historia, geògrafia, jãzëk i pismienizna Kaszëbów'',; pòd red. Jana Mòrdawsczégò, tołmaczënk Jerzi Tréder, Wëdowizna M. Rôżok przë wespółrobòce z Institutã Kaszëbsczim, Gduńsk 1999, .
* T. Linkner, ''W unii słowa'', Gdańsk 2004
* J. Kęcińska, ''Leon Heyke - Świętopełk literatury kaszubskiej'', Gdańsk-Wejherowo 2007
* R. Osowicka, ''Leksykon wejherowian'', Wejherowo 2008
See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heyke, Leon
1885 births
1939 deaths
People from Wejherowo County
People from West Prussia
Kashubians
Kashubian clergy
Polish Roman Catholic writers
Kashubian culture
Kashubian literature
Polish people executed by Nazi Germany
Executed people from Pomeranian Voivodeship
Kashubian-language writers