Our patron
Klaudyna Potocka, née Działyńska
Teofila Klaudyna née Działyńska Potocka was born on August 27, 1801 in Kórnik. She came from the Działyński family of merit for the country. Her father, Ksawery Działyński, together with her brother Ignacy, belonged to active participants in the work of the Four-Year Seym and the creators of the May 3rd Constitution. During the Kościuszko Uprising, he was a member of the Provisional Substitute Council, and therefore he ended up in a Prussian prison. Later, he additionally held the office of senator, voivode of the Duchy of Warsaw. Klaudyna's mother was Justyna Dzieduszycki, an educated woman with quite original interests.
In 1806, after Napoleon's victory over Prussia, Ksawery Działyński, together with other representatives of society, went to Berlin to welcome the victorious emperor there. Soon after the establishment of the Duchy of Warsaw, he became a member of the Ruling Commission, and later became a senator, voivode. During the defeat of Napoleon, Klaudyna stayed with her family in Dresden, and later, due to the illness of her sister Gabriela, all of them left for Cieplice. Then the Działyński family, escaping from the approaching Russian troops, left for Prague. In 1814, the family returned to Konarzewo. Count Działyński moved away from politics, he only participated in very important events of the then Grand Duchy of Poznań.
After the death of her father, Klaudyna's mother traveled with her to Warsaw, Vienna and Paris. There Klaudyna took piano, diction, dance and drawing lessons from famous masters. In 1823 she returned with her mother to Konarzewo.
In the summer of 1825, Klaudyna Działyńska was engaged to Bernard Potocki in Warsaw. The wedding took place in September of the same year.
During the November Uprising, both Potocki and her brother Tytus Działyński and Karol Marcinkowski became the initiators of the creation of the Poznań cavalry regiment. Klaudyna's husband also joined this formation, donating a large sum of money to it. Klaudyna also devoted significant funds to this goal. As a result, she and another woman from Wielkopolska - Emilia Sczaniecka, contributed to the relatively greatest extent to collecting funds and equipping the Poznań ride. As a result, in January 1831 the first squadron of Poznań Uhlans under the command of Augustyn Brzezański was included in the regular army.
Klaudyna, together with her sister-in-law, Celestyna Działyńska and Emilia Sczaniecka, often visited the camp where their relatives were present, taking care of the sick.
Klaudyna Potocka with great dedication persisted until the end of the uprising, caring for the wounded and the sick. Therefore, it was only after the fall of Warsaw that she decided to leave.
After questioning her by the Prussian authorities, she left for Dresden. There, she organized the Committee for the Charity of Polish Ladies, which collected funds to help emigrants in need. She also established the Polish Shelter in Dresden, where her countrymen could stay for a few days and rest.
Constant efforts, work, and emotions devastated her body, which was fragile by nature, and symptoms of lung disease appeared. Under pressure from the Russian authorities, many of Potocka's associates had to leave Dresden and go to France. She collaborated with Adam Mickiewicz in efforts to publish Garczyński's poetry, and dealt with the distribution of works by this poet, as well as by Mickiewicz, Słowacki and others.
Within a few years, however, the disease made progress, and despite the efforts of her husband, friends and doctors, there was little she could do to help her. She died on June 8, 1836 in Geneva. She was buried at the local cemetery, where her remains were until 1879, later, as a result of the cemetery liquidation, they were transferred to the Montmorency cemetery in Paris. The actions of Klaudyna Potocka remained in the memory of Poles forever.
... Currently our school is named after her - Secondary School No. 5 in Poznań.
