Identity at the Crossroads of Cultures
Authors: Vaitkevičiūtė Eugenija 
Published: October 2023

The aim of the scientific article “Identity at the Crossroads of Cultures: The Case of the Bilingual Writer Juozapas Albinas Herbaiiauskas” is to analyse, based on empirical and theoretical research methods, the phenomenon of dual identity in the context of the development of nation-states in the first-half of the 20th century, which is determined by historical, cultural and community-related circumstances. The life of the bilingual Lithuanian-Polish, Polish-Lithuanian writer, cultural, public and political figure Juozapas Albinas Herbaiiauskas (Jozef Albin Herbaczewski), the drama and consequences of his identity choices in the context of the very difficult period of Lithuanian-Polish relations is the specific case chosen for such an analysis.

The Union of Lublin, signed in July 1569, created a unique political entity in Europe at that time – the united Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The original model of the union provided that Lithuanians and Poles would live in the union on equal terms.

Despite its troubles, this political entity gave Europe its first written constitution and, in the long term, was partly responsible for the formation of a specific cultural and social position known as “Gente Lituanus, natione Polonus” (“Lithuanian by descent, Polish by nationality”). It became common to have a kind of dual identity – Lithuanian-Polish, Polish-Lithuanian.

However, a few centuries later, the above-mentioned position inherited from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth turned into a problem: perhaps because the political model was only partially successful, the situation changed with the start of the active formation of nation-states. Tensions over borders, territories and geopolitical ambitions led to the need for a clear individual choice. A clearly expressed national identity, including the use of the specific language (Lithuanian or Polish), became an essential indicator of this. Meanwhile, partly due to the influence of the old heritage of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from a socio-cultural point of view, there was still a relatively large number of mixed Lithuanian-Polish and Polish-Lithuanian families in Lithuania and Poland.

One of the more exceptional cases in this context is that of two brothers, Boleslovas and Juozapas Albinas Herbaiiauskas, who were born in the same family of a Polish father and a Lithuanian mother in the second half of the 19th century, but who chose different identities.

Boleslovas Herbaiiauskas (Bolesław Herbaczewski) chose a Polish identity. Juozapas Albinas Herbaiiauskas had a more Lithuanian identity. This bilingual Lithuanian-Polish, Polish-Lithuanian writer, cultural figure, promoter of the Lithuanian National Revival, the first lecturer in Lithuanian in the history of the Jagiellonian University in Poland, translator and publicist was one of the brightest and most colourful personalities in Kraków and interwar Kaunas of the early 20th century. His biography, the specifics of his activities, his polemics with his contemporaries, and the challenges he faced in his efforts to merge and preserve both Lithuanian and Polish identities in the context of the tense relations between Lithuania and Poland provide the researcher with a rewarding opportunity to shed light on the extremely complex and multidimensional era of the development of and relations between the Lithuanian and Polish states through the history of one person and his dramatic choices.