Leon Heyke


Leon Heyke was a Roman Catholic priest, theologian, educator, poet and Kashubian-Polish activist.

Biography

Heyke was born October 10, 1885 in the Kashubian village of Cierżnia, in Wejherowo County.
Father Heyke was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on March 13, 1910 in Pelplin. In 1913 he completed his doctorate in theology with a dissertation on the letters of Saint John. During this time he traveled widely throughout Kashubia, particularly through the northern part, gathering information about Kashubian culture and language. Although he was associated with the Society of Young Kashubians 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 nom de plume Stanisław Czernicki.
When Poland regained its freedom after the First World War, Father Heyke was based from 1920 to 1935 in Kościerzyna, 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 in Wiele.
After the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Father Heyke attempted to join the Polish Army as a chaplain. However, he was arrested by the Germans in the town of Wda and executed with other clergy and intellectuals on October 15 in the Szpęgawski Forest near Starogard Gdański.
Although Father Heyke's works were rarely published during the period of Communist rule, his life and writings now enjoy their proper place in Kashubian culture. In 2005 the Kashubian Institute of Gdańsk sponsored a conference on Father Heyke entitled Świętopełk literatury kaszubskiej, a reference to the revered Kashubian historical figure Swietopelk II, Duke of Pomerania. The conference proceedings have been published under the same title.

Works