Roman Umiastowski – a forgotten Polish geographer

Abstract

The paper presents the life and the creative deeds of the Polish geographer, Roman Umiastowski (1893–1982). During the inter-war period Umiastowski was a staff officer of the Polish army in the grade of a colonel. At the same time, he indulged very much in geography and authored numerous books and scientific articles. In the introductory part of the article the military deeds of Umiastoswki’s during the World War I and the struggle for the sovereignty of Poland (1918–1920) are outlined. Then, his achievements are presented as a scholar, a journalist and a lecturer of the higher military schools. Umiastowski wrote, in particular, at the beginning of the 1920s, two books. The first of those was entitled The territory of Poland in military terms, and the second – The military geography of the Polish Commonwealth and of the neighbouring countries. These books were definitely novel, not only in Polish literature, but also in the world literature, as devoted to the military geography. The two books are commented upon in the paper, along with their methodological prerequisites and the substantive qualities. The paper notes, as well, that Umiastowski authored also the reports concerning the political geography. Thus, in particular, he considered the Polish-Russian and the Polish-German relations. After the German and then the Soviet aggressions against Poland in September 1939, Umiastowski landed in France, to thereafter reach the United Kingdom, where he still conducted the journalist activity. After the WWII, until his death, he remained emigrant, while collecting old maps and engravings, mainly those concerning the history of Poland in the 17th and 18th centuries.