Wajda, Józef
Wajda, Józef (Josef Waida), 1908-12 member of the Reichstag of the German Empire, 1922/23 member of the Prussian Landtag. *19.3.1849 Niebotschau/Nieboczowy near Ratibor, †3.2.1923 Hajduki Wielkie/Ober-Haiduk (today Chorzów Batory): a priest and son of a peasant family. Whilst he was still a school student at the Maria-Magdalena grammar school in Poznan he was called up to the Prussian army and served as a soldier during the German/French War. In 1872 he finally took his A-levels and initially studied law before turning to Catholic Theology at the University of Breslau. He set up the Związek Katolickich Robotników/Union of Catholic Workers in Keltsch/Kielcza near Zawadzki/Zawadzkie, and supported other Polish workers and aid societies. After he completed his studies in 1875 he was unable to be ordained in Breslau because of the Kulturkampf between the German Reich and the Catholic church. Instead of that he was ordained as a priest in Prague in 1876. Subsequently he worked as a house teacher for the family of Duke Chłapowski at Schloss Rothdorf/Czerwona Wieś near Kosten/Kościan. In 1884 he became the district vicar in Loslau/Wodzisław Śląski; and from 1885 served as the parish priest in Keltsch. On 23rd January 1908 he was elected with a majority of 65.5% into the Polish parliamentary group in the German Reichstag for the constituency of Pleß-Rybnik/Pszczyna-Rybnik to replace the retiring member, Aleksander Skowroński (1863-1934). He served on the select committees on trade regulations, the separation of buildings, court laws, potassium salts, petitions, tax agent law and added value law. In 1919, during the referendum in Upper Silesia he worked for the Polish Committee in Bytom. In 1922 he was forced to leave Keltsch and went to work as a parish priest in Hajduki Wielkie. In the same year he was elected to the Prussian Landtag on the list of the Polsko-Katolicka Partia Ludowa/Polish-Catholic Peoples Party for the district of Opole and held his seat until he died. picture: 1907.
Further reading:
Reichstag-Handbuch, 12. Legislaturperiode (Nachtrag), Berlin 1907, 18f., 31 (picture); Reichstagsprotokolle 1895-1918, Register 238, 269.
Online:
http://zhsf.gesis.org, Parlamentarierportal, BIORAB Kaiserreich online
http://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/
http://www.reichstagsprotokolle.de
http://jankowice.rybnik.pl/groby/wajda.html
Axel Feuß, October 2016
Link to the minutes of the Reichstag:
http://www.reichstagsprotokolle.de
