Karol Levittoux


Karol Levittoux was a Polish independence activist and a law student in Warsaw. Karol was the son of Piotr Levittoux-Desnouettes, a French sergeant who settled in Poland in 1813.

Biography

Karol was born in 1820, likely in Kumelsk near Kolno. A student and graduate of the Piarist high school in Łuków, and a student of pedagogical courses in Warsaw. In 1839, he founded the Patriotic Union in Łuków, whose activities focused on self-education and agitation, as part of the Association of the Polish People. He also initiated a similar union in Chełm. Those involved in the conspiracies were accused of aiming to incite an armed uprising, establish a republican government, and abolish serfdom while granting land to peasants. The conspiracy was uncovered due to testimony given by an elementary school teacher in Łuków, Jan Thierbach. After being arrested in 1841, Levittoux spent several months in the Warsaw Citadel. A brutal investigation, following a failed escape attempt, led him to commit suicide as he refused to betray his comrades. Levittoux set his mattress on fire and died in the flames.
Bolesław Limanowski describes the course of events as follows:
Cyprian Kamil Norwid, in a letter to Zygmunta Krasiński described Levittoux's death as follows:

In Art

Karol Levittoux's deed inspired Cyprian Kamil Norwid to write the poem Burza.
Norwid also refers to Levittoux's death in a passage from his 1866 drama Za kulisami. These words inspired Jerzy Andrzejewski to title his novel Ashes and Diamonds, and the piece was performed as a song titled "For That Very Reason," sung by Stan Borys, among others.
Other poets also dedicated verses to him, including Władysław Syrokomla, Mieczysław Romanowski, Roman Zmorski, and Jan Kanty Radecki.
He was also the subject of a contemporary poem by Jerzy Czech titled Karol Levittoux, performed by Przemysław Gintrowski to his own music composition.
The painter Antoni Kozakiewicz painted the work Śmierć Karola Levittoux.
Around 1862, Władysław Oleszczyński made a commemorative medal with the images of Father Florian Topolski and Karol Levittoux.

Commemoration

  • A street inside the Warsaw Citadel is named after Karol Levittoux
  • A commemorative plaque on the gable wall of the Działyński Palace at 74a "Solidarności" Avenue in Warsaw was unveiled in 1966.
  • In Łukow, the annual Karol Levittoux Volleyball Memorial is held, with the best amateur teams from all over Poland participating. On May 10, 2014, during the first day of the latest edition of the memorial, a commemorative plaque along with a stone was unveiled in the city park.

    Family

Karol's younger brother was Dr. Henryk Levittoux, a Warsaw doctor and naturalist, who posed for Jan Matejko's painting Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God. Matejko also painted a portrait of Maria Levittoux, Karol's niece.
During the May Coup in 1926, one of the victims was a student and member of Chrobatia fraternity–Karol Levittoux's grandnephew, most likely killed by forces loyal to Józef Piłsudski.
Karol's great-grandnephew, Major Henryk Julian Levittoux, a doctor and participant in the September Campaign, was murdered in Katyn massacre in May 1940 as a prisoner of Kharkiv camp. His brother, Colonel Jerzy Levittoux, was a chief of staff in General Maczek's division and was killed in 1944 in Normandy.