ALMANACH HISTORYCZNY

Summary

The traditional small-town family in interwar Poland is a family of craftsmen, merchants and agriculturists, usually large and varied in terms of nationality. When choosing a spouse, such attributes as property status, good occupation, diligence, lack of habits counted. In the less busy, slowly changing communities, marriages were usually contracted within a single social circle in the same cultural milieu. In small towns dominated, propagated by religious institutions, a patriarchal model of family life. In this model, the dominant family was the man, frst father, later husband. His wife, children and parents were obligated to be obedient to him. The role of a woman usually came down to raising children and running a household. According to information in the family morality questionnaire of the Kielce Diocese, it results that the ecclesiastical-ethical principles of insolubility of mar riage and the prohibition of “living out of wedlock”, and the prohibition of limiting ofspring were not fully respected. Although divorces and separations were few, their efect was, according to clergy, negative for the community. As far as religious infuence is concerned, the fam-ily implemented in children a ritual-cult behaviour rather than moral obligations. Children were taken a much greater care and concern than in the countryside. The was also a greater attention about the health of children, their hygiene and their progress in lear ning. It can be seen that in the inter war period, cultural and educational institutions, youth organizations and political parties exerted an increasing infuence on young people.