Konstancja Skirmuntt

Konstancja Skirmuntt was an amateur Polish-Lithuanian historian, a member of the Krajowcy movement who wanted to preserve the dual Polish-Lithuanian identity. Born to a noble family of deep roots in the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Skirmuntt spent most of her life in or near Pinsk. Without any formal education in history, she wrote four major historical works that romanticized and idealized the past. Written in easy and accessible language, they became popular. She also published articles in Polish and Lithuanian press debating the issues of the Polish-Lithuanian identity. She supported the Lithuanian National Revival, but opposed both Lithuanian and Polish nationalism. After World War I, she published criticism of the Second Polish Republic and its policies and attitudes towards its ethnic minorities.