Ludwik Regamey (1877-1967) was a Polish construction engineer by trade. He worked in Bydgoszcz where he had a very active associative life as a musician. He was the first chairman of the Alliance Française in Bydgoszcz. After moving to France in 1934, he was a formidable promoter of French and Polish culture exchanges till his demise in 1977, in Toulouse.
Biography
The Regameys established in Switzerland in the 17th century: the great-grandfather left the country when his shoe making business collapsed. He moved to Vilnius (known at the time as Wilno), then in the Russian Empire. His son Louis, Ludwik grandfather, married there a Polish girl: he worked as a French teacher. In the wake of the Polish Uprising of 1863, the family left Polish-Lithuania territory to Russian Kyiv. As a Swiss citizen, he officially became in 1883, a Tsarist civil servant. Louis fathered two sons, Casimir Ludwigovitch (1859-1907) and Rudolf Felix Gabriel Ludwigovitch (1852-1891), Ludwik's father.
Rudolf Felix Gabriel married Marianna, née Zeleney: she had Hungarian blood but was a great Polish patriot. Ludwik was born on May 20, 1877, in Kyiv: he was their first child. Soon, two brothers and a sister will follow. He graduated from the Faculty of Construction at the Lviv Polytechnic and afterwards expanded his professional knowledge in Zürich. He got married with Kazimiera, née Spław-Neyman, and moved to Voronezh, Russian Empire There he sired two children: Rudolf born in 1905, and Regina in 1914. In 1915, Rudolf got infected by typhus, while bringing cigarettes and food to German POW transported through Voronezh by railroad. He died the same year: this ordeal left a lasting scar on the Regamey marriage as Ludwik constantly blamed his wife for leaving their son without surveillance in such hazardous places.
The 1917 Russian Revolution tore apart this life: at 40, Ludwik, as a strong patriot, joined the growing Polish army and took part to the resulting Polish–Soviet War (1919-1920). Once demobilized and looking for a place to settle anew with his family, relatives from Kyiv who had already stayed in Bydgoszcz incited them to move there from Lviv.
Their first abode was at 6 Jana Zamoyskiego Street, room Nr.36. A few months later (1921), as Kazimierza's aunt, evacuated similarly from Ukraine, established in Paderewskiego Street, the Regameys moved to Józef Weyssenhoff Square, then called Plac Zacisze.
Life in Bydgoszcz
From October 1921 to March 1934, Ludwik worked as a building counselor of the Municipal Office for Underground Construction and Municipal Power Engineering: his working life revolved around issues related to the development of municipal housing. One of his main contribution at this position was to have the municipal power plant in Jachcice realized. On behalf of the city magistrate, Ludwik, together with engineers Markowicz and Missir, supervised the entire investment, which began in January 1927. He was considered at the time as the best construction manager in Bydgoszcz.
Due to his official duties, Ludwik often represented the magistrate during important ceremonies. Hence on November 29, 1927, he took part with the Bydgoszcz delegation, including Witold Bełza the director of the City Library, to the funerals of Stanisław Przybyszewski. On September 17, 1928, he participated to an unveiling ceremony of a monument to the Russian soldiers who died during World War I, at the war cemetery in Szubińska street in Bydgoszcz, today the municipal cemetery in Kcyńska street. On December 21, 1929, Ludwik Regamey, together with a group including General Wiktor Thommée, received Jędrzej Moraczewski, then minister of public works and representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, from the Poznań Voivodeship, diplomats and scholars for a visit of the Jachcice power plant, followed by a banquet at the Pod Orłem hotel. In parallel, Ludwik gave several lectures on city investments.
In the spring of 1923, Marie Strowska came to Bydgoszcz to organize French courses, as part of an official program carried out by the French government in Pomerania and Greater Poland. Maria's father was Fortunat Strowski, a French academic with Polish origins, a literary historian, essayist and critic lecturer at the Faculté des lettres de Paris. Elegant and energetic, she quickly charmed the inhabitants of Bydgoszcz.
In the mid-1920s, Regamey separated from Kazimiera who then lived with their daughter in a flat at Jana Zamoyskiego Street. On October 9, 1924, together with his new wife Marie, he moved to the apartment 6 at 3 Cieszkowskiego Street. Maria Janina, Marie's daughter, born in 1921, lived in Switzerland for the first seven years of her life, though she was legitimated in 1924 by the marriage in Wilno between Marie Strowski and Ludwik Regamey, her parents.Acte de famille de la commune de Lausanne A month later (November 1924), Maria launched at their home a private preparatory school, the Seine French courses-Institut D’etudes Francaises, which, thanks to his father, presented diplomas signed by professors from Paris University. The success was so unexpected that the house at 3 Cieszkowskiego was not large enough to hold end-of-school celebrations. To mitigate this, she cooperated with the State Industrial School () and used the institution's auditorium, with the help of Franciszek Siemiradzki, the headmaster and also a close friend of Ludwik.
In May 1933, an article in the weekly Prawda w Oczy stated that the city suffered great financial losses due to the delay of officials in delivering the Jachcice power plant: as a consequence, an investigation began. It quickly turned out that the newspaper completely missed the point; however, the affair cast a shroud of suspicion on Ludwik's position. As a consequence, he resigned on March 31, 1934.
Associative activities As soon as Ludwik arrived in Bydgoszcz, he championed the creation of an organization representing interests of the displaced citizens from the Kresy: the Union of Poles from the Eastern Borderlands. In August 1921, he became a member of the Polish Intelligentsia Organization, at the cultural committee. In April 1922, he was a member of the Polish Club.
Ludwik was very impressed with Marie's knowledge and competence. At the time, it was even noticed by Henri Buzenac, the chancellor of the French consulate in Poznań. However, the break up of Ludwik first marriage was soon blamed upon Marie, who quickly lost the trust of many co-workers and friends, especially those coming from the eastern borderlands. For that reason, she had to resign at the end of 1924, from the direction of the French governmental course program and was replaced by Jadwiga Kalm-Podowska, the wife of Tytus Podoski, counselor of the Bydgoszcz magistrate and Ludwik's friend from his time in Kyiv.
Eventually, Marie Regamey's achievements were recognized by the French government, which awarded her in May 1927, with the Ordre des Palmes académiques.
In February 1924, the Alliance Francaise society was established in Bydgoszcz, and Ludwik became its first president. In addition to her private school, Maria additionally set up the Society of Friends of France in Bydgoszcz () in which she was vice-president.
The Regamey couple worked closely with Les Amis de la Pologne, a French-based association, editing a monthly magazine. Its chief editor was Rosa Bailly born in Saint-Florent-sur-Cher, a scholar from Paris École normale supérieure. Mrs. Rosa, a great Polish lover, visited several times the Regameys in Bydgoszcz: the first occurrence happened in September 1926. For this occasion, a reception was held at the Pod Orłem hotel, followed by a musical performance with the singer Aurelia Klein-Mierzyńska accompanied by Ludwik Regamey on the piano. The visit included many places of Bydgoszcz, including the French soldiers grave corners from the 1870 German-French war in the Starofarny Cemetery. In March 1929, after another visit to Bydgoszcz the year prior, Les Amis de la Pologne described the newly built power plant, quoting Regamey's engagement to the project.
Music Ldudwik Regamey had a solid musical education, since his childhood. In Bydgoszcz, he generally played the piano, but he also performed on the violin, guitar and cello. His favorite composers were Frédéric Chopin, Bach, Brahms, Mozart.
His artistic debut took place for a specific purpose: he appeared at a banquet of the Borderland Internat at 80 Senatorska street (currently 32 Chodkiewicza street), together with the dentist Idzi Świtała, in February 1921.
He then began to work earnestly for the creation of the Bydgoszcz Music Society, which happened on May 30, 1922: he chaired the chamber music section. The association celebrated Karol Szymanowski during a special ceremony on August 12, 1922; Ludwik knew his mother and relatives -living in Bydgoszcz- from his life in Kyiv. His nephew Constantin (the future famous composer) took part in the performance. The first official concert inaugurating the artistic society took place on 5 December, 1922, at the Civil Casino on Gdańska Street. The association welcomed many musical celebrities, like the violinist Wacław Kochański.
Besides, Ludwik made individual representations, often following lectures from Witold Bełza, then director of the Municipal Library, related to French music and culture. He performed in different premises of Bydgoszcz (School of Art Industry, Copernicanum, Gymnasium of Humanities), but also in nearby Toruń where he played with a larger orchestra in the Municipal Theatre. In November 1927, he organized a concert to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of Edvard Grieg. Similarly, he worked out a performance on May 12, 1928, on the occasion of the 40th artistic anniversary of Polish composer Stanisław Niewiadomski.
France
After his resignation as city building counselor, Ludwik moved with his family to Paris in July 1934, at 16, rue Clapeyron in the 8th arrondissement. According to the agreement he had made with Bydgoszcz magistrate before departure, he regularly wrote back articles, describing his active life in Paris.
In France, he quickly joined the social life of Polish organizations. Henceforth he became in January 1936, the president of the Committee of Polish Societies in Paris, position which added to his other functions: vice-chairman of the Main Board of the Union of Poles in France; chairman of the Paris District of the Union of Poles; chairman of the Polish House in Paris; permanent delegate of Les Amis de la Pologne Society; chairman of the Honorary Court of the Society of former Military and Reservists of Paris and Argenteuil.
As a sign of his growing role in the Polish community, he welcomed in Paris in August 1936, general Edward Rydz-Śmigły then Commander-in-chief of Polish armed forces. He also worked closely with Polish ambassadors in the French capital, Alfred Chłapowski and Juliusz Łukasiewicz. In June 1937, he became the sponsor of the banner of the Polish Combatants association in Troyes, and in December 1938, he sponsored the banner of the Józef Piłsudski-Cultural and Educational Society in Aubervilliers.
In addition to this frantic social activity and his periodic articles for Bydgoszcz, Ludwik tried to provide as many materials as possible documenting his work in France. Furthermore, Maria and himself were translating Polish articles for French magazines such as L'Illustration, Benjamin, Benjamine or Les Amis de la Pologne.
On her side, Maria translated Polish works and studies into French, among others: Joseph Pilsudski en Sibérie by Mieczysław Lepecki; Mineurs de Pologne: des étoiles dans le puits and Six jours by Gustaw Morcinek. They came back to visit Bydgoszcz several times before the outbreak of WWII. Ludwik's last article relating his French activities was sent out in June 1939.