Ludwik Hieronim Morstin

Who was Ludwik Hieronim Morstin?

Ludwik Hieronim Morstin, born in Pławowice on 12 December 1886 was a soldier, diplomat, editor and poet.

He was educated at the Jan III Sobieski High School in Kraków and between 1906 and 1910 continued his studies in Munich, Berlin and Paris. After finishing his education, Morstin was, between 1911 and 1913, the co-editor of monthly Museion paper. During the First World War he served in the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Polish Legions and ended the war with the rank of major. As a result of his services to the Austro-Hungarian Empire he received the title of Count from Franz Joseph I on 29 July 1915.

Immediately after the war Morstin served in the Regency Council as well as on diplomatic missions to Paris and Rome. Between 1930 and 1931 he was the editor of the monthly Pamiętnik Warszawski.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War there were, however, doubts in both German and Polish camps as to where the Morstin's loyalty lay due to their German origins. In 1943, Morstin replied to a German government letter questioning his German background that he was "a Pole and had no German roots".