116 GALICIA
Poland as 'Eastern Matopolska', aptly illustrates the prevalence of crude preju-
dices and irreconcilable aspirations.^11 To many older citizens, nationalist poli-
ticking of that sort must have seemed distinctly 'un-Galician'.
The Viceroyalty of Michal Bobrzynski between 1908 and 1913 finds little
space in present-day histories. A medieval historian who devoted himself to his
studies and to the management of the School Board, and who as a politician
remained staunchly Kaisertreu, has few modern admirers. As Viceroy, he suc-
ceeded Count Andrzej Potocki, who was assassinated in April 1908 by a
Ukrainian terrorist. But instead of demanding retribution, he saw his task as one
of reconciliation between the warring nationalities. At the provincial elections
of 1911, he formed a 'Viceregal Block' for candidates who wished to support his
programme for reforming the electoral system and for assisting Ukrainian edu-
cation. When the Block won, he was denounced by the Catholic bishops, by the
Galician conservatives, and most virulently of all, by the National Democrats.
In their eyes, he had betrayed the Polish cause. Yet it was in his period of office
that Pitsudski's Legions came into the open in Galicia, and began to hold
manoeuvres and train recruits. Bobrzynski turned a blind eye to their activities,
deeming them a necessary part of Austrian foreign policy but an irrelevance to
Galician domestic affairs. His style was tolerant, therefore, his aims limited, his
intention of calming nationalist passions thankless. He resigned in May 1913,
worn down by the attacks of his compatriots. He was the first and the last of the
Viceroys to attempt to run Galicia in a truly democratic and even-handed man-
ner. His resignation was followed the very next summer by the outbreak of war.
It was Galicia's last chance. Apart from a brief tenure of the Ministry for
Galician Affairs in Vienna in 1917, Bobrzyn-ski retired from active politics alto-
gether. He advocated loyalty to Austria to the end, not from any blind devotion
to the Habsburgs but from his fear of the destructive forces which would take
their place. Yet by any standard of political integrity, his record was a worthy
one. He looked beyond the situation where one class and one nationality had
lorded it over the rest of society, and tried without much success to initiate
something better. He did not persecute the activists and revolutionaries who
congregated in his Kingdom, but sought rather to make life sufficiently tolera-
ble for rebellions and conspiracies to become superfluous. Like many of the
Galicians whom he governed, he was not in sympathy with Nationalism. But his
contribution to the life of his nation, and of its neighbours, was considerable.^12
Galicia's fate was decided by men and forces far beyond the control of any-
one in Galicia. In August 1914, the Russian Army rolled out of the east, and
reached the outskirts of Cracow. In 1915, the German counter-offensive pushed
forward from the west, and traversed the province in the opposite direction. The
retreating Russians adopted a scorched earth policy. Villages were razed; rail-
ways, bridges, and factories were dismantled; the oil-wells at Boryslaw were
fired; over one million peasants, together with their livestock and foodstores
were deported. In 1916, General Brusilov reappeared on the eastern horizon,
and smashed his way towards the Carpathians. In 1917-18, as part of the