Stanisław Narutowicz — litewsko-polski rycerz bez skazy

Abstrakt: Stanisław Narutowicz (1862-1932) was a talented lawyer, a distinguished representative of the Polish and Lithuanian political thought, an activist for the Polish-Lithuanian reconciliation. He can certainly be ranked among the first Polish-Lithuanian Europeans as with his ideals, he was much ahead of his time. His vision of the nation and citizenship did completely not fit in the narrow frames of nationalisms, characteristic of the beginning of the 20th century. He believed that it was not the language or the origin that determined the nationality but only an individual’s conscious choice. For this reason, he was misunderstood and unaccepted by the elites of Poland or Lithuania of the interwar period although he had close friendly relationships with politicians both in Kovno and Warsaw. Due to the situation at the beginning of the 20th century, the Narutowicz brothers acted in favour of different countries – Poland and Lithuania, at the same time keeping close family contacts. The political careers and private lives of both brothers ended tragically. There are few lives in the history of Europe that are so beautiful and unique as the history of the Narutowicz family. This article is to be a warning for all those who sow ethnic hate and political unruliness. It is also to remind of the unique spiritual heritage of the Commonwealth of Many Nations whose significance is often forgotten or even unknown.