The military vicissitudes of Polish priest Władysław Łęga during WW I

The article presents the vicissitudes of a Polish priest, a citizen of Prussia and Germany, who was called up in 1915 as a private – a paramedic despite the fact that he was entitled to hold the rank of an officer; he later held the position of chaplain-sanitary. Through the perspective of his narrative, the atmosphere among the soldiers, the relations between the Poles and the Germans, the situation in the territories where Władysław Łęga was stationed (Lithuania, France), and the attitude of the local civilian population to the German army are described. However, the major element is the depiction of the personal vicissitudes of a Polish soldier in the German army. The reader learns about the poverty the soldier experienced under American and French captivity as a German soldier; next, the reader discovers that American soldiers exhibited a friendly attitude to the Germans, but were quite reserved towards the French; the author also reveals the fact that the Americans could not distinguish the Polish nationality. The account also discloses the hostile attitude of German soldiers towards Polish aspirations to regain independence and, in general, towards their companions of Polish origin who were trying to sign up for the Polish army of Gen. Józef Haller created in cooperation with the Triple Entente. A similar attitude towards this issue was exhibited by the Americans who hindered the actions of the Poles