Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries

Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries — page 9 — Manya’s father Vładisłav was also from a family of Polish minor nobility One of his ancestors had owned several hundred acres of land and lived a very comfortable life as a well-to-do farmer as did many of his descen dants Unfortunately this was not the case for Vładisłav’s father Joseph So with a de sire to improve his circumstances and honor the family name Vładisłav chose to focus on study and academics He became the director of a boys school in Lublin and is credited as being the ﬁrst intellectual in the Skłodowski family Like his father Vładisłav attended the Uni versity of Petersburg in Russia and excelled in scientiﬁc studies He returned to Warsaw where he became a professor of mathematics and physics and married Bronisława in 1860 Everyone agreed that it was a very suitable marriage And given their intelligence and ﬁerce loyalty to their Polish roots their chil dren would be not only well educated but also taught to honor their heritage y above The Skłodowski siblings Left to right Sophia Zosia Helena Hela Maria Manya Joseph Jozio and Bronisława Bronya Musée Curie coll ACJC left Bronisława Skłodowska Marie Curie’s mother right Vładisłav Skłodowski Marie Curie’s father Musée Curie coll ACJC 4

Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries — page 10 — Russia-Controlled Poland WHY WAS it so important to Manya’s parents to teach their children the history and culture of their own country Surely they would be taught these things in school right Actually Poland had once been one of the most powerful countries in Europe but in 1772 Russia Prussia now Germany and Austria had seized control of most of the land and divided it among themselves The name Poland was completely removed from the map The French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte tried to help the Poles form a small Polish state in the early 1800s but he was de feated by the Russians and the land reverted right back to Russian czar Alexander I whose troops now occupied the country The czar de cided the time had come to crack down even harder on the Poles and the Russiﬁcation of Poland began New laws required that Poles learn the Rus sian language and customs Poles were no lon ger allowed to celebrate their own religions culture and history or teach these to their children The Russians wanted to completely strip them of their Polish identities and erase any traces of their former lives Anyone who dared to do things the old way or was caught speaking Polish was punished severely The Poles were also the targets of discrimination and all the best jobs went to Russians and those who supported the czar The loyal Polish people were furious Two times they rebelled and tried to overthrow their oppressors in 1830 and again in 1863 But their efforts failed and anyone who took part in the rebellions suffered the conse quences Families lost land and some Poles were sent away put in prison or worse Man ya’s paternal grandfather Joseph Skłodowski had taken part in the 1830 uprising and was captured Although he was ﬁnally released he never got his land back and a hatred for the Russians was passed down in his family through the generations Life Changes M ANYA’S FATHER Vładisłav had had his own problems with the Russians In 1868 he made some school ofﬁcials where he worked very angry probably because of his Polish loy alty and the regular discrimination against the Poles and was ﬁred from his job He was soon able to ﬁnd another teaching position in a War saw boys school which provided an apartment for the family Bronisława resigned from her job as headmistress of the Freta Street School and the Skłodowskis moved into their new quarters not long after Manya was born Bronisława was talented and hardworking and now as a full-time homemaker she put 5

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