In mid-June 1945, I arrived in Bolesławiec, having been assigned to the local Operational Group as an expert in ceramic matters. On my way to Bolesławiec, I had not imagined that the destruction of the ceramic factories would be so enormous and that the entire large and thriving ceramic industry would be ruined to its foundations and incapable of any work. The smaller Bolesławiec workshops (potteries) had survived in fairly good condition, and for that reason, after completing my work in the Operational Group, I decided to focus on putting them back into operation.
At first, I wanted to establish an Artistic Cooperative, but the Wrocław authorities reacted unfavourably to the idea and required at least 10 members who were professional ceramists. It was difficult to fulfil this requirement, so I abandoned the idea of artistic ceramics and began preparatory work to restart the smaller potteries.
The first one I chose was the R. Reinhold small factory at 10 Dolnych Młynów Street in Bolesławiec. It was difficult to complete all the necessary equipment, but in this case ingenuity helped—for example, by using worn-out canvas fire hoses instead of leather drive belts. Two persistent and diligent volunteers also helped: W. Słowik, a ceramist and my former student, and J. Toman, passionate about ceramics but, by profession, a very good mechanical locksmith—he made a major contribution to restarting the machines. A number of volunteers from the local Polish population applied for work as labourers. These people had to be trained, as they had no knowledge whatsoever of ceramic work. The Directorate of Local Industry in Wrocław took patronage of these efforts and, seeing the first successful attempts, provided comprehensive and far-reaching assistance.
In 1946, the first factory chimney in Bolesławiec began to smoke at Dolnych Młynów Street, and the first stoneware pots fired by Poles were taken from the pottery kiln. After Dolnych Młynów, it was the turn of other workshops, and eventually four plants were put into operation. They produced exclusively brown stoneware pots, known in Upper Silesia as “buncloks”. Working conditions improved to the extent that the Directorate of Local Industry in Wrocław finally organised a local office and sent one of its officials to serve as administrative manager.
The quality of the workforce also improved when repatriates arrived from Yugoslavia and later from France. The “Yugoslavs” were very difficult workers, but gradually they adapted to factory work and acquired the necessary practical knowledge, which enabled them to take up better positions. In the larger plants in Tylinów {a locality just outside Bolesławiec, beyond the Bóbr River}, one could observe the multilingualism of the workforce. The “Yugoslavs” kept together and spoke Serbian in one corner of the factory; the “French” spoke French in another corner; while the “Poles” from the old Polish territories naturally spoke Polish. There were never any conflicts, however, on political or social grounds.
We mainly produced brown pots (with an earthen glaze), as well as white stoneware with a transparent, colourless glaze. Firing took place at temperatures of up to 1,300 degrees. The pots and all the vessels were pressed into plaster moulds using templates on mechanical potter’s wheels. Many items were cast in plaster moulds, but all the products were glazed in the unfired state and went into the kiln only once.
The white ware was fired in fireclay saggers, while the brown ware was fired without any coverings. The kilns were generally rectangular, with six fireboxes, a cross-draught fire system and a barrel vault; the kiln capacity was up to 40 m³.
I remained in the position of technical manager until 1950. Because of a serious illness, and in search of lighter work, I moved to the Central Office of Folk Industry in Warsaw as a technical adviser on ceramic technology. From 1953 onward, I stopped working in industry altogether.
I prepared all the formulations for pottery and casting bodies and glazes on site myself. This gave me satisfaction because, when the Germans left Bolesławiec for the West, they had stated outright that without them we would not be able to make anything.
(The text comes from the archive of the Museum of Ceramics)