Career of the Cierpiałkowski Brothers, Owners of the Pomeranian Car, Motors And Machinery Factory (In The Interwar Torun)

Abstract

The article discusses the professional lives of two brothers Paweł and Konstanty Cierpiałkowski who were the founders of the Pomeranian Car, Motors and Machinery Factory. The text focuses on the description of the course of careers of two brothers who started their business activity from repairing vehicles to the army of General Haller. At the beginning of the 20s Paweł and Konstanty founded the company which was engaged in the repair and sale of vehicles, which a few years later was transformed into a professional enterprise and employed nearly 50 people. After the acquisition of the former machine factory Kuhl and Klein the brothers Cierpiałkowski created by the road Chełmińska 33 in Torun the au tomotive center offering a wide range of services, ranging from car repairs and machinery, the consignment of vehicles, the production of parts, accessories and fluid sales, after service garage and chauffeurs school. The text presents the structure of the company and the modification of the management after which the brothers stopped to work together and began their independent operations. The author tracks the parallel lives of Paweł and Konstanty, seeking a cause-and-effect relation of their different achievements. This article is a part of the trend called prosopography and tries to answer questions about the role of family relationships, relationships with the ruling elite, personality traits (entrepreneurial) and other determinants that decide about the success of the Cierpiałkowski family.