In the Second Republic of Poland, the group that was hit the hardest by the Great Economic Crisis but the least recognized in the social welfare system were the farmers. The social group of farmers was not homogenous, and the differences in poverty and wealth among them could not have been bigger. At one end were the owners of large estates and at the other end the owners of small and very small farms as well as farm hands without land. The latter were hit the hardest:
“The manor has not paid for a number of months, so that people are walking around, barefoot, ragged, and the children present a picture of misery and despair. There is no money for them to buy books, the lack of shoes and clothing makes it impossible for them to attend school. So mothers cry and express their despair, because the complete lack of money is a terrible disaster. In the cottages of the smallholders, the conditions are even worse, because the food is scarcer, and around New Year’s Day, famine will begin.”
But even those farmers who where regarded “better off” were hit by the crisis:
“‘Wealthier farmers’ who have 20 and more acres of land are also short of cash. They sell their produce to various middlemen for ‘dog money’. They can buy neither farm equipment nor fertilizers, because the bailiff is waiting for every penny, otherwise they are threatened with ruinous auctions, with the seizure of the last cows and piglets.”
But not only men, also women had to not only to take care of housework and children, but also work the land. The lack of social and medical support for them and the whole family made the situation even worse:
“In particular, the work of women in rural areas is hard, very often harmful to health. Women age very early even though they are outdoors in the fresh air. Numerous births and even more miscarriages play a role, and social care has not yet reached the villages. This is not the most important thing for the Sanacja government. Mother and childcare stations, tuberculosis or alcohol clinics do not exist in the villages, although two thirds of the population live in the countryside.”
Poverty in the countryside was defined by hunger and total lack of social care and economic possibilities. The limited options for farmers to make a living out for themselves ended in a critique of the government by the Polish Socialist Party:
“Those in power have only one concern: to stay in power, by any means. This is why misery has spread its reign both in the villages and in the countryside. Let the living not lose hope. The future belongs to the People, they will be the host, for they are the salt of the earth, for they are the creative force.”
Source: Nędza na Wsi [Poverty in the countryside], in: Głos Kobiet. Wydawnictwo Polskiej Partji Socjalistycznej 11-12, 1931, pp. 6–7.