The organiser of the meeting is the Jerzy Giedroyc Centre of the University of Lodz. According to its head, Dr Sławomir M. Nowinowski, Associate Professor, the research and presentation of the work of the patron, the editor of the Parisian “Culture”, the most influential émigré periodical after World War II, as well as the continuation of the critical reflection on the past, present and future of Central and Eastern Europe, which was initiated therein, is the main task of his academic unit.
By publishing the monthly and distributing it behind the Iron Curtain, Giedroyc wanted to influence the situation in the country and support his compatriots in the fight for independence, devoting his entire life to this task. The activities of the editor and his associates, residents of the charming house in the suburban village of Maisons-Laffitte, the seat of the Literary Institute, were always a response to events that were taking place in Poland. This is the reason why the history of the Communist era occupies a special place in the scientific activities of the Jerzy Giedroyc Centre
– explains Dr hab. Sławomir M. Nowinowski, Associate Professor, head of the Centre.
About Grażyna Pomian's monograph "Bierut i jego partia" [Bierut and His Party]
The meeting on 7 November 2023 will be held at the Biedermann’s Palace (1/5 Franciszkańska) at 5:00 p.m. It will begin with a presentation of a book entitled "Bierut i jego partia" written by a sociologist Grażyna Pomian (1934-2019). The monograph on the beginnings of the People's Republic of Poland will be presented by Professor Iwona Hofman, a media scholar and the Head of UMCS in Lublin. The book was published as part of the series "W kręgu paryskiej Kultury" [In the Circle of Parisian Culture], initiated and managed by Andrzej Peciak, as a result of the cooperation of the above-mentioned institution, the UMCS Publishing House and the Kultura Literary Institute Association, which takes care of the material and intellectual output of Giedroyc and his associates.
At this point it should be made clear that the publication of Grażyna Pomian's book provided the impetus for us to organise the debate. However, the idea had already matured earlier, due to the fact that we are now witnessing a new wave of research on People's Poland, in which the leading role is played not by historians, but by representatives of other academic disciplines born after 1989.
The second part of the meeting will feature a conversation with Professor Krzysztof Pomian – a philosopher and a historian, a researcher of the achievements of the Literary Institute and close associate of Jerzy Giedroyc.
Grażyna and Krzysztof Pomian emigrated to France for political reasons in 1973. The outstanding scientist held numerous positions – he was a researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris, Professor at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and a scientific director of the Museum of Europe in Brussels. It should be noted that he was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Lodz in 2017 (he was also honoured in the same way by the UMCS and the University of Geneva).
The discussion on the situation of the humanist in People's Poland will be moderated by a historian of historiography, an author of numerous studies devoted to the environment of the Parisian "Culture", Prof. Rafał Stobiecki (Institute of History, University of Lodz, Jerzy Giedroyc Centre).
Discussions on the place of the Polish People's Republic in Polish history
On 8 November 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. two panel discussions will be held at the Institute of History of the University of Lodz (Faculty Council Room, Kamińskiego 27a), namely: Public attitudes towards the modernisation project "People's Poland" and The place of the People's Republic of Poland in Polish history.
The first discussion will be attended by:
- Dr Andrzej Czyżewski (Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Jerzy Giedroyc Centre) who is a historian dealing with the research in the area of history of historiography and recent history.
- Dr Jan Olaszek (Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of National Remembrance, Jerzy Giedroyc Centre) who is a historian and a researcher of the history of the democratic opposition in the People's Republic of Poland and the history of the "second circulation".
- Dr Magda Szcześniak (Institute of Polish Culture, University of Warsaw) who is a cultural studies scholar as well as a researcher of visual culture and Polish cultural history of the 20th century.
- Prof. Marcin Zaremba (Faculty of History, University of Warsaw) who is a historian and a sociologist. In his research he focuses primarily on the social dimensions of the history of the People's Republic of Poland.
The second panel will be attended by:
- Prof. Andrzej Friszke (Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences) who is a historian, whose works on the history of the People's Republic of Poland and the Polish independence emigration are essential reading for researchers of this epoch. He is a lecturer at Collegium Civitas. He has been involved in the activities of numerous scientific institutions, including, in the past he was a long-standing member of the Collegium and the Council of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), currently he is a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish Academy of Arts and Science. He is a winner of the Memorial Prize of the First Rector of the University of Lodz Professor Tadeusz Kotarbiński. The Jury of the Prize in its fourth edition recognised his book entitled "Sprawa Jedenastu. Uwięzienie przywódców NSZZ "Solidarność" i KSS KOR 1981–1984" as the best humanities thesis in 2018.
- Prof. Dariusz Gawin (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences) who is a historian of ideas and a philosopher. He is a researcher of the relationship between politics and Polish literature and of social thought in the era of the People's Republic of Poland, a deputy director of the Warsaw Uprising Museum.
- Adam Michnik who is the editor-in-chief of 'Gazeta Wyborcza', a historian and an essayist. He has been a member of the democratic opposition since the 1960s, repeatedly imprisoned for his activities
- Prof. Robert Traba (Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences) who is a researcher of the history of Central and Eastern Europe and the Polish-German borderland, a co-founder of the "Borussia" Association and a long-time director of the Centre for Historical Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Berlin.
The two-day event is an offer for both scientific researchers and every fan of the topic. The invited guests guarantee a discussion at the highest level. The meeting will provide an opportunity to ask questions that are of interest to all those interested in the history of the People's Republic of Poland.
You are more than welcome to join the event!
University of Lodz is the only Polish university to have entered into a formal agreement with the KULTURA Literary Institute Association, the successor to the Literary Institute established in 1946 by Jerzy Giedroyc. The cooperation agreement was concluded in June 2020 by the then Rector of the University of Lodz, Prof. Antoni Różalski, and the President of the Literary Institute Association, Anna Bernhardt. The cooperation involves joint scientific enterprises such as obtaining research grants, carrying out archive searches, organising symposia and conferences as well as educational projects, including arranging lectures, exhibitions and presentations. The University of Lodz Rector, Professor Elżbieta Żądzińska, and the President of the Kultura Literary Institute signed a letter of intent in Paris in 2022. The document opens up new areas of cooperation between the two institutions. University of Lodz is a leading academic centre for regular research and promotion of the achievements of the Literary Institute in Paris and its founder – editor, Jerzy Giedroyc. The Jerzy Giedroyc Centre will be housed in the historic University of Lodz building at Sienkiewicza 21 ("Motyl"), the renovation of which is expected to be completed within 18 months.
Source: Dr Aleksandra Sylburska (The University of Lodz Jerzy Giedroyc Centre), Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz
Edit: Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz