Anna Maria Radziwiłł (; 20 April 1939 – 23 January 2009) was a Polish historian, educator, and politician. She was a former member of the Polish Senate and Minister of Education, and was very active in educational reform and the underground educational movement during the Communist era in Poland.

Biography

Radziwiłł was the daughter of ''Red Prince''

Krzysztof Mikołaj Radziwiłł Prince Krzysztof Mikołaj Artur Radziwiłł (; 29 July 1898 – 24 March 1986) was a Polish translator and politician, descendant of the well-known aristocratic Radziwiłł family. He was a supporter of the Communist regime in Poland, which gai ...

and his wife, Zofia, born in Sichów Duży. In 1961, she graduated from the faculty of history of the

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

, where she later earned her doctorate in humanities in 1966. Immediately after graduation, she started to work as a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

teacher. In 1967, she completed her studies and obtained the title of

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

of humanistic sciences for her study on ''Educational ideology of the

Sanacja Sanation ( pl, Sanacja, ) was a Polish political movement that was created in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and came to power in the wake of that coup. In 1928 its political activists would go on ...

and its reflection in education policies of 1926-1939''. Her work was to be published the following year by the

Polish Scientific Publishers PWN Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i ...

, but in 1968, after the anti- intelligentsia campaign of the communist authorities, it was banned by the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

. She continued to work as a teacher of history and Polish language in various Warsaw-based schools. At the same time, she published a number of studies, mostly on history of education in Poland after 1945. Most of them were banned and were published underground, outside of the official system. In the 1970s, she also started cooperation with various undergrounds opposition newspapers, including '' Więź'', '' Znak'', and '' Res Publica''. After the legalization of the Solidarity movement, Anna Radziwiłł became one of its advisers. As such, she took part in various conferences between the communist authorities and the democratic opposition. The exact effect of these consultations was a reform of history education in Polish schools. For that she was awarded with the Golden Cross of Merit in 1981. However, the reform was finally halted by the introduction of

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. In the underground, she started her work on various handbooks to Polish 20th century history. Some of them were published by the underground printing presses and were used by, among others, the so-called Flying University. After the democratic reforms of 1989 and the ousting of the communist authorities, Anna Radziwiłł was elected on 6 June 1989 to the

Senate of Poland The Senate ( pl, Senat) is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate stretches back over 500 years; it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe ...

. She also assumed the post of a sub-secretary of state in the ministry of education in

Tadeusz Mazowiecki Tadeusz Mazowiecki (; 18 April 1927 – 28 October 2013) was a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and Christian-democratic politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist Polish prime min ...

's government. In 1992, she resigned her post and returned to university studies. Together with

Wojciech Roszkowski Wojciech Stefan Roszkowski OOB (born 20 June 1947 in Warsaw) is a Polish economic historian and writer, specializing in Polish and European history of the 20th and 21st century. He was a politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in ...

, she prepared a set of history handbooks for primary schools and lycea (published after 1994), which became the most widely used history handbooks for the period between 1789 and 1990 in Poland. In 1998, for her merits she was awarded with Commanders' Cross of the

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

medal. In 1999, during the government of the Freedom Union-

Solidarity Electoral Action Solidarity Electoral Action ( pl, Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność, AWS) was a political coalition in Poland from 1996 to 2001. From 1997 to 2001, its official name was ''Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy'' (AWSP) or Electoral Action Solidarity ...

coalition, Anna Radziwiłł returned to politics as an adviser to the minister of education. At the same time she became the deputy secretary of the Stefan Batory Foundation. Among her most notable duties was preparation of the reform of education in Poland. In 2001, she retired, but returned to public life as Deputy Minister of Education after being nominated by Mirosław Sawicki and confirmed.

Death

She died on 23 January 2009 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, aged 69, from undisclosed causes.

Honours and awards

* Commander's Cross with Star of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

(

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

, 2009; previously awarded the Commander's Cross, 1998) * Gold Cross of Merit (1981) * Medal of the National Education Commission (1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radziwill, Anna 1939 births 2009 deaths People from Staszów County People from Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939) Members of the Senate of Poland 1989–1991 Polish women academics 20th-century Polish historians Anna 1939 Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Polish women historians