Jerzy Władysław Giedroyc (; 27 July 1906 – 14 September 2000) was a Polish writer and political activist and for many years editor of the highly influential Paris-based periodical, ''

Kultura ''Kultura'' (, ''Culture'')—sometimes referred to as ''Kultura Paryska'' ("Paris-based Culture")—was a leading Polish-émigré literary-political magazine, published from 1947 to 2000 by ''Instytut Literacki'' (the Literary Institute), ini ...

''.

Early life

Giedroyć was born into a Polish-Lithuanian noble family on 27 July 1906, with the title of ''kniaź'', prince. His schooling in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

was interrupted by the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

, when he returned home to Minsk. During the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

of 1919–1921 his family left Minsk for

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 ...

, where he finished the Jan Zamoyski gymnasium in 1924. He went on to study law and Ukrainian history and literature at the

University of Warsaw 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 ...

Career

Giedroyć worked as a journalist and civil servant in

interwar Poland The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

, he maintained contacts with leading

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...

and urged the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to improve relations with the

Greek Catholic Church The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

to which most Ukrainians belonged, insisting that Poland's success as a national state depended on satisfying the aspirations of minorities so that minority nationalists would not have convincing arguments against Polish statehood. He thus took the side of

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

as against the National Democrats. In 1930 he took over as editor of the weekly "Dzień Akademicki" (''Academic Day'') which he soon transformed into the biweekly "Bunt Młodych", renaming it ''Polityka'' in 1937. Paryska Kultura1984

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served under General

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyears ...

in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

and kept up friendly contacts with representatives of other nationalities. After the war he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he published and

edited Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

a leading Polish-émigré literary-political journal, ''

'' (1947–2000), which promoted a peaceful settlement of Poland's eastern borders, and accepted the results of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...

, the (

Giedroyc-Mieroszewski doctrine The Giedroyc doctrine (; pl, doktryna Giedroycia) or Giedroyc–Mieroszewski doctrine was a political doctrine that urged reconciliation among Central and Eastern European countries. It was developed by postwar Polish émigrés, and was named f ...

), even though many Poles regarded these as betrayals of Poland. This helped to lay the groundwork for Poland's successful eastern policy after the fall of communism. His closest collaborator was

Juliusz Mieroszewski Juliusz Mieroszewski (; 2 February 1906 – 21 June 1976) was a Polish journalist, publicist and political commentator. He wrote under the pseudonyms "J. Calveley" and "Londyńczyk" (''Londoner''). He was born in Kraków. In interwar Poland he ...

, who provided the theoretical justification for Polish recognition of the borders with Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania (whose future independence he predicted long before it came about).

Death and awards

He died 14 September 2000 in

Maisons-Laffitte Maisons-Laffitte () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the northern Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of northwestern Paris, from its ...

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.Polish Culture
Jerzy Giedroyc page In 2006 the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

declared the year 2006 as the "Year of Jerzy Giedroyć".

References

External links

Correspondences between Giedroyc and

Melchior Wańkowicz Melchior Wańkowicz (10 January 1892 – 10 September 1974) was a Polish army officer, popular writer, political journalist and publisher. He is most famous for his reporting for the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II and writing ...

Sarmatian Review The ''Sarmatian Review'' () is an English language, English-language peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal, academic tri-quarterly academic journal, journal devoted to Slavistics (the study of the history, histories, cultures, and society, so ...

'' September 1999
visit to Le Mesnil-le-Roi
cemetery, burial place of Giedroyć and his wife, Tamara">Le Mesnil-le-Roi">visit to Le Mesnil-le-Roi
cemetery, burial place of Giedroyć and his wife, Tamara {{DEFAULTSORT:Giedroyc, Jerzy 1906 births 2000 deaths Journalists from Minsk Polish male writers Polish memoirists Recipients of the Legion of Honour Polish opinion journalists Giedraitis family, Jerzy Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class 20th-century memoirists People associated with the magazine "Kultura"

Early life

Career

Death and awards

See also

References

External links