Jerzy Urban (born Jerzy Urbach, 3 August 1933 – 3 October 2022) was a Polish journalist, commentator, writer and politician, best known as the founder and editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine
''Nie''. From 1981 to 1989 he was the
Press Secretary
A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage.
Duti ...
of the
Communist government
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...
under the
Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
, and the Head of the
Polish Radio and Television Committee in 1989.
A staunch
anticlerical
Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
and pro-communist throughout his life, he frequently was the centre of numerous controversies due to his unfiltered comments and entrenched political views resulting in support of the communist regime; on the other hand, he was a sharp-witted, intelligent and uncompromising satirist, writer and journalist, which results in a complicated legacy of his life.
Biography
Before 1989
![Jerzy-urban](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Jerzy-urban.jpg)
Urban was born into an assimilated
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
. His father, Jan Urbach, was an activist of
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland.
It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' P ...
and the
General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland
The General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland ( yi, אַלגעמײַנער ײדישער אַרבעטער בּונד אין פוילן, translit=Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter-bund in Poyln, pl, Ogólno-Żydowski Związek Robotniczy "Bund" w Polsce) was ...
. In 1939, they relocated to the city of
Lwów
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
(Lemberg, now Lviv). Following the outbreak of the
Second World War
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 ...
and the German-Soviet occupation of Poland, a Soviet official mistook the last two letters of the family surname and incorrectly transcribed it as "Urban". His parents later refrained from returning to the original spelling, a move which possibly saved their lives when Germany seized Lwów in 1941.
Urban reportedly attended 17 different primary and high schools. He completed his senior high school exams as an external student. He studied in two faculties of 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 ...
and was expelled from both. He started his journalistic career with the journal ''
Nowa Wieś''.
From 1955 to 1957, he was a journalist - reporter and commentator - for the weekly ''
Po prostu Simple speech ( uk, проста мова, prosta mova, pl, mowa prosta, po prostu, be, про́стая мова; па простаму, prostaya mova; "(to speak) in a simple way"), also translated as "simple language" or "simple talk", is an in ...
'', which started during the rehabilitation of
Władysław Gomułka
Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Go ...
, who became communist party leader.
However, the newspaper was closed by the personal initiative of Gomułka, which symbolised the end of the ''thaw'' which started under Gomułka. The newspaper was closed mainly because of the biting, uncompromising opinion articles by Urban. Urban himself was officially banned from publishing under his own name. From 1961, he worked for the weekly ''
Polityka
''Polityka'' (, ''Politics'') is a centre-left weekly news magazine in Poland. With a circulation of 200,050 (as of April 2011), it was the country's biggest selling weekly, ahead of ''Newsweek''s Polish edition, ''Newsweek Polska'', and ''Wpr ...
'', continuing his opinion pieces under
pseudonyms
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
. He was eventually totally forbidden from carrying out any journalistic activities. This ban continued until Gomułka lost power as party leader.
Despite his critical attitude towards
Edward Gierek
Edward Gierek (; 6 January 1913 – 29 July 2001) was a Polish communism in Poland, Communist politician and ''de facto'' leader of Poland between 1970 and 1980. Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as General Secretary of the Communist Party, F ...
's rule, he was an opponent of the
Solidarity movement in 1980 and often criticized its leaders (including
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...
). From 1981 to 1989, he was the Press Secretary and spokesman for the
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
and the Communist government.
He created the tradition of weekly press conferences, transmitted by Polish television and attended by both Polish and foreign journalists.
In September 1984, during the month before the murder of the priest
Jerzy Popiełuszko
Jerzy Popiełuszko ( born Alfons Popiełuszko; 14 September 1947–19 October 1984) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who became associated with the opposition Solidarity trade union in communist Poland. He was murdered in 1984 by three agen ...
, he wrote a column "Seanse nienawiści" (''hate session''); he criticized the priest as an
anti-communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
.
In 1986 Urban masterminded a media story that the United States had betrayed the Solidarity movement. He met with a ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reporter and told him that a Polish spy for the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
, who was later identified as
Ryszard Kukliński
Ryszard Jerzy Kukliński (June 13, 1930February 11, 2004) was a Polish colonel and Cold War spy for NATO. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of brigadier general by Polish President Andrzej Duda. Kukliński passed top secret Soviet documen ...
, was aware of the plan to install
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 1981 and had passed that information on to the United States government. "The US administration could have publicly revealed these plans to the world and warned Solidarity," Urban said, "Had it done so, the implementation of martial law would have been impossible." At press conference Urban alleged that "Washington ... did not warn its allies. It did not boast of its agent as it customarily does." According to Urban, the
Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
administration had "lied to its own people and to its friends in Poland," when it denied having prior knowledge of martial law.
After 1989
Urban ran for office as an independent during the
semi-free elections in 1989 (he was never a member of the
Polish United Workers Party
The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...
PZPR). He suffered a landslide defeat and since then gave up attempts to actively participate in politics.
In 1990 he established ''Nie'', an anti-clerical tabloid-like politically-satirical newspaper, which often uses profanity.
He subsequently served as its chief editor.
Court case for offence to John-Paul II
In 2002, Urban was charged with offence against the head of the Vatican state,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
, due to the publication in ''Nie'' of the article "Obwoźne sado-maso" (House-to-house sado-masochism); the article was published prior to a pilgrimage to Poland by the Pope. Among allegedly offensive terms used by Urban were "sędziwy bożek" (old worship idol), "gasnący starzec" ("fading old man") and "Breżniew Watykanu" (
Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1 ...
of the Vatican).
The Youth Forum of the political party
PiS
Pis ( oc, Pis) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.
Geography
Localisation
Hydrography
The river Auroue forms most of the commune's eastern border.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Gers department
The fol ...
and the
Media Ethics Council took him to court. In court, Magdalena Bajer, the leader of the Media Ethics Council, testified as a witness that Urban "brutally mocked the suffering of a man who was a head of state". The court case was considered a
precedent
A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
. Urban pleaded
not guilty. During the case he declared: "Looking at the papal cult with the eye of an atheist is just as legal as the ecstasy of devotees."
Urban was defended by the
International Press Institute
International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. The institution was founded by 34 editors from 15 countries at Columbia Universit ...
in Vienna, expressing its concern that the court case against Urban was a form of
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 ...
, as well as by
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
, who stated: "We are perfectly aware that criticising John Paul II is an absolute
taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
in Poland, but this should not prevent the authorities from defending legal principles related to
freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
in Europe (especially Article 10 of the
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
, relating to freedom of speech)".
In turn, a specialist in church law, priest Prof. Florian Lempa stated that Urban's action did not satisfy the definition of the crime, since a head of state is only protected when he is present on Polish territory, and the article was published before the Pope arrived in Poland. Moreover, Urban "had the right to his point of view", and "satire is admissible". He added that the article was aimed at people who try to profit from the Pope, rather than at him personally.
The prosecutor asked for a sentence of ten months' imprisonment suspended over three years and a fine of 20 thousand
zlotys (about
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
5,000). On 5 January 2005, the court convicted Urban and fined him 20,000 zlotys. The court argued, "Jerzy Urban intentionally caused a scandal by publishing an article about
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
at the moment when the Pope came to Poland". According to the court, the publication was a deliberate, tactical move as well as a measured provocation by Urban, since otherwise it would not have caused such a violent (popular) reaction and outrage. The court stressed that permitted criticism does not have to be pleasant, but it cannot be insulting.
After the court verdict, Urban stated that the sentence revealed the "clericalisation of justice". He added that he did not expect much from going through the appeals process, but he would go to the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
if necessary.
Death
Jerzy Urban died in Konstancin-Jeziorna on 3 October 2022 at the age of 89. He was buried at the
Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Wojskowy na Powązkach) is an old military cemetery located in the Żoliborz district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquiall ...
, Warsaw on 11 October 2022.
Personal life and political beliefs
![Jerzy Urban w rysunku](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Jerzy_Urban_w_rysunku.JPG)
Urban married three times.
He had one daughter. He described himself as an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
,
and frequently criticised organised religion, especially the
Roman Catholic Church in Poland.
He was a staunch communist throughout his life; he described the
Solidarność
Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subseq ...
movement as the "worst thing to happen to Poland"
and maintained this stance even after the
fall of communism
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
.
Legacy
He is remembered as an intelligent, skillful writer and satirist,
as well as successful owner and editor-in-chief,
however he remains a widely negatively received figure with a scandalous reputation.
His close friendship and support of
General Jaruzelski and the decision to impose martial law in 1981, as well as his criticism, often using profanities, of
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...
,
Solidarność
Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subseq ...
,
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
and Father
Jerzy Popiełuszko
Jerzy Popiełuszko ( born Alfons Popiełuszko; 14 September 1947–19 October 1984) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who became associated with the opposition Solidarity trade union in communist Poland. He was murdered in 1984 by three agen ...
– all highly revered in Poland – made him a widely disliked figure, more so after Popiełuszko's assassination.
However his unremitting stances, uncompromising satire and journalistic abilities were widely acclaimed,
leaving behind a complex legacy.
Awards and decorations
*
![POL Polonia Restituta Oficerski BAR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/POL_Polonia_Restituta_Oficerski_BAR.svg)
Officer's Cross of the
Order of Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...
*
Gold Cross of Merit
The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state.
History
At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was awa ...
*
Order of the Banner of Work
The Order of the Banner of Labor ( pl, Order Sztandaru Pracy) was a governmental award in Poland during the 20th-century era of the Polish People's Republic, a former Marxist-Leninist state.
The order was established by the Sejm (a chamber of th ...
, second class
*
![Bulgaria01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Bulgaria01.png)
Order of Cyril and Methodius (
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
)
Notes
References
External links
Official page of the weekly ''Nie''Criminal Defamation Laws in Poland Hamper Free Expression–
IFEX
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urban, Jerzy
1933 births
2022 deaths
21st-century memoirists
21st-century Polish Jews
Democratic Left Alliance politicians
Holocaust survivors
Jewish atheists
Jewish Polish writers
Jewish socialists
Polish atheists
Polish bloggers
Male bloggers
Polish columnists
Polish YouTubers
Polish journalists
Polish memoirists
Polish secularists
Polish television personalities
Polish United Workers' Party members
Political spokespersons
Politicians from Łódź
Press secretaries
Writers from Łódź
Male YouTubers
Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Critics of the Catholic Church
Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery