Kazimierz Żygulski (1919 – 23 February 2012) was a Polish sociologist, political activist and

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

Biography

In 1937, he graduated from high school humanities in Lviv, and then he studied at the Faculty of Law of the

University of Jan Kazimierz The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

, where he graduated during the first Soviet occupation of Lviv in 1941. He belonged to the youth organizations of the Democratic Club and the Democratic Party. During the German occupation of Lviv was a member of the

Government Delegation for Poland The Government Delegation for Poland ( pl, Delegatura Rządu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na Kraj) was an agency of the Polish Government in Exile during World War II. It was the highest authority of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland and was ...

, as well as a judge of the Special Court. In 1944, he was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

and sentenced for his participation in the work of the Delegation for 15 years in a

labour camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...

. He was sent to a camp in the

Komi Republic The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республика), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. The population of the ...

in the north of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

where he lived for ten years, until 1955. In 1956 he returned to Poland. From 1957 he worked at the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

, and then as part of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology (1959-1990). In 1973 he became an associate professor, and then a full professor in 1983. From 1982-1986 he was minister of culture and art, and in the period 1987-1989 chairman of the Polish Committee for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and a member of the Executive Board of UNESCO in Paris. In 1983, he was elected to the Presidium of the National Council of the Society of Polish-Soviet Friendship. In August 1984 he joined the Civic Committee of the Celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. From 1986-1989 he was a member of the National Committee of Grunwald . He was president and professor School of Social and Economics in Warsaw from 1996 until his death.

Papers

He wrote a number of papers on the theory and the sociology of culture including: * Introduction to cultural issues * Values and cultural patterns * Community laughter * Festival and culture.

Documentary

In September 2009, Edusat TV started broadcasting a 10-part documentary series entitled "Balance Generations", about the life of Kazimierz Żygulski, to celebrate his 90 years of life. This series is based on an interview with Kazimierz Żygulski, referring to the dramatic moments of his life.

References

1919 births 2012 deaths Polish sociologists Polish deportees to Soviet Union Polish people detained by the NKVD {{Poland-sociologist-stub