Mieczysław Grydzewski (27 December 1894 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 ...

– 9 January 1970 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) was a Polish historian and journalist, founder and editor-in-chief of ''Wiadomości Literackie'' ('The Literary News') weekly. ''

Wiadomości ''Wiadomości'' (''News'', ) is the chief Polish news program produced by Telewizja Polska and broadcast on the first channel, TVP1. The main edition is transmitted daily at 7:30p.m. CET. It premiered on 18 November 1989 and succeeded the '' Dzien ...

'' was continued as a major

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...

journal 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 ...

and until 1981. During his life in Poland and abroad, Grydzewski published numerous books, journal articles, compendiums and other works, often anonymously or under assumed names. Grydzewski was born into a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

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. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he began to study law at the

University of Moscow M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. 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 ...

, working under the direction of

Marceli Handelsman Marceli Handelsman (1882–1945) was a Polish historian, a Warsaw University professor, medievalist, modern historian, and historical methodologist. Life Marceli Handelsman was born on 8 July 1882, in Warsaw, to a family of distant Jewish ances ...

, he obtained a doctorate of philosophical sciences. His 1922 dissertation was on the subject of French-Polish relations during the reign of

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

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 (' ...

, together with

Jan Lechoń Leszek Józef Serafinowicz (pen name: Jan Lechoń; 13 March 1899 in Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire – 8 June 1956 in New York City) was a Polish poet, literary and theater critic, diplomat, and co-founder of the Skamander literary move ...

and

Julian Tuwim Julian Tuwim (13 September 1894 – 27 December 1953), known also under the pseudonym "Oldlen" as a lyricist, was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, then part of the Russian Partition. He was educated in Łódź and in Warsaw where he studied la ...

, Grydzewski reported for service at the Press Office of the Polish Supreme Command. From 1920, Grydzewski published and edited the ''

Skamander Skamander was a Polish group of experimental poets founded in 1918 by Julian Tuwim, Antoni Słonimski, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Kazimierz Wierzyński and Jan Lechoń. Initially unnamed, in December 1919 it adopted the name ''Skamander'', after ...

'' monthly. In 1924, together with Antoni Borman, he founded ''Wiadomości Literackie'', the most important Polish literary weekly of the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. From 1926, it had a version for foreign readership, entitled ''La Pologne Litteraire''. In 1936, Grydzewski published the monthly ''Przyjaciel psa'' ('Friend of the dog'). At the outbreak of war in September 1939, Grydzewski fled Poland and arrived in

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 ...

; after France's capitulation he went to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where he stayed for the rest of his life. In

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 ...

Grydzewski started publishing ''Wiadomości Polskie, Polityczne i Literackie'' ('The Polish News, Political and Literary'); ''Wiadomości Polskie'' was continued in

. The periodical was restricted by the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

in September 1941 (for example, its distribution in the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...

was forbidden) because of the published criticism of the Sikorski–Mayski agreement, and closed down by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

authorities (who withdrew its allowance of paper) in February 1944. In 1946, Grydzewski resumed the publication under the title ''Wiadomości'', which he continued with Borman until 1966.

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń or NCU ( pl, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, UMK) is located in Toruń, Poland. It is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born in Toruń in 1473.Archiwum Emigracji, Grydzewski - heurysta i erudyta
/ref> After 1957, Grydzewski established a contest and yearly prize for the best Polish book published outside of Poland and the best work printed in ''Wiadomości''. ''Wiadomości'' remained in print until 1981, under the editorship of Stefania Kossowska and the literary prize until 1990.

Publications

* ''Na 150-lecie rzezi Pragi (4 listopada 1794). O próbie rehabilitacji Suworowa'', London 1945 * ''150-lecie rzezi Pragi. Włochy: 2. Korpus'', 1945 * ''Silva rerum. Teksty z lat 1947–1969''. Gorzów Wielkopolski 1994 * ''Szkice''. Warsaw 1994

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grydzewski, Mieczyslaw 1894 births 1970 deaths 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Polish newspaper editors Polish people of Jewish descent Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom