Stanisław Mieczysław Gebhardt (born 13 July 1928), Polish

Resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

, economist, émigré political activist, international social entrepreneur, veteran member of the

Christian democratic movement The Christian Democratic Movement ( sk, Kresťanskodemokratické hnutie, KDH) is a Christian-democratic political party in Slovakia that is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and an observer of the Centrist Democrat International. H ...

. Since his return to Poland after the

Fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...

, he has been associated with

centre-right politics Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and me ...

and regarded as a political historian.

Background

Gebhardt was born in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, the second child of a Polish Christian army medical officer, also Stanisław Gebhardt, and his wife Henryka, née Welfe. His father died in 1930 as a result of wounds sustained 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 ...

and the family moved to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, where he attended school. After the outbreak of

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 became a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and joined the

Szare Szeregi "Gray Ranks" ( pl, Szare Szeregi) was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association (') during World War II. The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation in ...

. From 1943, aged 15, he became a partisan member of the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

. In 1944 he was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and was imprisoned first in

Montelupich Prison The Montelupich prison, so called from the street in which it is located, the ''ulica Montelupich'' ("street of the Montelupi family"),Ulica Montelupich or "street of the Montelupis" itself is named after the Montelupi manor house ( kamienica) loc ...

, followed by incarceration in Groß-Rosen and

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

s. Upon liberation he returned to his home city to resume schooling. In 1946 he escaped through the old Polish-Romanian border and travelled south to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

to join the ranks of the

II Corps (Poland) The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...

with whom he reached 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 ...

. The

Polish Resettlement Corps The Polish Resettlement Corps (PRC; pl, Polski Korpus Przysposobienia i Rozmieszczenia) was an organisation formed by the British Government in 1946 as a holding unit for members of the Polish Armed Forces who had been serving with the British Arm ...

enabled him to complete his school leaving certificate at

Riddlesworth Riddlesworth is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 147 in 48 households at the 2001 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland. St Pete ...

, Norfolk in 1948.

Student politics

In 1951 he became a member of the European Youth Parliament and became active in the International Union of Young Christian Democrats. Two years later he was awarded a Bachelor's degree in economics by the

Polish University Abroad The Polish University Abroad, or Polish University in Exile ( pl, Polski Uniwersytet na Obczyźnie, abbreviated PUNO), was initially established in London in 1949 (de facto 1952). The Polish University Abroad has a B.A. programme and does researc ...

and later attended further courses at

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

. In 1950 he met the young broadcaster journalist, , born in Turkey of Polish parents, who became General Secretary of the Paris-based Youth Section of the Central European Union of Christian Democrats. He moved to Paris to further his social and political studies at

Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...

and continue his activism. While in Paris one of his projects was to help re-organise the money supply in the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

ese economy. He also tried his hand at broadcast journalism with the Polish section of

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

. In 1956 from his European base he began his career as an economic adviser working mainly in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

International activism

From 1954 to 1985 he remained on the committees of the exiled Stronnictwo Pracy (Labour Party). Between 1962 and 1976 he was engaged in the centre Esperienze Internazionali to study the functioning of democratic systems and international repercussions in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. From 1963 to 1972 he was also a director of the International Solidarity Foundation based in Rome. It gave him the opportunity to collaborate with the émigré Polish statesman and leading Christian democrat,

Karol Popiel Karol Michał Popiel (28 October 1887 – 6 June 1977) was a Polish politician of the christian democracy tendency and writer. During World War II Popiel served as Minister of Justice from 1941 to 1942 and Minister for the reconstruction of publi ...

. In 1964 when his friend Jerzy Kulczycki, founded the émigré publishing house, ''Odnowa'', 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 ...

he invited Gebhardt to become a director of the company with the brief to finance and distribute in Poland titles banned under state censorship. The operation proved a success exporting to the then communist country forbidden authors, including

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

Józef Garliński Józef Garliński (14 October 1913 - 29 November 2005) was a Polish historian and prose writer. He was a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp and wrote books on the history of World War II, some of which were translated into English. In par ...

, Karol Popiel and

Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Jan Nowak-Jeziorański (; 2 October 1914 – 20 January 2005) was a Polish journalist, writer, politician, social worker and patriot. He served during the Second World War as one of the most notable resistance fighters of the Home Army. He is b ...

. As Polish representative of political organisations Gebhardt entered the international arena of Christian Democrat activism and in his youth worked alongside statesmen such as

Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 18864 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a ref ...

. In 1990 in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

he was appointed vice president of the Christian Democratic Union of Central Europe, a position he held for four years. In 1991 at the

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

convention he was appointed vice president of the Christian Democrats International.

Return to democratic Poland

On his return to Poland in 1990 he was involved in the reactivated " Stronnictwo Pracy 1989", whose vice president he became. In 1995 he was made vice president of Ruch Odbudowy Polski. In 1994 he became president of the

Ignacy Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...

Foundation to Rebuild Democracy and Head of the Silesian Development Corporation. In June 2020 the Polish Culture minister,

Piotr Gliński Piotr Tadeusz Gliński (; born 20 April 1954) is a Polish sociologist, professor, university lecturer and politician. He served as president of the Polish Sociological Association from 2005 to 2011. He was the nominee of Law and Justice, the larg ...

appointed him chair of the Programmes Committee of the Institute for Legacy of Polish National Thought.

Personal life

He has been married three times. The first two marriages produced a son each and the last, two sons.

Distinctions

* In 1989 president

Ryszard Kaczorowski Ryszard Kaczorowski, GCMG (; 26 November 1919 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish statesman. From 1989 to 1990, he served as the last President of Poland- in-exile. He succeeded Kazimierz Sabbat, and resigned his post following Poland's regaini ...

(

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 ...

) promoted him to

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

of 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 ...

* In 1990 he was made a knight 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 ...

* In 2016 president

Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (; born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the ...

made him a commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta * Medal Zasłużony Kulturze Gloria Artis * On 3rd May 2023 President Duda awarded him Poland's highest and oldest decoration, the Order of the White Eagle Other decorations: *

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins ( es, Orden de Bernardo O'Higgins) is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Order of the Liberator The Order of the Liberator was the highest distinction of Venezuela and was appointed for services to the country, outstanding merit and benefits made to the community. For Venezuelans the order ranks first in the order of precedence from other or ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

(Commendatore)

Krzyż Walecznych The Cross of Valour ( pl, Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the fi ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

* Krzyż Zasługi z Mieczami Poland * Krzyż Armii Krajowej Poland * Medal Wojska Poland

References

Bibliography

* Aldrich, Richard J. (1997). 'OSS, CIA and European unity: The American committee on United Europe, 1948-60'. ''Diplomacy and Statecraft''. 8:1, 184 — 227. DOI: 10.1080/09592299708406035 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09592299708406035 * Gebhardt, S. (2008). 'Democratici democristian e riflessioni' (Demochristian Democrats reflections). pl.it – ''rassegna italiana di argomenti polacchi''. vol. 2. pp. 652–663. Associazione Italiana Polonisti (AIP). (in Italian) * Gebhardt S. (2018). 'The Christian Democratic Union of Central Europe'. in Kosicki P., Łukasiewicz S. (ed.) ''Christian Democracy Across the Iron Curtain''. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64087-7_15 *

External links

Polish Exhibition on Robert Schuman and his mission, with a group photograph, from a 1957 convention, featuring Schuman and Gebhardt in the first row.
* * 1928 births Polish resistance members of World War II Gross-Rosen concentration camp survivors Mauthausen concentration camp survivors 20th-century Polish politicians Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Living people International finance economists People from Poznań Voivodeship (1921–1939) Labor Party (Stronnictwo Pracy) politicians Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Officers of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) {{poland-politician-stub