Stanisław Stroński (1882 – 1955) was a Polish

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

, publicist and politician (a

National Democracy National Democracy may refer to: * National Democracy (Czech Republic) * National Democracy (Italy) * National Democracy (Philippines) * National Democracy (Poland) * National Democracy (Spain) See also * Civic nationalism, a general concept * Na ...

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 ...

'' deputy). 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 edited the ''Rzeczpospolita'' newspaper and was a professor at

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 ...

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

and at the

Catholic University of Lublin John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin ( pl, Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, la, Universitas Catholica Lublinensis Ioannis Pauli II, abbreviation KUL), established in 1918. It is the only private college in Poland with the s ...

. 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 was a member of 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 ...

, serving as information minister. At war's end, he remained abroad. An outspoken antisemite, Stroński had recent and well documented Jewish roots (his mother Emilia Loevy was a daughter of a Jewish

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

from

Nisko Nisko is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland on the San River, with a population of 15,534 inhabitants as of 2 June 2009. Together with neighbouring city of Stalowa Wola, Nisko creates a small agglomeration. Nisko has been ...

). Jewish members of the Sejm frequently mentioned his Jewish ancestry when attacking him in speeches. He was a vocal prewar opponent of Poland's first president,

Gabriel Narutowicz Gabriel Józef Narutowicz (; 29 March 1865 – 16 December 1922) was a Polish professor of hydroelectric engineering and politician who served as the first President of Poland from 11 December 1922 until his assassination on 16 December, five da ...

, and of Marshal

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

. Following Narutowicz's election, Stroński wrote that he "puts himself forward as a representative of the Polish state thanks to the Jewish-German-Ukrainian vote". Following Narutowicz's murder, Stroński who had just a few days earlier called him a "their

he Jews He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

President", wrote that the murdered president belonged to the "whole nation". It was Stroński who coined the expression, "

Miracle at the Vistula The Battle of Warsaw (Polish: ''Bitwa Warszawska'', Russian: ''Варшавская битва'', transcription: ''Varshavskaya bitva''), also known as the Miracle on the Vistula ( Polish: ''Cud nad Wisłą''), was a series of battles that resu ...

," intended to derogate Piłsudski's 1920 victory over the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

. Ironically, the expression quickly lost its intended meaning and was adopted with approval by some patriotically- or piously-minded Poles unaware of Stroński's ironic intent. Janusz Szczepański
Kontrowersje wokół Bitwy Warszawskiej 1920 roku
(Controversies surrounding the Battle of Warsaw in 1920). ''Mówią Wieki'', online version. His academic interests centered on the medieval Occitan literature, especially about the

Troubadours A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

. In this field he is reputed as one of the most important scholars of the 20th century.S. Stroński, ''Le Troubadour Elias de Barjols'', Toulouse, Privat, 1906; S. Stroński, ''Le Troubadour Folquet de Marseille'', Cracovie, Académie des Sciences-Éditions du Fonds Osławski 1910; S. Stroński, ''La Légende amoureuse de Bertran de Born'', Paris, Champion, 1914.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stronski, Stanislaw 1882 births 1955 deaths People from Nisko People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish Austro-Hungarians National-Democratic Party (Poland) politicians Popular National Union politicians National Party (Poland) politicians Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1922–1927) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) National League (Poland) members Association of the Polish Youth "Zet" members Polish philologists Academic staff of Jagiellonian University Academic staff of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin 20th-century philologists