Stanisław Skrzeszewski (April 27, 1901 in

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; hu, Újszandec; yi, Tzanz, צאַנז; sk, Nový Sonč; german: Neu-Sandez) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. It has ...

— December 20, 1978 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 ...

) was a Polish communist politician, educator and prominent statesman of 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 ...

Biography

Born in to the family of a train conductor, Skrzeszewski was active in socialist circles from his teenage years. From 1920 he worked as a village teacher and studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of the

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 received a doctorate in philosophy. Fom 1921, he belonged to communist youth circles. From 1922 a member of the

Communist Youth Union The Communist Youth Union ( cs, Komunistický svaz mládeže) is a youth organization, unofficially cooperated with the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia. It was founded in 1990. The Czech Ministry of Interior dissolved KSM in 2006 due to its ...

and from 1924 a member of the Communist Party of Poland. He was arrested in 1924, he was released thanks to the intervention of Władysław Heinrich. Not admitted to work at the university, he left for France. where from 1925–1926 he studied philosophy and general methodology at the Sorbonne. There he maintained contacts with the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

, but wasn't involved in political activity. In the years 1926–1928 he was a teacher at the gymnasium in Dębica, where he founded the first cell of the KPP. Arrested again on April 20, 1932, imprisoned in Krakow for five weeks. From the end of 1934 he was a contract lecturer of pedagogy and didactics at the State Pedagogium in Krakow. At the same time, he was active in the communist faction of the

Polish Teachers' Union Polish Teachers' Union ( pl, Związek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego, ZNP, also translated as ''Union of Polish Teachers'', ''Polish Teachers' Association'', ''Association of Polish Teachers'') is the largest Polish trade union for teachers and educator ...

. He continued his career by working in Jagiellonian University. After the

Nazi Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

on September 3, 1939, he left Kraków and after the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

, he stayed in Lviv under the Soviet occupation. From November 1939 to January 1940 he was a lecturer at the Pedagogical Institute, later a researcher at the Institute of Teacher Training. In the second half of June 1941 he was summoned to Kiev in order to obtain - as a former member of the KPP, membership rights in the

All-Union Communist Party (b) The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),; abbreviated in Russian as or also known by #Name, various other names during its history, was the founding and ruling party of the Soviet Union. The CPSU was the One-party state, sole governing ...

. After the start of the

German-Soviet war The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

, he was evacuated deep into the USSR and worked as a teacher. Summoned to Moscow, he took part in the congress of the

Union of Polish Patriots Union of Polish Patriots (''Society of Polish Patriots'', pl, Związek Patriotów Polskich, ZPP, russian: Союз Польских Патриотов, СПП) was a political body created by Polish communists in the Soviet Union in 1943. The Z ...

. at the congress, he delivered a lecture on cultural and educational matters and was elected to the main board of the union. From 1944, a member of the Polish Workers' Party and from 1945 to 1948 he was a member of the Central Committee of the party. In 1944 he was the head of the Department of Education in the

Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the lat ...

and from in 1944 to 1945 he was the Minister of Education. In the years 1945 to 1947 he served the Polish ambassador to France. in the years 1947 to 1950 he once agaon served as the Minister of Education. From 1948, he was a member of the Polish United Workers' Party and later on the Polish United Workers Party. From in 1948 to 1959 he was a member of its Central Committee and then, from 1959 to 1968 he member of the Central Audit Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party. In 1950–1951, he was undersecretary of state and deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from 1951 to 1956 Skrzeszewski served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1956-1957, secretary of the State Council and from 1957 to 1969 he was the head of the Chancellery of the Sejm. In 1953 he was a candidate put forward by the USSR for the post of UN Secretary General after

Trygve Lie Trygve Halvdan Lie ( , ; 16 July 1896 – 30 December 1968) was a Norwegians, Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian foreign minister during the critical years of the Nygaardsvold's Cabinet, N ...

resigned. In November 1949 he became a member of the National Committee for the Celebration of the 70th anniversary of the birth of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

. Skrzeszewski died on December 20, 1978 and received a state funeral.

References

{{Authority control 1901 births 1978 deaths People from Nowy Sącz Polish communists Communist Party of Poland politicians Polish educators Polish Workers' Party politicians Polish United Workers' Party members Members of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party Members of the State National Council Polish diplomats Ambassadors of Poland to France Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland Education ministers of Poland Jagiellonian University alumni Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery