Władysław Kowalski (26 August 1894 – 14 December 1958) was a Polish communist politician, writer and journalist who served as the Minister of Art and Culture and the

Sejm Marshal The Marshal of the Sejm , also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm ( pl, Marszałek Sejmu, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th c ...

during the first postwar parliament

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 ...

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 ...

(1947–1952) and, in his capacity as

, ''ex officio'', as the acting head of state (Acting President of the State National Council) for one day (4–5 February 1947). He was also a publisher and writer. Kowalski was also known by the pseudonyms ''Sałas'', ''Bartłomiej Zarychta'' and ''Stanisławski''.

Life

Władysław Kowalski was born in a small village of Paprotnia near

Rawa Mazowiecka Rawa Mazowiecka is a town in central Poland, with 17,193 inhabitants (2020). It lies in the Łódź Voivodeship and is the capital of the Rawa County. From 1562 the city hosted the ''Rawa Treasury'' for the Polish army. During an excavation in 1 ...

(then

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, now east-central Poland) as a son of farm worker. Because of his family poverty, he graduated just three school grades and later became an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

. He was member of various peasants parties before he became a communist, including the

Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie" Polish Peasant Party "Wyzwolenie" or Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie"''Wyzwolenie'' is Polish for ''Liberation'', and many sources translate the party's name fully as Polish Peasant Party "Liberation" or Polish People's Party "Liberation" (Poli ...

(since 1918), the Peasant's Independent Party (1925–1927), United People's Left "Samopomoc" (1927–1931), and People's Party (1944–1949 – various factions). He was also an active member of the

Communist Party of Poland The interwar Communist Party of Poland ( pl, Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) was a communist party active in Poland during the Second Polish Republic. It resulted from a December 1918 merger of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland a ...

(since 1928) and

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 ...

(since 1942). Kowalski was a longtime member of party leaderships: * 1926–1927: Member of the Central Committee of the PIP * 1944–1945: Vice President of the SL "Wola" * 1945–1949: Member of the Supreme Council of the SL * 1948–1949: SL Leader * Since 1949: Member of the United People's Party leadership and, from 1949 to 1956 Chairman of the Committee 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 fought in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

and later in the

Puławy Legion Puławy Legion ( pl, Legion Puławski, russian: Легион Пулави) was a Polish military formation of World War I, as part of the Imperial Russian Army. It was created in late 1914 from volunteers gathered together due to several initia ...

. From 1918 to 1939 in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

he was an active writer and publisher. 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 underground The Polish Underground State ( pl, Polskie Państwo Podziemne, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Gover ...

resistance. He hid 50 Jews around Warsaw, for which he was recognized as

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...

in 1995.

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

,
"Władysław Kowalski – his activity to save Jews' lives during the Holocaust."
Yad Vashem Righteous' website. After the War, he was a Minister of Culture (1945–1947) and member and Vice President of the

State National Council Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish (translated as State National Council or Homeland National Council, abbreviated to KRN) was a parliament-like political body created during the later stages of World War II in German-occupied Warsaw, Poland. It was ...

Works

Kowalski was an author of novels, articles and poems.

Novels

* ''The Peasants of Marchat'' (1930) * ''In Grzmiąca'' (1936) * ''The Mianowski family'' (1938)

Stories

* ''Far and Close'' (1948) * ''Rebellion in Stary Łęk'' (1951) * ''The Beast'' (1951) * ''Wine'' (1966) His ''selection of journalistic journals'' (1967) was also ''published'' .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kowalski, Wladyslaw 1894 births 1958 deaths People from Rawa County People from Piotrków Governorate Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie" politicians Communist Party of Poland politicians Polish Workers' Party politicians People's Party (Poland) politicians United People's Party (Poland) politicians Presidents of Poland Marshals of the Sejm Members of the State National Council Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952 Members of the Polish Sejm 1952–1956 Polish male writers Russian military personnel of World War I Puławy Legion personnel Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Polish communists Polish writers Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Polish Righteous Among the Nations Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery 20th-century Polish journalists