Józef Andrzej Gierowski (1922-2006) was a Polish historian, professor and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Jagiellonian University.

Career

Soldier of Armia Krajowa 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 opposing ...

. Krystyn Matwijowski - ''Wspomnienie'' (remembrance). ''Gazeta.pl'' internet portal wroclaw.gazeta.pl, 2006-02-23. Member of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...

, director of its Institute of History (1953-1968) and its Department of History of

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

(1977-1981). Rector of the Jagiellonian University from 1981 to 1987. Member of the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning ( pl, Polska Akademia Umiejętności), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of scie ...

, from 1990 director of its Philosophical-Historical Sciences Division. Deputy in the

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 ...

of the People's Republic of Poland 1985-1989. During the war Gierowski was a student in clandestine classes of the Jagiellonian University in

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 ...

. He studied under the mentorship of

Władysław Konopczyński Władysław Konopczyński (26 November 1880 – 12 July 1952) was a leading Polish historian'' Encyklopedia Polski'', p. 305. and publisher of primary-source materials.''Encyklopedia powszechna PWN'', vol. 2, p. 539. Life Władysław Konopczyńs ...

and graduated in 1946. In 1947 he was granted a doctoral degree at the

University of Wrocław , ''Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau'' (before 1945) , free_label = Specialty programs , free = , colors = Blue , website uni.wroc.pl The University of Wrocław ( pl, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, U ...

and assumed a faculty position there, working initially under the direction of Władysław Czapliński. In Wrocław Gierowski demonstrated his ability to combine scientific and didactic work with editorial, popularizing and increasingly, administrative duties. In 1965 Gierowski moved to the Jagiellonian University and became full professor in 1970. Director of the University's Institute of History 1967-1972. Active in Solidarity.Krystyn Matwijowski - ''Przyjaciel Wrocławia'' (a friend of Wrocław). ''Nowe Życie'', nowezycie.archidiecezja.wroc.pl, 2006-07-08 In 1981 Józef Gierowski was elected rector (university's chief executive) in the first, since 1968, free faculty election. During the martial law in Poland Gierowski intervened with the authorities and was able to obtain quick release of the interned students and employees of the University. In 1983 he was delegated to present the University's

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. In 1983 Gierowski received an

from the Faculty of Humanities at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

, Sweden. In 1984 Rector Gierowski initiated the project of building a new campus for the University. The undertaking, at that time viewed as unrealistic, was pursued and completed by Gierowski's successors. In 1986 Gierowski established the first interdepartmental program in the history and culture of the Jews in Poland, which became the University's Department of Jewish Studies. In 1991-1995 Gierowski was a member of the Polish-Jewish relations council advising the President of Poland.

Interests and publications

Józef Gierowski was the author of over 380 publications. His interests were related to the modern era

history of Poland The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from medieval tribes, Christianization and monarchy; through Poland's Golden Age, expansionism and becoming one of the largest European powers; to its collapse and partitions, two world wars ...

and Europe, history of the Jews in Poland, history of Silesia and history of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and other churches. Prof. Gierowski's work and activities stressed the multiethnic, multicultural and multidenominational aspects of Poland's modern era history, in an attempt to create a large-scale synthesis of historical processes involved. He had sustained a lifelong active commitment to the Silesian historical scene and cultivated his Wrocław connections. Gierowski's publications include: * ''Między saskim absolutyzmem, a złotą wolnością'' (Between Saxon Absolutism and Golden Liberty), 1953 * ''Dzieje Wrocławia'' (History of Breslau, 1619-1740 portion), ''Historia Śląska'' (History of Silesia, vol. 1, part 3) * ''W cieniu Ligi Północnej'' (In the Shadow of the Northern League), 1971 * ''Historia Polski'' (The History of Poland), vol. 2, 1505-1764 and vol. 3, 1764-1864 of the 4-volume history, 1978 * ''Historia Włoch'' (The History of Italy), 1981 * ''The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. From Anarchy to Well-Organised State'' (Academia Scientiarum et Litterarum Polona; Dissertationes Facultatis Historico-Philosophicae, Bd. 82), Cracow 1996 * ''Rzeczpospolita w dobie złotej wolności (1648–1763)'' (The Commonwealth in the Era of Golden Liberty (1648-1763)), vol. 5 of the 10-volume ''Wielka historia Polski'' (The Great History of Poland), 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gierowski, Jozef Andrzej 1922 births 2006 deaths People from Częstochowa 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery Jagiellonian University faculty Rectors of the Jagiellonian University Members of the Polish Academy of Sciences