Jan Józef Lipski (26 May 1926 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 ...

– 10 September 1991 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 ...

) was a Polish critic, literature historian, politician and freemason. As a soldier of the Home Army ( Armia Krajowa), he fought in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

. Editor of collected works by

Jan Kasprowicz Jan Kasprowicz (12 December 1860 – 1 August 1926) was a poet, playwright, critic and translator; a foremost representative of Young Poland. Biography Kasprowicz was born in the village of Szymborze (now part of Inowrocław) within the Provin ...

, Benedykt Chmielowski and Gabriela Zapolska.

Political life

Between 1956 and 1957 Lipski was an editor of the pro-reform weekly "Po prostu"; from 1957 to 1959 he was president of the

Crooked Circle Club The Crooked Circle Club ( pl, Klub Krzywego Koła) was a discussion club for young intelligentsia in Poland. It was founded in 1955, the first meeting taking place in an apartment on Crooked Circle Street in Warsaw. It had connections with the ''P ...

. In 1964 Lipski organized the Letter of the 34 (objecting the expansion of censorship in

communist Poland 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 ...

). In 1975 he signed the

Letter of 59 The Letter of 59 (also known as the ''Memorial'' or ''Memorandum of 59'') was an open letter signed by 66 (or 59 at first, hence the name) Polish intellectuals who protested against the changes of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland ...

and in 1976 he co-funded the

Workers' Defence Committee The Workers' Defense Committee ( pl, Komitet Obrony Robotników , KOR) was a Polish civil society group that was established to give aid to prisoners and their families after the June 1976 protests and ensuing government crackdown. KOR was an exam ...

(Komitet Obrony Robotnikow); as one of the most active members of this organization he organized help for the workers who protested in June 1976 against the government sponsored price increases in

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975� ...

and in Ursus district of

. In 1980, Lipski became a member of the Solidarity Union and was elected a delegate to the 1st Delegates' Rally to represent the

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

Region (based in

). On December 14, 1981, after the imposition of the

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

, he was arrested and charged with orchestrating a protest. As the only senior member of the non-communist opposition, he re-established the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...

(Polska Partia Socjalistyczna), which he led from 1987. In 1989 he was elected Senator from

and was a member of the Civic Parliamentary Club (''Obywatelski Klub Parlamentarny''); he died during his term in office.

Honours and awards

On December 8, 1969, Lipski received the Armia Krajowa Cross, and on December 12, 1969 he was awarded the Medal of the Army for the fourth time. In 1984 awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Paris X

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...

. For acts during the uprising, Lipski was decorated with the Cross of Valour (''Krzyż Walecznych'') ("for lifetime achievement, for the brave stance in the street fighting of 25 September, for persevering in a shed at the police station giving a small fire under a strong defence, where he was wounded, and for active participation in patrols"),

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

(by Polish President

Lech Walesa Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Pozna� ...

on 13 September 1991) and with the highest Polish decoration, the Order of the White Eagle (by President Lech Kaczynski, 23 September 2006). In 2000, Jacek Kuroń established the Jan Józef Lipski Open University of Teremiski.

Publications in English

Publications in Polish

* , Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1967 * , Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1973 (dwutomowa antologia felietonu prasowego) * , Aneks, London 1983; 2nd ed.

Instytut Pamięci Narodowej The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation ( pl, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state resea ...

, Warszawa 2006 * ,

Kultura ''Kultura'' (, ''Culture'')—sometimes referred to as ''Kultura Paryska'' ("Paris-based Culture")—was a leading Polish-émigré literary-political magazine, published from 1947 to 2000 by ''Instytut Literacki'' (the Literary Institute), ini ...

, Paris 1981National identity and foreign policy: nationalism and leadership in Poland
Ilya Prizel * , Instytut Literacki, Paryż 1987 * , PEN, Warszawa 1992 * , Aneks, Londyn 1994 * , Wydawnictwo Polsko-Niemieckie, Warszawa 1996 (bilingual German-Polish edition)

References

An article at the Heritage Foundation websiteJan Józef Lipski Open University of Teremiski website (in Polish)
* __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Lipski, Jan Josef 1926 births 1991 deaths Members of the Workers' Defence Committee Polish resistance members of World War II Politicians from Warsaw Solidarity (Polish trade union) activists Polish Socialist Party politicians Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Armia Krajowa Cross Warsaw Uprising insurgents Members of the Senate of Poland 1989–1991 Polish dissidents Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) People associated with the magazine "Kultura"