Jerzy Kazimierz Kłoczowski (29 December 1924, Bogdany Wielkie,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

– 2 December 2017) was a Polish

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, professor at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, and former member of the

Polish Senate The Senate ( pl, Senat) is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate stretches back over 500 years; it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe ...

. During World War II, Kłoczowski was a soldier of the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) est ...

(''Armia Krajowa'') and participated 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 ...

, where he was seriously injured and lost his right hand. On leaving the military hospital in April 1945, he went to Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and then to

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń or NCU ( pl, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, UMK) is located in Toruń, Poland. It is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born in Toruń in 1473.Solidarity movement – after the fall of communism in Poland, Kłoczowski was elected Senator and member of the Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Senate, as well as the representative of the Polish Parliament at the Council of Europe.

Early and private life

Jerzy Kłoczowski was son of Eugeniusz, a landlord, and Irena née Cichowska. He attended Gimnazjum im. Adama Mickiewicza (Adam Mickiewicz High School) in Warsaw since 1937. In 1947 he married Krystyna Minkiewicz. They had five children: Piotr, Paweł, Jan, Isia and Anna.

Career

Kłoczowski served as Professor of history at the Catholic University of Lublin, and Director of the Institute of East-Central Europe in Lublin, as well as Chair of the International Federation of Institutes of East-Central Europe, Chair of the Polish Commission of the Comparative History of Churches, Vice-Chair of the International Commission of the Comparative History of Churches, and Chair of the Polish Commission for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. He was a former member of the

Executive Board, fellow of

Collegium Invisibile Collegium Invisibile is an academic society founded in 1995 in Warsaw that affiliates outstanding Polish students in the humanities and science with distinguished scholars in accordance with the idea of a liberal education. The association ai ...

, and the first president of the Joint Committee of

and International Committee of Historical Sciences (ICHS). Jerzy Kłoczowski was a former lecturer at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

(1977), Merton College (

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, 1980),

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

(1985),

Paris-Sorbonne University Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; french: Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV) was a public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the Universit ...

(1985–1987),

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

(1989–1990),

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

Natolin Natolin is a residential neighborhood in Ursynów, the southernmost district of Warsaw. Until the 1980s, Natolin and its neighbouring area Wolica, was a small village located right outside the city limits, with numerous orchards. After that it wa ...

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 ...

(from 1997). He was a

Doctor honoris causa 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 ho ...

of University of Grodno (1993),

Kiev-Mohyla Academy National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. The ...

(1998),

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

(1998) and

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

(1999). He was awarded the Order of the White Eagle,

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King St ...

Cross of Merit with Swords The Cross of Merit with Swords () is a Polish military award established October 19, 1942, by the Polish Government in Exile. Criteria The Cross of Merit with Swords is awarded for deeds of bravery and valor during time of war not connected wit ...

and

Cross of Valor The Cross of Valour ( pl, Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the fi ...

by the Polish government.

Public protest

Professor Kłoczowski became a target of a slanderous controversy, resulting from an article published in '' Najwyższy Czas!'' magazine on September 11, 2004 (No. 37/747) by Stanisław Michalkiewicz. Michalkiewicz alleged that Kłoczowski could be the same person as the SB security agent pseudonym "Historyk" (Historian) recruited in 1961, and listed in the secret communist archives held by the

Institute of National Remembrance 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 ...

. Michalkiewicz wrote again about Prof. Kłoczowski for the Paris-based ''La Voix Catholique'' (The Catholic Voice) on November 7, 2004. His article resulted in a widely publicized official protest printed by

Rzeczpospolita () is the official name of Poland and a traditional name for some of its predecessor states. It is a compound of "thing, matter" and "common", a calque of Latin ''rés pública'' ( "thing" + "public, common"), i.e. ''republic'', in Engli ...

on November 13/14, 2004, and signed by 35 academics and prominent politicians such as

Tadeusz Mazowiecki Tadeusz Mazowiecki (; 18 April 1927 – 28 October 2013) was a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and Christian-democratic politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist Polish prime min ...

Władysław Bartoszewski Władysław Bartoszewski (; 19 February 1922 – 24 April 2015) was a Polish politician, social activist, journalist, writer and historian. A former Auschwitz concentration camp prisoner, he was a World War II resistance fighter as part of th ...

and film director

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

. The letter of protest explained that the slanderous memo (known as " Fałszywka" in Polish) was invented by the security service itself. The public protest was joined by the Catholic University of Lublin. Michalkiewicz was denied access to IPN archives in a decision that spurred further controversy lasting for several years. He was also discharged from ''La Voix Catholique''.

Death

Kłoczowski died on 2 December 2017, four weeks before his 93th birthday.

Major publications

Jerzy Kłoczowski is an author and editor of about 1,000 publications including: * ''Wspólnoty chrześcijańskie'' (Christian Communities), 1964 * ''Europa Słowiańska w XIV-XV wieku'' (Slavic Europe in 14th-15th Centuries), 1984 * ''Histoire religieuse de la Pologne'' (Religious History of Poland), 1987 * ''La Pologne dans l'Église medievale'' (Poland in the Medieval Church), 1993 * ''East Central Europe in the historiography of the countries of the region'', 1995 * ''Młodsza Europa. Europa Środkowo-Wschodnia w kręgu cywilizacji chrześcijańskiej średniowiecza'' (The Younger Europe.

East-Central Europe East Central Europe is the region between Germanic, West Slavic, and Hungarian-speaking Europe and the East Slavic countries of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Those lands are described as situated "between two": "between two worlds, between tw ...

in the Middle Ages Christian Civilisation Circle), 1998 * ''A History of Polish Christianity'', 2000 * ''L'héritage historique de la Res Publica de Plusieurs Nations'' (Historic Heritage of the Commonwealth of Two Nations), 2004 * ''Central Europe between East and West'', 2005 * ''La Pologne et l'Europe, du partage à l'élargissement (XVIIIe-XXIe siècles)'', 2007

References

External links

Short biography, UNESCO websiteFull biography
Institute of East-Central Europe {{DEFAULTSORT:Kloczowski, Jerzy 1924 births 2017 deaths John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin faculty 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Academics of the University of Oxford Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń alumni University of Paris faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Members of the Senate of Poland 1989–1991 Fellows of Collegium Invisibile College of Europe faculty People from Przasnysz County Recipients of the Cross of Merit with Swords (Poland) Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland)