Danuta Kuroń (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Filarska, previously Winiarska; born 1949) is a Polish trade union and democratic activist. She was an underground organizer for the trade union

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

in the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

, and she edited and contributed reporting to their periodicals.

Life and career

Kuroń studied history at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

from 1968 to 1970, and in 1976 she graduated with a history degree from the

John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (, , abbreviation KUL) is a university established in 1918. History :pl:Idzi Radziszewski, Father Idzi Benedykt Radziszewski founded the university in 1918. Vladimir Lenin, Lenin allowed the priest ...

. From 1980 to 1981 she was the editor of prominent trade union magazines. Throughout the early 1980s she was heavily involved in underground union and strike organizing, particularly the union Solidarity. Her work as a union activist, and her activity with Solidarity, was documented by Shana Penn ( pl) in her 2003 book ''Podziemie kobiet'' (published in 2006 in English as ''Solidarity's Secret: The Women who Defeated Communism in Poland''). Kuroń covered the

Polish Round Table Agreement The Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, communist Poland, from 6 February to 5 April 1989. The government initiated talks with the banned trade union ''Solidarity'' and other opposition groups to defuse growing social unrest. Hist ...

for the Information Service of Solidarity, and helped establish the parliamentary office of her husband

Jacek Kuroń Jacek Jan Kuroń (; 3 March 1934 – 17 June 2004) was one of the democratic leaders of opposition in the People's Republic of Poland. He was widely known as the "godfather of the Polish opposition," not unlike Václav Havel in Czechoslovakia. Kur ...

following his election to the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

in the

1989 Polish legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 4 June 1989 to elect members of the Sejm and the recreated Senate, with a second round on 18 June. They were the first elections in the country since the communist government abandoned its monopoly ...

. She was subsequently involved with the

Citizens' Movement for Democratic Action The Citizens' Movement for Democratic Action (, ROAD) was a List of political parties in Poland, political faction in Poland coalescing several members of the Solidarity Citizens' Committee. History Background On 24 August 1989, Tadeusz Mazowi ...

, and worked for ''

Gazeta Wyborcza (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish nationwide daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It was launched on 8 May 1989 on the basis of the Polish Round Table Agreement and as a press organ of the Solidarity (Polish trade union), t ...

''. In 2000, Danuta and Jacek Kuroń founded the

Jan Józef Lipski Jan Józef Lipski (26 May 1926 in Warsaw – 10 September 1991 in Kraków) was a Polish critic, literature historian, politician and freemason. As a soldier of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. Editor of collected w ...

Common University in

Teremiski Teremiski is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Białowieża, within Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately north-west of Białowieża, east of Haj ...

. In 2011, Kuroń was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

. Kuroń also received the

Order of the Smile The Order of the Smile ( Polish: ''Order Uśmiechu'') is an international award given by children to adults distinguished in their love, care and aid for children. History The idea of the Order of the Smile was established in 1968 by the Polis ...

. Kuroń was a member of the Consultative Council in 2020.

Selected awards

*Knight's Cross, Order of Polonia Restituta (2011) *Order of the Smile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuroń, Danuta Living people Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin alumni 1949 births