Jan Błoński (15 January 1931 – 10 February 2009) was a Polish historian, literary critic, publicist and translator. He was a leading representative of the
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 159 ...
school of literary criticism, regarded as one of the most influential critics of postwar
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
.
Professor of the
Jagiellonian University, Błoński was habilitated there for the work entitled ''
Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński
Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński (c. 1550 – c. 1581) was an influential Polish poet of the late Renaissance who wrote in both Polish and Latin. He was a pioneer of the Baroque and the greatest representative of the metaphysical movement of the era ...
and the beginnings of the
Polish Baroque
The Polish Baroque lasted from the early 17th to the mid-18th century. As with Baroque style elsewhere in Europe, Poland's Baroque emphasized the richness and triumphant power of contemporary art forms. In contrast to the previous, Renaissance sty ...
.'' He was the literary editor for the publication of
Witold Gombrowicz
Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his fi ...
's collected works in 1986–88 through ''
Wydawnictwo Literackie
Wydawnictwo Literackie (abbreviated WL, lit. "Literary Press") is a Kraków-based Polish publishing house, which has been referred to as one of Poland's "most respected".
Company history
Since its foundation in 1953, Wydawnictwo Literackie has ...
''. He was also the Fellow of
Collegium Invisibile
Collegium Invisibile is an Learned society, academic society founded in 1995 in Warsaw, Poland, Warsaw that affiliates outstanding Polish students in the humanities and science with distinguished scholars in accordance with the idea of a libera ...
. In 1996–2001 he served as juror for the
Nike Literary Award
The Nike Literary Award ( pl, Nagroda Literacka „Nike") is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award for ...
. In November 1995 he was awarded the Kraków Book of the Month Award for the collected works of
Sławomir Mrożek
Sławomir Mrożek (29 June 1930 – 15 August 2013) was a Polish dramatist, writer and cartoonist.
Mrożek joined the Polish United Workers' Party during the reign of Stalinism in the People's Republic of Poland, and made a living as a politica ...
, his long-time friend from the
Stalinist period
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
.
Biography
Jan Błoński was born 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 official ...
in 1931. During the
occupation of Poland
Occupation commonly refers to:
* Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment
*Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces
*Military occupation, t ...
by Nazi Germany, he witnessed the liquidation of the
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the N ...
in 1942 when some 300,000 Jews were sent to
Treblinka
Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, Masovian Voivodeship, vi ...
and exterminated in a
single classified operation.
[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Błoński later wrote that a Jewish boy who escaped, run into him on the street but he didn't help, which many years later brought about a deep feeling of guilt, and inspired his best-known piece of writing published by ''
Tygodnik Powszechny
''Tygodnik Powszechny'' (, ''The Common Weekly'') is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sap ...
'' in 1987 under the Polish title "Biedni Polacy patrzą na getto" (the Poor Poles look at the Ghetto) invariably undermining the historical significance of the
rescue of Jews by Poles during the Holocaust
Polish Jews were the primary victims of the German-organized Holocaust in Poland. Throughout the German occupation of Poland, many Poles rescued Jews from the Holocaust, in the process risking their lives – and the lives of their families. P ...
.
Błoński finished his
Polish studies Polish studies, or Polonistics ( pl, filologia polska, or ''polonistyka'') is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates the Polish language and Polish literature in both historic and present-day forms.
In the United State ...
at the Jagiellonian University in 1952 during the darkest years of
Stalinist terror
The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secretar ...
in Poland.
In 1953, he participated in the defamation of Catholic priests from Kraków, three of whom were condemned to death by the Communist government during the
Stalinist show trial of the Kraków Curia
The 1953 trial of the Kraków Curia was a public trial of four Roman Catholic priests and three lay persons of the Kraków Curia who were accused by the Communist authorities in the People's Republic of Poland of subversion and spying for the Unite ...
– he was one of several signatories of an
open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an individ ...
from ZLP to Polish authorities supporting the persecution of Catholic religious leaders groundlessly accused of treason and imprisoned by the
Ministry of Public Security – their death sentences were not enforced although Father Józef Fudali died in unexplained circumstances while in prison.
[. '']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 ...
''.[David Dastych]
"Devil's Choice. High-ranking Communist Agents in the Polish Catholic Church."
''Canada Free Press'' (CFP), 10 January 2007.[Wojciech Czuchnowski ''Blizna. Proces kurii krakowskiej 1953'', Kraków 2003.][Dr Stanisław Krajski]
''Katolicka Gazeta Internetowa'', 2001-12-01.[Damian Nogajski]
WINY MAŁE I DUŻE – CZYLI KTO JEST PASZKWILANTEM.
''Polskiejutro.com'', No. 227; 11 September 2006. Błoński obtained a position with the Institute of Literary Studies 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 of ...
in 1959–62 (after the
Polish October
Polish October (), also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the politics of Poland in the second half of 1956. Some social scientists term it the Polish October Revolution, which was less dramatic than the ...
). From 1970 he was employed at the Jagiellonian University. He was a vice-rector for didactic affairs (1981–84), director of the Institute of
Polish Studies Polish studies, or Polonistics ( pl, filologia polska, or ''polonistyka'') is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates the Polish language and Polish literature in both historic and present-day forms.
In the United State ...
(1988–91), director of the Department of the Theatre (1977–1980) and the Department of the 20th Century Polish Literature (1995–97). As professor, he also lectured Polish literature at the
University of Sorbonne
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
, the
University of Clermont-Ferrand
The University of Clermont-Ferrand was officially founded in 1896, by merging of two existing faculties (Literature and Sciences) and a medical school.
In 1976, due to political issues, the University split between University Clermont-Ferrand I - ...
and the
Paris University
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
IV. He died on 10 February 2009 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 159 ...
.
References
External links
Holocaust scholar Jan Blonski dies JTA, February 12, 2009
(Goodbye to Jan Błoński - series of articles)
*Jan Błoński, with links to subsequent pages.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blonski, Jan
1931 births
2009 deaths
Academic staff of Jagiellonian University
Polish literary critics
20th-century Polish historians
Polish male non-fiction writers
Fellows of Collegium Invisibile
Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis