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

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

Career

Soldier of

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 (, 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 distinguished scholars a ...

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

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

(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 (, PAU), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences (the other being the Po ...

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

of the

People's Republic of Poland 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. ...

1985-1989. During the war Gierowski was a student in clandestine classes of the Jagiellonian University in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. 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 Konopczyń ...

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

University of Wrocław The University of Wrocław (, UWr; ) is a public research university in Wrocław, Poland. It is the largest institution of higher learning in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, with over 100,000 graduates since 1945, including some 1,900 researcher ...

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 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 ...

.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 Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...

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 (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. In 1983 Gierowski received an

from the Faculty of Humanities at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. 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 Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; ) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (especially Jewish history), Middle Eastern studies, Asian 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 The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

history of Poland The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from Lechites, medieval tribes, Christianization of Poland, Christianization and Kingdom of Poland, monarchy; through Polish Golden Age, Poland's Golden Age, Polonization, expansionism and be ...

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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 Academic staff of Jagiellonian University Rectors of the Jagiellonian University Members of the Polish Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Medal of the 10th Anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland