Piotr Mateusz Andrzej Cywiński, (Polish: ; born 16 April 1972 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) is 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 species; as well as the ...

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

and

social activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

. He has served as Director of the

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum () is a museum on the site of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwitz I and the remains of the concentration and e ...

since 2006. From 2000 to 2010, he was the Director of the Catholic Intelligentsia Club (KIK) in Warsaw. He is known as an active and frequent participant in

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

and Christian-Jewish dialogue; and an ecumenist, i.e. believer in reconciliation of the various Christian denominations among the ''

Kresy Eastern Borderlands (), often simply Borderlands (, ) was a historical region of the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic. The term was coined during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic with ...

'' borderlands.

Life

Cywiński spent his childhood in Warsaw. Between 1982 and 1993 he lived in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

due to the political exile of his father Bohdan Cywiński who is a philosopher, historian and journalist. His mother Maria-Malgorzata is a daughter of the artist Zbigniew Łoskot. Cywiński graduated from the

Marc Bloch University The University Marc Bloch, also known as Strasbourg II or UMB, was a university in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. As of 2006, it had around 13,000 students. Its name used to be ''Université des Sciences Humaines'' (University of Social Sciences), bu ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

(1993) in

medieval studies Medieval studies is the academic interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages. A historian who studies medieval studies is called a medievalist. Institutional development The term 'medieval studies' began to be adopted by academics in the opening ...

, and the

Catholic University of Lublin John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (, , abbreviation KUL) is a university established in 1918. History Father Idzi Benedykt Radziszewski founded the university in 1918. Lenin allowed the priest to take the library and equipment of ...

(1995). He obtained his

PhD degree A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the Institute of History 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 ...

(PAS) in 2001.

Professional career

From 1996 to 2000, Piotr Cywiński served as vice-president of the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia (KIK) in Warsaw, followed by ten years as the President. Since 2010 he has been a Board Member of KIK. In 2002, he co-founded the multicultural St. Adalbert's Forum, which he chaired for approximately eight years. He co-organized the Congresses of Gniezno in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2004, Cywiński was elected vice-president (and regional president for Europe) of the global federation of Catholic intellectuals Pax Romana ICMICA/MIIC for the mandate 2004–2008. Between 2000 and 2006, Cywiński served as Secretary for the International Auschwitz Council (IAC). On 12 June 2006, Cywiński was nominated for director of the

, a position he assumed on 1 September that year, replacing Jerzy Wróblewski who had been the director since 1990. He was also co-creator of the International Centre for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust and vice president of the center's council. In 2009, Cywiński co-created the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and since then serves as president of the foundation. In 2023, he did not invite Russia to Auschwitz Liberation Day and "compared the deaths of people in Ukraine to the suffering during the Holocaust." For the years 2009–2018, Cywiński was a member of the Museums' Council to the Minister of Culture (mandate IV and V), and in 2010 was appointed as member of the

Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites The Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites () was a Polish government body charged with the preservation of historical sites of wartime persecution of the Polish nation. It was set up by Act of Parliament on 2 July 1947 a ...

. He also serves as vice-president of the Council of , and member of the first mandate of the council, later—since 2012—as member of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of World War II in Gdańsk. He is a member of the Council of Museum Gross-Rosen in Rogoźnica. He is a council member of the , a charity for concentration camp survivors. In 2011 he became a board member of the Association Maison d’Izieu, memorial site in France. In 2015 the board of the Memorial Association accepted him as member of the Moscow's Memorial Association. From 2000 to 2002, while working for the

Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Adam Mickiewicz Institute () is a government-sponsored organization funded by Poland's Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and headquartered at 25 Mokotowska Street (the Sugar Palace) in Warsaw. Named after Polish national poet Ada ...

, Cywiński co-directed the Festival "

Europalia EUROPALIA (stylized in capital letters since 2025) is a Brussels-based, international biennial arts festival that highlights the cultural heritage and art scene of one invited country. On multiple occasions, the festival has also dedicated edition ...

2001 Poland", then created a portal about Jewish culture and history in Poland, "Diapozytyw.pl". In 2001–2004 he was a member of the Consultative Council of NGOs at the Polish Council for European Integration. For the years 2002–2014 he served as a member of the Polish Episcopate's Group for Dialogue with the

Greek Catholic Church Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gre ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. In the

2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but elect ...

, he was a candidate on behalf of the Freedom Union. Between 2005 and 2007, Cywiński was vice-president of the association Wikimedia Poland, and since May 2007 has been a member of the Audit Committee of the association. In 2008, Cywiński served as ambassador of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

Honors and awards

Piotr Cywiński was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit in 2006. On 15 April 2008

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...

, the President of Poland, awarded Cywiński the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. Also in that year, he was nominated to the TOTUS Award in the category of "achievements in the field of Christian culture”. On 20 January 2010, he received the Officer's Cross of the Polonia Restituta. In 2013, the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs awarded him the Bene Merito honorary badge for his activities in strengthening the position of Poland in the international arena. In 2014 he received the Golden Order for Achievements in the Penitentiary Work from the Polish Minister of Justice (and also from the Polish Ombudsman's Award for Human Rights' Protection). In 2015 he received a Silver Gloria Artis Award from the Minister of Culture. In June 2012, he was awarded the Belgian Order of the Crown. In November 2012, Prince Albert II of Monaco awarded Cywiński the knight class of the

Order of Saint-Charles The Order of Saint Charles (; Monégasque: ''U̍rdine de San Carlu'') is a dynastic order of knighthood established in Monaco on 15 March 1858. Award This order rewards service to the State or Prince. In particular cases, it may be grante ...

. In 2014 he received the Officer's Cross of the

Order of the Phoenix (Greece) The Order of the Phoenix () is an Order (decoration), order of Greece, established on 13 May 1926, by the republicanism, republican government of the Second Hellenic Republic to replace the defunct Order of George I, Royal Order of George I. T ...

and in 2015 the Knight's Cross Order of Academic Palms (France). In 2019, he was awarded the Knight medal insignia of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. In 2023, he was awarded an Honorary

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

from

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

for services to Holocaust education and inter-faith dialogue.

Selected publications

* ''Kościół wobec integracji europejskiej'' o-author ed. Jan Grosfeld, Warszawa 1997, . * ''L'Église en Pologne après 1989 face aux nouveaux défis de la démocratie'' avec Marcin Przeciszewski, Volume 48 de Cahier / le Rayonnement culturel polonais, in '' Communio'' : revue catholique internationale, 179, Vol. XXX, 2005 * ''Le futur d’Auschwitz. Actes de la journee d’etude du 11 mai 2010'' o-author IRICE (Sorbone, Paris IV, CNRS et al.), cahier 7: Paris 2011, ISSN 1967-2713. * ''Epitaph'', Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oświęcim 2012, . * ''Auschwitz from A to Z. An Illustrated History of the Camp'' o-author Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oświęcim 2013, . * ''Początki Auschwitz w pamięci pierwszego transportu polskich więźniów politycznych'', Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oświęcim 2015, . * ''Auschwitz Legacies'' o-author Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oświęcim 2015, . * ''Auschwitz. A Monograph on the Human'', Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oświęcim 2022, . * ''Auschwitz Bauleitung. Designing a Death Camp. Projektowanie Obozu Śmierci'', Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oświęcim 2023 .

References

External links

Private website by/of Piotr M. A. Cywiński

Official website of Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site/State Museum

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cywinski, Piotr 1972 births Living people 21st-century Polish historians 21st-century Roman Catholics Polish male non-fiction writers Polish medievalists Polish Roman Catholic writers Writers from Warsaw Directors of museums in Poland Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Polish Wikimedians Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights of the Order of Saint-Charles Knights of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Knights of the Legion of Honour Honorary officers of the Order of the British Empire Historians of the Holocaust in Poland