Stanisław Potrzebowski (born 9 February 1937) is the founder and Naczelnik (leader) of Rodzima Wiara, a Polish rodnover organisation, and of the European Congress of Ethnic Religions.

Career

Between 1954 and 1957 Potrzebowski studied geology at the AGH University of Science and Technology. In 1957, he was arrested and interrogated by

Służba Bezpieczeństwa The Security Service (; ), in full Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and commonly known as SB, was a secret police force established in the Polish People's Republic in 1956 as a successor to the Ministry of Public Security (P ...

for distributing leaflets against closing of the student magazine "Po Prostu". From 1958 to 1966 he served in the Polish air force; he left the army with the rank of poruchnik. In 1972, he finished his studies with honors and received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

of history 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 ...

. In 1973, Potrzebowski went to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and started studies at the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz () is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It has been named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. it had approximately 32,000 students enrolled in around 100 a ...

. In 1980 he received the title of

PhD 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 ...

in philosophy. In 1985 he went to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where he worked e.g. at Deutsche Schule in Pretoria. In 1991 he returned to Poland and settled in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

. Potrzebowski continues his research in this field and also gives public lectures.

Publications

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References

1937 births Living people Polish clergy Polish modern pagans Founders of modern pagan movements University of Wrocław alumni Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni {{Neopaganism-stub