Władysław Matwin (17 July 1916 – 21 October 2012) was a Polish politician, journalist and mathematician who was one of the pioneers of computer science in Poland.

Biography

After his parents divorced, he and his mother found themselves in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, where he studied economics. At that time he belonged to the Communist Party of Poland and the

Young Communist League of Poland The Young Communist League of Poland (, abbreviated ZMKwP), in February 1930 renamed as the Communist League of Youth in Poland , abbreviated KZMP), was the youth wing of the interbellum Communist Party of Poland between 1922 and 1938.Cimek, Henry ...

(KZMP). He was secretary of the KZMP District Committee. In January 1935, he was arrested for Communist activities and sentenced to three years in prison. After being released, he went to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, where he studied chemistry in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

. He returned to Poland in the spring of 1939. He volunteered to join the army, but was considered a dangerous criminal and was banned from serving in the Polish army. During World War II he stayed on the territory of the Soviet Union. First, he worked as a miner and later studied at the Metallurgy Institute at night. For a short time he was in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, from which - due to his origin - he was removed. Later he worked in railway construction. He then stayed in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. Later he joined First Polish Army army in

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

, where he taught politics at the officer's school. In 1944 he belonged to the corps of political and educational officers of the

1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division The Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division () was an infantry division in the Polish armed forces formed in 1943 and named for the Polish and American revolutionary Tadeusz Kościuszko. Formed in the Soviet Union, it was the first ...

. In 1944 he was sent to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, where the

Union of Polish Patriots Union of Polish Patriots (''Society of Polish Patriots'', , ZPP, ) was a political body created by Polish communists in the Soviet Union in 1943. The ZPP, unofficially controlled and directed by Joseph Stalin, became one of the founding structur ...

(in which he was active) created an outpost whose main task was to reach the local Polish community through radio broadcasts and newspapers, and above all the soldiers of

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

. In 1945, Władysław Matwin was summoned to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where he became chargé d'affaires at the Polish embassy. In 1946 he returned to Poland and served as an instructor of the Central Committee. In 1947 and 1948 he was the first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party (, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 to form the Polish United W ...

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 ...

. He also stayed for a year in

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

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 ...

, where he had his eyes treated (he was in danger of losing his sight as a result of disease). Together with the PPR, he joined the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...

, sitting until June 1964 in its Central Committee (he also held the position of the first secretary of the Provincial Committee in Wrocław, which he held until 1949). In the 1950s, he was associated with the Puławy faction. From 1949 to 1952 he was the chairman of the Main Board of the

Union of Polish Youth Związek Młodzieży Polskiej (Union or Association of Polish Youth, abbr. ZMP) was a Polish communist youth organization, existing from 1948 to 1956. It was subordinated to Polish United Workers' Party The organization was formally establish ...

. From December 1952 to February 1954 he was the first secretary of the Warsaw Committee of the PZPR. From 1954 to March 1956 and again from November 1956 to March 1957 he was editor-in-chief of

Trybuna Ludu ''Trybuna Ludu'' (; ''People's Tribune'') was one of the largest newspapers in communist Poland, which circulated between 1948 and 1990. It was the official media outlet of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) along with the televised news ...

. From November 1954 to January 1955 he headed the Organizational Department of the Central Committee of the PZPR, and then until November 1963 he was secretary of the Central Committee (until March 1956 responsible for education ). In 1957, he was again sent to Wrocław, where he took the position of the First Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the PZPR, holding the position until his retirement from politics 1963. In 1963 he began studying mathematics and in 1966 he obtained a diploma in

automata theory Automata theory is the study of abstract machines and automata, as well as the computational problems that can be solved using them. It is a theory in theoretical computer science with close connections to cognitive science and mathematical l ...

. The following year, he became the director of the Central Center for Management Staff Improvement, but in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

he lost this position for not agreeing to the demand to remove employees of Jewish origin from the institute. He took the job of a senior technologist in

Włochy Włochy () is one of the districts of Warsaw, located in the south-western part of city. Włochy borders districts Bemowo and Wola from the north, Ochota and Mokotów from the east, and Ursus and Ursynów from the south. It is one of 3 neigh ...

, and in 1970 - at the Institute of Mathematical Machines; in 1973 he became the director of the Department of Electronic Computing Technology. From 1976 to 1991 he worked part-time at the Systems Research Institute 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 ...

. Władysław Matwin died in October 2012, being one of the last remaining politicians of the pre-war Polish Communist Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matwin, Władysław 1916 births 2012 deaths People from Będzin Communist Party of Poland politicians Polish Workers' Party politicians Members of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party Members of the Polish Sejm 1952–1956 Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961 Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965 Puławianie Polish diplomats Polish mathematicians Polish computer scientists Polish newspaper editors 20th-century Polish journalists Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta