Jan Nowak-Jeziorański (; 2 October 1914 – 20 January 2005) was a Polish journalist, writer, politician, social worker and patriot. He served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

as one of the most notable resistance fighters of the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, 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) es ...

. He is best remembered for his work as an emissary shuttling between the commanders of the Home Army and the

Polish Government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

in London and other Allied governments which gained him the nickname "Courier from Warsaw", and for his participation in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

. After the war he worked as the head of the Polish section of

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

, and later as a security advisor to the US presidents

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. In 1996, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

awarded him with America's highest civilian award the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

. He was born Zdzisław Antoni Jeziorański, (Jeziora Coat of Arms) in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, but used a number of

noms de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

during the war, the best known of which was Jan Nowak which he later added to his original surname.

Biography

Zdzisław Jeziorański was born on 2 October 1914 in Berlin. He attended Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Stefana Batorego 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 officiall ...

. After finishing his studies in economics in 1936, he worked as a teaching assistant at Poznań University. Mobilized in 1939, he fought in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

as an artillery

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

. He was taken

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

, but managed to escape and returned to Warsaw. Most of his colleagues were taken prisoners of war by the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in ...

and later killed in the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...

. He quickly joined the Polish resistance. After 1940 he became the main organiser of the Akcja N, a secret organisation preparing German-language newspapers and other propaganda material pretending to be official German publications, to wage psychological warfare against German troops. He also served as an envoy between the commanders of the

and the

and other allied governments. During his first trips to Sweden and Great Britain he informed the Western governments of the fate of Poland under German and Soviet occupation. He was also the first to report the

Warsaw Ghetto uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany' ...

. During one of such missions, in July 1944, he returned to

only a few days before the

Warsaw uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

broke out. During the Uprising Nowak-Jeziorański took an active part in the fight against the Germans and also organised the Polish radio that maintained contact with Allied countries through daily broadcasts in Polish and English. Shortly before the capitulation of the Polish capital, he was ordered by Home Army's commander-in-chief

Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski Generał Tadeusz Komorowski (1 June 1895 – 24 August 1966), better known by the name Bór-Komorowski (after one of his wartime code-names: ''Bór'' – "The Forest") was a Polish military leader. He was appointed commander in chief a day bef ...

to leave the city and find his way to London. He managed to evade being captured and reached Great Britain, bringing with him large quantities of documents and photos. For his bravery and his travels through the German-occupied Europe he was awarded with the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari ( Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King S ...

, the highest Polish military medal. Jan Nowak-Jezioranski RFE

After the war Nowak-Jeziorański stayed in the West, initially in London and then in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Between 1948 and 1976 he was one of the most notable personalities of the BBC Polish Section. In 1952 he also became head of the Polish section of the Munich-based

. Through his daily radio broadcasts he remained one of the most popular radio personalities, both in communist-held Poland and among the Polish diaspora in the West. After giving up his posts in 1976 he became one of the most prominent members of the

Polish American Congress The Polish American Congress (PAC) is an American umbrella organization of Polish-Americans and Polish-American organizations. Its membership has fraternal, educational, veterans, religious, cultural, social, business, political organizations, and ...

. He was also working as an advisor to the American

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

and the presidents of the USA

and

. Through his contacts with many notable politicians in the USA, he was one of the proponents of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

's membership in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

(achieved in 1999). In the 1990s he started his cooperation with the

Polish Radio Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna (PR S.A.; English: Polish Radio) is Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organization owned by the State Treasury of Poland. History Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began making ...

and wrote a series of broadcasts titled ''Polska z oddali'' (''Poland from a Distance''). Since 1990 he was on Polish television as writer/presenter of monthly programs. In July 2002 he returned to Warsaw for the final time. He was an active supporter of Poland's entry into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. Most of his books, published abroad as well as those published in Poland after 1989, were best-sellers and gained him even more popularity. For his writings he was awarded some of the most prestigious Polish literary awards, including the '' Kisiel Award'' (1999), ''

Ksawery Pruszyński Franciszek Ksawery Pruszyński (4 December 1907 – 13 June 1950) was a Polish journalist, publicist, writer and diplomat. He was one of the most active and operative of Polish newspaper reporters. Biography He was born in Wolica Kierekieszyna ...

Memorial Prize'' of the Polish Pen Club (2001) and the ''Superwiktor'' award for television personalities. In 2003 he was also awarded the ''Człowiek Pojednania'' prize by the Polish Council of Christians and Jews for his part in the Polish-Jewish dialogue. Finally, he was made the

doctor honoris causa 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 ho ...

of many Polish universities, including the

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

and his alma mater, the

Adam Mickiewicz University Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

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

. He died in

on 20 January 2005. He donated all his archives to the

Ossolineum Ossoliński National Institute ( pl, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, ZNiO), or the Ossolineum is a Polish cultural foundation, publishing house, archival institute and a research centre of national significance founded in 1817 in Lwów (now L ...

Institute.

Censorship in Russia

A selection of Nowak's texts has been confiscated in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia by the FSB.

Awards

* Knight's Cross of the

(1944, highest Polish military award) * Cross of Valour (''Krzyż Walecznych'') * Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievemen ...

* Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Polish Republic (1993) * Order of the White Eagle (highest Polish award, 1994) *

(highest civilian award in the United States, 1996) * Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (the highest Lithuanian civilian award, 1998) *

King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom The King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom is a British medal for award to foreign nationals who aided the Allied effort during the Second World War. Eligibility Instituted on 23 August 1945, the medal was a reward to foreign nationals ...

(United Kingdom) *

Kisiel Prize Kisiel Prize or Kisiel Award ( pl, Nagroda Kisiela) is an annual Polish award presented in three categories: publicist, politician/public figure and entrepreneur whose actions most closely portray the spirit and beliefs of the Polish publicist and ...

(1999) * Lumen Mundi (2001) * Ksawery Pruszyński Award (2001) * ''Man of Reconciliation'' (2002), awarded by the Polish Council of Christians and Jews for his contribution to Christian-Jewish dialogue in Poland * Wiktor Award and Superwiktor (2003) Awards of the Academy of Television * Gold Statue of the Business Centre Club for his contribution to the development of Polish democracy awarded by Business Centre Club (2003) * Honorary citizen of

, Gdansk and Kraków * Prize. Xavier Pruszynski, granted by the Polish PEN Club * Golden Microphone * Diamond Microphone

Bibliography

Among other books, he wrote: * ''Polska droga ku wolnosci, 1952–1973'', London, 1974. * Courier from Warsaw (''Kurier z Warszawy'', published in London 1978, Polish underground edition 1981, official edition in 1989, published in English in 1982 by Wayne State University Press) * ''Ideological competition in United States' strategy'', Polish American Congress, 1980. * ''Polska została sobą'', 1980. * ''Wojna w eterze'' (''War on the Radio'', memoirs 1948–1956), 1986. * ''Kryptonim "Odra"'' (''Code-name Odra''), Warsaw, 1986. * ''Polska z oddali. Wspomnienia 1956–1976'' (''Poland from the distance''), 1988 * ''Poland and Germany (Occasional paper / East European Studies)'', Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 1991. * ''Z dziejów Armii Krajowej w inspektoracie Płocko-Sierpeckim'',

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

, 1992. * ''W poszukiwaniu nadziei'' (''In Search for Hope''), 1993 * ''Rozmowy o Polsce'', Warsaw, 1995. * ''Polska wczoraj, dzis i jutro'' (''Poland today, tomorrow and the day after''), Warsaw, 1999. * ''Listy 1952–1998'' (''Letters 1952–1998''),

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

, 2001. * ''Poland's Road to NATO'', Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Ossolineum, Wrocław 2006,

In popular culture

A dramatic feature film about the wartime experiences of Nowak-Jeziorański and the

, entitled ' (''The Messenger''; U.S. title: ''The Resistance Fighter''), was released in Poland in 2019 and in the United States in 2020. Directed by Polish filmmaker Wladyslaw Pasikowski, it stars as Nowak-Jeziorański.

References

External links

BBC Polish World War II underground hero dies
accessed 21 January 2005
Reuters Polish World War II 'Courier from Warsaw' Dies, Aged 91
accessed 21 January 2005
Radio Free Europa Legendary RFE Polish Service Director Jan Nowak Dead At 91
accessed 21 January 2005 * Wikinews Jan Nowak-Jezioranski Dies {{DEFAULTSORT:Nowak-Jezioranski, Jan Polish resistance members of World War II Warsaw Uprising insurgents Polish military personnel of World War II Polish radio journalists Polish television journalists Knights of the Virtuti Militari Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Commanders with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Grand Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people 20th-century Polish nobility Writers from Warsaw 1914 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Polish journalists Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)