Zygmunt Modzelewski (15 April 1900, Częstochowa – 18 June 1954,

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 officia ...

) was a Polish communist politician, professor, economist, and diplomat.

Life and career

He was a member of the

Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania The Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania ( pl, Socjaldemokracja Królestwa Polskiego i Litwy, SDKPiL), , LKLSD), originally the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland (SDKP), was a Marxist political party founded in 1893 and ...

and

Communist Party of Poland The interwar Communist Party of Poland ( pl, Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) was a communist party active in Poland during the Second Polish Republic. It resulted from a December 1918 merger of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland a ...

. From 1923 to 1937, he was a member of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

and even joined its Central Committee. In 1937 he moved to the Soviet Union and was arrested by

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

in the same year in the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secret ...

. Despite torture he refused to give false confession and was released in 1939. Later, he joined the

Union of Polish Patriots Union of Polish Patriots (''Society of Polish Patriots'', pl, Związek Patriotów Polskich, ZPP, russian: Союз Польских Патриотов, СПП) was a political body created by Polish communists in the Soviet Union in 1943. The ...

and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists and became the first director of Polpress, a precursor to the

Polish Press Agency The Polish Press Agency ( pl, Polska Agencja Prasowa, PAP) is Poland's national news agency, producing and distributing political, economic, social, and cultural news as well as events information. The agency has 14 news desks in its headquarters ...

. He joined the

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Partia Robotnicza, 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 194 ...

in 1944 (and later its successor, the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), 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 lega ...

) and eventually became the member of its Central Committee. He was also a member of the

Polish Council of State The Council of State of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Rada Państwa) was introduced by the Small Constitution of 1947 as an organ of executive power. The Council of State consisted of the President of the Republic of Poland as chairman, the Marsha ...

and a deputy to the

State National Council Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish (translated as State National Council or Homeland National Council, abbreviated to KRN) was a parliament-like political body created during the later stages of World War II in German-occupied Warsaw, Poland. It wa ...

and Legislative Sejm. He was also a Polish delegate at the session of the Preparatory Commission of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. Involved in the work of the Slavic Committee in Poland. From 1947 to 1951 he was the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

. From 1951, rector of the Institute of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party. He received the

Order of the Builders of People's Poland Order of the Builders of People's Poland ( pl, Order Budowniczych Polski Ludowej) was the highest

. He was also the adoptive father of

Karol Modzelewski Karol Cyryl Modzelewski (23 November 1937 – 28 April 2019) was a Polish historian, writer, politician and academic of Russian origin, one of the leading figures of the democratic opposition in the Polish People's Republic from the 1960s to the 1 ...

References

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Biuro Edukacji Publicznej IPN "Zygmunt Modzelewski (1900–1954)" – informacja historyczna
1900 births 1954 deaths People from Częstochowa People from Piotrków Governorate Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania politicians Communist Party of Poland politicians Polish Workers' Party politicians Polish United Workers' Party members Members of the State National Council Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952 Members of the Polish Sejm 1952–1956 Diplomats of the Polish People's Republic Ambassadors of Poland to the Soviet Union Members of the Polish Academy of Sciences Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland Members of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party Polish diplomats Polish Marxists 20th-century Polish philosophers Polish economists {{Poland-politician-stub