Janusz Marek Kurtyka (13 August 1960 – 10 April 2010) was 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 ...

, and from December 2005 until his death in the

2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash On 10 April 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft operating Polish Air Force Flight 101 crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing List of casualties of the Smolensk air disaster, all 96 people on board. Among the victims were the president ...

, the second president of the

Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...

(IPN). Kurtyka was born in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and obtained his degree in the History and Philosophy Department of the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

. He had been a historian at 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 ...

since 1985 where he specialized in Polish medieval and communist era history, modern history and historical methodology. He finished his PhD in 1995 and was habilitated in 2000. He was a contributor to '' Wielka Encyklopedia PWN'' and '' Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' (''Polish Biographical Dictionary'') and the author of more than 140 academic publications. In the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

, Kurtyka was a member of the democratic opposition to communism and an activist with the Independent Students Union and the trade union

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

. Between 1989 and 2000 he was the presidents of the Kraków office of Solidarity in the Historical Institute PAN. After the Institute of National Remembrance (a Polish government-affiliated research institute which investigates both Nazi and Communist crimes committed in Poland) was created in 1998, Kurtyka was the first president of its Kraków branch. In April 2005 he was recommended by the Board of the Institute for the position of the president and was approved by the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in December of that year. He took his oath of office on 29 December 2005. In 2007, Kurtyka was awarded the Ukrainian Order of Merit, third degree and in April 2009 he was awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

by the

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

, Lech Kaczynski. Kurtyka was on the Tupolev Tu-154 flight of the 36th Special Aviation Regiment carrying the

Lech Kaczyński which crashed near Smolensk-North airport near Katyn,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, on 10 April 2010, killing all aboard. Days before he died he called for "the results of the Russian investigation into

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

to be declassified and for the Russian archives to be opened". The post which was left open by his death was considered particularly problematic due to the difficulty there would be in replacing him.Poland returns to work in shock and sorrow
''The Times''. Roger Boyes, Warsaw. After a mass in the Saints Peter and Paul Church in Kraków he was buried in the Rakowicki Cemetery on 23 April 2010. On 16 April 2010 he was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Selected publications

*''Generał Leopold Okulicki "Niedźwiadek" (1898–1946)'', (General Leopold Okulicki, "Niedźwiadek" (1898–1946)), 1989 *''Konspiracja i opór społeczny na Podkarpaciu w okresie PRL (red.)'', (Conspiracy and Social Resistance in Subcarpathia During the PRL (ed.)), 2007 *''Latyfundium Tęczyńskie. Dobra i właściciele (XIV–XVII wiek)'', (The Latifundia of the Tęczyński Family. Estate and Owners (14th through 17th centuries)), 1999 *''Odrodzone królestwo. Monarchia Władysława Łokietka i Kazimierza Wielkiego w świetle nowszych badań'', (Kingdom Reborn. The Monarchy of Władysław Łokietek and Kazimierz Wielki in Light of New Research), 2001 *''Tęczyńscy. Studium z dziejów polskiej elity możnowładczej w średniowieczu'', (The Tęczyński Family. A Study from the History of a Polish Medieval Magnates), 1997 * "Freedom And Independence - Zrzeszenie "Wolność i Niezawisłość, WiN"
A Historical Brief

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtyka, Janusz 1960 births 2010 deaths Writers from Kraków 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Victims of the Smolensk air disaster Jagiellonian University alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Chevaliers of the Order of Merit (Ukraine) Polish medievalists People associated with the Institute of National Remembrance Collaborators of the Polish Biographical Dictionary 21st-century Polish historians