Juliusz Mieroszewski (; 2 February 1906 – 21 June 1976) was a Polish journalist, publicist and political commentator. He wrote under the pseudonyms "J. Calveley" and "Londyńczyk" (''Londoner''). He 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 ...

. In

interwar Poland The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I. ...

he was co-editor of '' Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny'' (Illustrated Daily Courier), where his

beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...

was German politics and policy. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he escaped from Nazi occupied Poland and worked for publications of the

Polish government in exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovere ...

, "Ku Wolnej Polsce" (''For a Free Poland''), "Orzeł Biały" (''The White Eagle''), "Parada" (''Parade''). After the war, with Poland falling under communist rule, he decided to stay in Great Britain. He wrote columns for the émigré weekly ''Wiadomości Literackie'' ('' Literary News''). Between 1950 and 1972 he was chief editor of the "English section" of the influential Parisian émigré journal "

Kultura ''Kultura'' (, ''Culture'')—sometimes referred to as ''Kultura Paryska'' ("Paris-based Culture")—was a leading Polish-émigré literary-political magazine, published from 1947 to 2000 by ''Instytut Literacki'' (the Literary Institute), in ...

". In the 1970s Mieroszewski was the closest collaborator of the journal's chief editor,

Jerzy Giedroyc Jerzy Władysław Giedroyć (; 27 July 1906 – 14 September 2000) was a Polish writer, lawyer, publicist and political activist. For many years, he worked as editor of the highly influential Paris-based periodical, '' Kultura''. Early life Gi ...

. While at the time Poland was an authoritarian communist state, controlled by the Soviet Union, Mieroszewski and Giedroyc, in the pages of the journal, sought to articulate a political programme for what they envisioned as a future independent Polish state and its relations with its former

Kresy Eastern Borderlands (), often simply Borderlands (, ) was a historical region of the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic. The term was coined during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic with ...

territories, annexed by Soviet Russia, known as the '' Gedroyc-Mieroszewski doctrine''. Mieroszewski was not only a dedicated socialist, but was strongly opposed to communism and the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. A crucial, and at the time unique, consideration of the Kultura programme was the Polish relationship with the national aspirations of the country's former minorities, the

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ians,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

ns and

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

. Mieroszewski was a political adversary of fellow socialist,

Adam Pragier Adam Szymon Pragier (12 December 1886 – 24 July 1976) was a Polish economist, Doctor of Jurisprudence professor at the Free Polish University, socialist activist, politician, member of the Polish Legions in World War I, Polish Legions and wr ...

, with whom he engaged in political and literary polemics through their respective columns published in Paris and London. Mieroszewski was also a translator - he translated

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

'', as well as works by

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

and Arnold Toynbee into Polish. He died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1976 and was buried at South Ealing Cemetery (division HH).

Selected works

* ''Ewolucjonizm''. Paris 1964, pub. Instytut Literacki * ''Polityczne neurozy''. Paris 1967, wyd.Instytut Literacki * '' Modele i praktyka''. Paris 1970, wyd. Instytut Literacki * ''Materiały do refleksji i zadumy''. Paris 1976, wyd. Instytut Literacki. II obieg – Krakowskie Towarzystwo Wydawnicze 1984 * ''Finał klasycznej Europy''. (selected and edited by Rafał Habielski);

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

1997: Wyd. Towarzystwo Opieki Archiwum Instytut Literacki Archive in Paris; Lublin 1997: published by Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, , (Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej in Lublin), Wers. *

, Juliusz Mieroszewski'' Listy 1949-1956''. Cz. 1 – 2; wybrał i wstępem poprzedził Krzysztof Pomian; przypisami i indeksami opatrzyli Jacek Krawczyk i Krzysztof Pomian; szkicem o Mieroszewskich i Mieroszewskim uzup. Piotr Wandycz. Warszawa 1999: Wyd. "Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza „Czytelnik”, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mieroszewski, Juliusz 1906 births 1976 deaths Journalists from Kraków English–Polish translators Polish exiles 20th-century Polish translators People associated with Kultura (magazine)