Karol Cyryl Modzelewski (23 November 1937 – 28 April 2019) 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 ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and academic of Russian origin, one of the leading figures of the democratic opposition in the

Polish People's Republic 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. ...

from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Life and career

He was the adopted son of Zygmunt Modzelewski. A professor at the

University of Wrocław The University of Wrocław (, UWr; ) is a public research university in Wrocław, Poland. It is the largest institution of higher learning in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, with over 100,000 graduates since 1945, including some 1,900 researcher ...

and the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

, he was a member of the Polish United Workers Party but was expelled from it in 1964 for opposition to some policies of the party. With

Jacek Kuroń Jacek Jan Kuroń (; 3 March 1934 – 17 June 2004) was one of the democratic leaders of opposition in the People's Republic of Poland. He was widely known as the "godfather of the Polish opposition," not unlike Václav Havel in Czechoslovakia. Kur ...

he co-wrote the '' Open Letter to the Party'', for which he was imprisoned for three years. He took part in the Polish 1968 political crisis, and for his activities he was again imprisoned for three and a half years. During the 1980 strikes he came up with the name of '

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 ...

'. He was one of the Solidarity press contacts, and a member of the Solidarity region in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. He was interned with many others during the

martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...

. From 1989 to 1991 he was a member of the Polish Senat (

Solidarity Citizens' Committee The Solidarity Citizens' Committee (''Komitet Obywatelski "Solidarność"'', KO "S"), also known as Citizens' Electoral Committee (''Obywatelski Komitet Wyborczy'') and previously named the Citizens' Committee with Lech Wałęsa (''Komitet Obywatel ...

), supporting the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

, particularly the

Labour Union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

party and later

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (, born 13 September 1950 in Warsaw) is a Polish politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland for a year from 7 February 1996 to 31 October 1997, after being defeated in the Parliamentary elections by the Solidarity ...

. He died on 28 April 2019 in Warsaw.

Awards and distinctions

In 1998, he was awarded Poland's highest distinction Order of White Eagle. In 2007, he won the Prize of the Foundation for Polish Science for his research on the emergence of the European identity revealing the importance of pre-Christian and

multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...

tradition for the contemporary concept of Europe, presented in his work ''Barbarzyńska Europa'' ("Barbarian Europe"). In 2009, he received an

honorary degree 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 hon ...

at the

Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz (; UKW), also known as the Casimir the Great University, is a state-funded university in Bydgoszcz, Poland. It was named after Casimir III the Great (''Kazimierz III Wielki''), the King of Poland (1333� ...

, and in 2014 he was the winner of the prestigious

Nike Award The Nike Literary Award (, pronounced ) is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award for Polish literatu ...

for his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

entitled ''Zajeździmy kobyłę historii: wyznania poobijanego jeźdźca'' ("We'll Ride the Mare of History to the Ground: Confessions of a Bruised Rider") as well as the Kazimierz Moczarski History Award and the Józef Tischner Award. In 2016, he became an honorary citizen of the city of

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 ...

and together with Róża Thun received the Order of

Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

Selected works

* ''Zajeździmy kobyłę historii. Wyznania poobijanego jeźdźca'' ("We'll Ride the Mare of History to the Ground: Confessions of a Bruised Rider"), Warsaw 2013 * ''Scènes de grèves en Pologne'', Lausanne 2006 * ''Barbarzyńska Europa'' ("Barbarian Europe"), Warsaw 2004 * ''Życiodajny impuls chuligaństwa. Notatki z lat 1993–2002'', Kraków 2003 * ''Opole, centena, pagus. Versuch einer komparativen Auffassung der Langemeinde und Territorialverwaltung'', n:"Das Reich und Polen", Constance 2003 * ''La stirpe e la legge'', n:"Studi sulle societa e le culture del Medioevo per Girolamo Arnaldi", Rome 2002 * ''Zemsta, okup i podmiot moralny w prawach barbarzyńskich'', n:"Aetas media, aetas moderna. Studia ofiarowane profesorowi Henrykowi Samsonowiczowi w siedemdziesiątą rocznicę urodzin", Warsaw 2000 * ''Organizacja gospodarcza państwa piastowskiego X-XIII wiek'', Wrocław 1975, Poznań 2000 * ''Liber homo sub tutela nobilis'', n:"Kościół, kultura, społeczeństwo. Studia z dziejów średniowiecza i czasów nowożytnych", Warsaw 2000 * ''Dokąd od komunizmu?'', Warsaw 1993 * ''Między umową a wojną'', Warsaw 1989 * ''Chłopi w społeczeństwie polskim'' ("Peasants in Polish Society"), Wrocław 1987 * ''Revolutionary marxist students in Poland speak out (1964–1968)'', New York 1969 * ''List otwarty do partii'' ("Open Letter to the Party") (co-written by

), Paris 1966

Notes

References

*
Karol Modzelewski
in Encyklopedia Solidarności

External links