Władysław Bartoszewski named Honorary Citizen of Kraków

KJ, 16 November 2016
Professor Władysław Bartoszewski has been made an Honorary Citizen of Kraków.  The decision was made at the last meeting, for this year, of the City Council. Those who proposed Professor Bartoszewski’s honour were the Świat Ma Sens Founcation, Klub Krakowski, Senator Bogdan Klich, as well as a group of Kraków City Councillors.

For many years, Władysław Bartoszewski has been connected with Kraków. Following the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, he published the Home Army (AK) Command’s Biuletyn Informacyjny in Kraków, and then contributed to the Tygodnik Powszechny. This is yet another honorary citizenship which has been granted to the Professor – others include, Warsaw, Gdynia, Wrocław and Oświęcim.

The application for granting Władysław Bartoszewski honorary citizenship was filed bak in June. The initiative was supported by a committee of people among whom were Rev. Adam Boniecki, Prof. Zbigniew Ćwiąkalski, Prof. Zbigniew Kolenda, Andrzej Sikorowski, Grzegorz Turnau, Adam Zagajewski and Prof. Andrzej Zoll. 

Honorary citizenship of Kraków dates back to 1850. Since 1989, thirty five people have been awarded it, among whom are Sławomir Mrożek, Lech Wałęsa, Margaret Thatcher, Czesław Miłosz, Ronald Reagan, Siergiej Kowaliow, Stanisław Lem, Wisława Szymborska, Ryszard Kaczorowski, Zbigniew Brzeziński, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański and Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz.

Władysław Bartoszewski was born on 19th February 1922. He was a former prisoner in Auschwitz, a politician, a columnist and a writer. He is currently a Secretary of State in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He also assists the Prime Minister on matters of international dialogue. W 1995, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle.  For aiding Jews, during the time of German occupation, as part of the Council to Aid Jews (Żegota), the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem awarded him the title of Righteous Among the Nations.