Aleksander Krawczuk

1. Aleksander Krawczuk Classical Scholar Popular Author on Classical Antiquity TV Personality Minister for Culture and Arts Member of Parliament A Preview Classics & Communism, Collegium Budapest 24-26 June, 2010

2. Popular Author • „I wrote books that were not ground-breaking, perhaps my only merit was that I managed to interest people in antiquity, as well as increase awareness, that Greek and Roman culture is also our legacy...”

3. Gajusz Juliusz Cezar 1962 Cesarz August 1964 Neron, 1965 Herod, król Judei 1965 Perykles i Aspazja 1967 Siedmiu przeciw Tebom 1968 Sprawa Alkibiadesa 1968 Kleopatra 1969 Wojna Trojańska: Mit i historia 1969 Konstantyn Wielki 1970 Pan i jego filozof. Rzecz o Platonie 1970 Ród Konstantyna 1972 Sennik Artemidora 1972 Tytus i Berenika 1972 Julian Apostata 1974 Rzym i Jerozolima 1974 Mity, mędrcy, polityka 1975 Maraton 1976 Ostatnia Olimpiada 1976 Upadek Rzymu. Księga wojen 1978 Starożytność odległa i bliska 1980 Mitologia starożytnej Italii 1982 Ród Argeadów 1982 Stąd do starożytności 1985 Poczet Cesarzy Rzymskich 1986 Groby Cheronei 1988 Alfabet Krawczuka Mitologiczny 1991 Rzymianki 1992 Poczet cesarzy bizantyjskich 1992 Kronika starożytnego Rzymu 1994 Kronika Rzymu i Cesarstwa Rzymskiego 1997 Poczet cesarzowych Rzymu 1998 Rzym, Kościół, cesarze 2000 Polska za Nerona 2002 Spotkania z Petroniuszem 2005 Z Odyseuszem w zaświatach 2010 Popular Author

4. Popular Author • „Today, I look at my books with a critical eye, but someone had to act. I quickly arrived at the conclusion that, as things were getting desperate – Latin was practically abolished at school, the access to foreign literature was very limited, travels abroad quite complicated – making ancient history better known in a popular way was most important for the future of the society;as to our relations with Europe, it was simply an obligation.”

5. Popular Author • „Pure scholarship could not fulfill this mission- let’s be candid, a good academic book will be read by a few, or a few dozens people. But a book written accessibly, although filled with knowledge and information, is read by thousands and dozens of thousands. As to television programs, they reach practically millions. • My efforts were designed to show people that antiquity is around us, we only have to look. It is in the languages, in the customs, in laws, in myths, in literature, we only don’t notice it.”

6. Popular Author • „I have no favourites, a few I consider good. I value „Juliusz Cezar” because that’s how it all started. „Cesarz August”, „Neron” are not bad, although, today, I would have used a sharper pen. The cycle „Rome, Church, emperors” is also rather well done, i.e. „Konstantyn Wielki”, Ród Konstantyna” and „Julian Apostata”. Especially in this last case, I tried to show the character in an authentic light. He was, after all, no apostate, he defended the faith of his fathers (...) He understood what was happening, knew that you cannnot just get rid of ancient ways of life, religion and ideals, because, if you do, your country must suffer.”

7. Boski Juliusz by Jacek Bocheński Censors were small officials who had to deal with constantly changing and note entirely clear regulations. They knew that they cannot publish a specific author, or that a certain word cannot appear in print, but they did not have to know why. Is this word harmful for the fraternal Polish –Soviet relations? Is it associated with an obscure scandal within the Party Presidium? Or with something unpleasant for the wife of an important party official? They were scared stiff to be fired for committing a political error.

8. Boski Juliusz by Jacek Bocheński • People at the office of censorship had a minimal knowledge of antiquity but the initial censorship, or the stage when the decision was taken as to what could be shown to the official, and what had to be promptly eliminated, happened still at the publishing house. There, there were experts who had this knowledge.

9. Boski Juliusz by Jacek Bocheński • Usually they were friendly to authors, but had to be cautious towards the authorities. The worst was when professional cautiousness combined with envy. I still remember the voice of a hostile classical philologist 50 years ago,who told me when I wrote “Boski Juliusz”: „Don’t imagine for a moment, that I would risk my job for you”. Fortunately his boss was more reasonable.

10. Boski Juliusz by Jacek Bocheński • Readers treated the book as a political metaphor, full of allusions to the Władysław Gomułka’s circle. And yet there is no code, all codes were invented by the readers.

11. Boski Juliusz by Jacek Bocheński • At a meeting of the Writers Union, Zenon Kliszko said that there was a difference of opinion within the party – was the book a political metaphoer written from a hostile position, or was it just an innocent historical story. Comarades were reading the book and opinions were divided.

12. Boski Juliusz by Jacek Bocheński • This unresolved difference of opinion remained and the book continued to be published, only in limited number of copies. There were also some repressions: the weekly „Nowa Kultura” tried to give me a literary prize for „Boski Juliusz” but the Department of Culture of the Central Committee stopped this at the last moment.

13. Boski Juliusz by Jacek Bocheński • When „NK” defiantly printed an enthusiastic review on the first page, in fact using the text already prepared for the award, the editor-in-chief, profesor Stefan Żółkiewski ,was fired. Mieczysława Rakowskiego, writes about it in his „Diaries” and says that the real censor of the book in the CC, was Andrzej Werblan, the main party ideologue of that time.

14. Naso Poeta • I needed a model for the aging Augustus. I will confess something I never said until now. I modeled Augustus on Gomułka! Not exclusively, but he was one of the models. Mutatis mutandis, Gomułka had also a farly good reputation, was also a saviour „good as the nature”, when he came after stalinism, he also brought to people the desired bread and butter, and even ham! He let people play jazz, and Beckett, but was „false” and also arrested people, had tantrums, threatened, illegal sales of meat punished by death, had attacks of fury and was becoming senile.

15. Naso Poeta • And I listened to him, and especially to how he was explaining his behaviour, how he defended himself against criticism, I followed his speeches, enquired about his conversations and avidly sought rumours about him. Writing „Naso Poeta”, I put into Augustus’ head Gomułka’s train of thought, in a somewhat reworked language.

16. TV Personality • „The Ancient World of Professor Krawczuk” - a widely popular and excellent monthly educative program broadcast for many years starting in the mid-seventies.

17. TV Personality • „I was very surprised at how much antiquity interested people. It transpired that these broadcasts for many revealed a new world. They heard about Ceasar, Cleopatra, Nero, Marathon, and suddenly all became famililar. Without false modesty, because that borders with hypocrisy, I can say that I did a fair job. I could have certainly done more and better... I confess I made some errors, both, factual and in interpretation.”

18. Wincenty Rzymowski (SD)21.VII.1944 - 2.V.1945 Edmund Zalewski (SL)2.V.1945 - 28.VI.1945 Władysław Kowalski (SL)28.VI.1945 - 5.II.1947 Stefan Dybowski (SL/ZSL)6.II.1947 - 20.XI.1952 Włodzimierz Sokorski (PZPR)21.XI.1952 - 19.IV.1956 Karol Kuryluk (PZPR)19. IV.1956 - 29.IV.1958 Kazimierz Rusinek - kierownik Ministerstwa (PZPR)3.V.1958 - 2.VII.1958 Tadeusz Galiński (PZPR)2.VII.1958 - 12.XII.1964 Lucjan Motyka (PZPR) 12.XII.1964 - 26.X.1971 Czesław Wiśniewski - kierownik Ministerstwa (PZPR)26.X.1971 - 22.XII.1971 Stanisław Wroński (PZPR)22.XII.1971 - 16.II.1974 Józef Tejchma (PZPR)16.II.1974 - 26.I.1978 Janusz Wilhelmi - kierownik Ministerstwa (PZPR)26.I.1978 - 16.III.1978 Jan Mietkowski (PZPR)29.III.1978 - 4.VII.1978 Zygmunt Najdowski (PZPR)20.VII.1978 - 8.X.1980 Józef Tejchma (PZPR)8.X.1980 - 9.X.1982 Kazimierz Żygulski 9.X.1982 - 29.IX.1986 Minister for Arts & Culture

19. Minister for Arts & Culture • Aleksander Krawczuk 29.09.1986 - 1.08.1989 • “When I received the proposition to become the minister for arts & culture in 1986, I knew that a historic change was in the air. • Every historian carries within himself an unfulfilled politician. But I’m no politician! Still, when I got this opportunity to try to implement some of my visions, I didn’t panic and I took the risk; I played a certain “softening” role in taking the evolutionary road to transformation, and later to prepare the “round table”.

20. Minister for Arts & Culture • „When you were to the left during PRL, you were in opposition. It was of course, not a leftist regime. An now, it is, of course, not democracy. Which does not mean that my generation must all the time exclusively confess and repent. Although historians are eager to comply, and there are many who who present the period of PRL only as a black whole. But every now and then from this black whole emerge Iwaszkiewicz’s, Wajdas, reconstructed cities, universities, huge social progress of the countryside, and so on, and so on.

21. Minister for Arts & Culture • And who laid the foundations for the present political reforms? As minister for arts & culture in 1986-1989, I was part of the last PRL government, the one which made room for Tadeusz Mazowiecki’s team. Mieczysław Rakowski may be unhappy today, that the fruit of his reforms were consumed by someone else. And what reforms were they? Does anybody remember? The law on entrepreneurship, exchangeability of the Polish currency, law on associations, i.e. full freedom of expression and convictions, as well as the liberty to travel, the passport in your drawer! As PM Mazowiecki said, it was literally enough to open the lid, to launch everything.

22. Minister for Arts & Culture • Rakowski, Czyrek, Barcikowski, Messner, and Jaruzelski hinted that they expect a suggestion, a politician will never speak openly... • Once, I told Jaruzelski, that the care of the Kościuszko’s Mound in Kraków should be entrusted to local scouts. He answered that the idea was good but that we should still wait a bit. • I was telling him about the alternative distribution of literature, that Poland needs it. • I fought for release of movies blocked by censorship. In case of „Wierna rzeka” by Kużmiński, I even succeeded.

23. Minister for Arts & Culture • I was the last minister for culture who had any money – 2 % of the budget! Now it is hardly a fraction of one percent. • Renovation of the church in Rudki in Ukraine, where Aleksander Fredro is buried • The beginning of work at the renovation of the Polish Cemetiery in Lviv • The completion of the new building o the Natonal Museum in Krakow. • I was worried about how they would receive me in Warsaw. I knew nobody. But when I came, I realized that there is an excellent budget expert at the ministry, a very good chief of staff who had contacts – why to change them? Today we would speak about the party key.

24. An 1986 appeal to Church • The Church is divided today and we have to realize that. There is no unity of views in the Church. I’d even say that there is a certain confusion. • If I were a man of the Church, I would call with a great voice, that the real danger to the Church was approaching from the West. • In the West the Church become only part of the tradition. An easy life style is prevailing, an untoward style, in the eyes of the Church. Christian traditions become as unimportant, as in the traditional pagan mythology.

25. An 1986 appeal to Church • In Poland it is still different, because of our poverty and material backwardness. But it will not last forever. The forthcoming wave of western videos may cause the Church to fail. • I’m not saying that to suggest that the Church should speak against video recorders, but make it aware what the video craze carries...

26. An 1986 Appeal to Church • It should be in the interest of the Church to honestly support, with all its authority, this state, who is the only representative of Poland. And that is also why the Church should assist the authorities struggling with horrific difficulties. • They are not always able to reach society with words of reason. It is crucial, because our society is frustrated, hurried and confused.

27. An 1986 Appeal to Church • Let’s say this honestly. Nowhere in the world – and all of those who ever were abroad are aware of this – the Church does not fare better than in Poland. In the material sense, as well as in the sense of religious freedom.

28. An 1986 Appeal to Church • When I speak to certain clergymen, they let me understand that they know that the state would need their support. But thay cannot afford it because part of the society, especially the youth which demonstrate in churches its rebellion against what is hapenning in the country, would leave the Church. But this fear of the clergy is also largely illusory.

29. An 1986 Appeal to Church • I may deny everything I said. This would be consistent with the mentality of ancient man. Gods also may be wrong. For us, the ancients there is no absolute truth. The heart of the matter is the socratic attitude. God forbid that I should compare myself to Socrates. Man should seek truth with his own mind. I know, that I know nothing – this is our motto. It is not that we give up, it is tru humility. Man received no revelation. Nothing fell from the sky. I have only my scant reason which allows me to go towards truth, a step at a time. I risk slipping into an abyss, but I must continue forward.

30. Member of Parliament • MPs of the 1st Parliament 1991-1993 and 2nd Parliament 1993 - 1997 • Aleksander Krawczuk • Date and place of birth: 1922-06-07 KrakówKnowledge of foreign languages: niemiecki, włoski, francuski, angielski • Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej • Parliamentary Committees(1 Parliament): • Culture & Mass Media • Justice • Subcommittees: • separation and adoptiion • Books and publications • 2nd Parliament • Constitutional Responsibility • Culture & Mass Media • Subcommittees: • Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich • Project of Law on Libraries

31. Parliamentary activity • Aleksander Krawczuk spoke 8 times during the 1st Parliament (1992-1993) – the same number of times as Donald Tusk, the current PM In comparison: • Juliusz Braun spoke 118, • B. Komorowski, the current President spoke 4 times, • J. Korwin-Mikke, a presidential candidate 358, • J. Szmajdzinski, the presidential candidate of the left (who perished at Smolensk) 50,

32. Topics • He spoke on the question of obudsman • Restitution of Independence • Constitution • Intellectual Property

33. Member of 2nd Parliament • Aleksander Krawczuk spoke 13 times during this 2nd Parliament (1994-1997) - B. Komorowski 53, Jerzy Wiatr 53, Henryk Wujec 115

34. Topics • The Concordate with the Vatican • The Report of the Ombudsman • The Report of the National Council for Radio & TV • New directions in the Foreign Policy • Higher Education Policy