The Sejm, the lower house, and Senate, the upper house, have passed resolutions to commemorate individuals and anniversaries that have shaped Poland’s identity over the centuries.
These declarations emphasize the country’s effort to celebrate its rich cultural and historical heritage while fostering public reflection on its national identity and contributions to European history.
The Senate has declared 2025 as the Year of Władysław Reymont, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, Wojciech Jerzy Has, and Father Józef Tischner.
In 2025, Poland will commemorate the centenary of the death of Władysław Reymont, the Nobel Prize-winning author of The Peasants.
This timeless novel has been translated into 29 languages and adapted into films and theatrical productions, demonstrating its universal appeal.
The Swedish Academy awarded Reymont the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1924 for capturing the "soul of the Polish countryside," a year before his untimely passing.
Meanwhile, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, one of Poland’s most celebrated poets, will be honored on the 80th anniversary of her death in 1945.
Her legacy includes around 500 poems, numerous plays and radio dramas.
As the Senate explained, “her dramas remain a source of inspiration for new generations of theater directors,” and her poems have been performed as songs by popular Polish musicians, such as Ewa Demarczyk, Marek Grechuta and Grzegorz Turnau.
Another figure recognized by the Senate is Wojciech Jerzy Has, one of Poland’s most significant filmmakers, on the centenary of his birth.
Known for visually rich and deeply symbolic works such as Jan Potocki's The Saragossa Manuscript and The Hourglass Sanatorium (also known as The Sandglass), Has was praised for his ability to draw from “the canon of European cultural heritage” while creating films that engaged with Poland’s historical and cultural narratives.
Fr. Józef Tischner, a distinguished philosopher and theologian, was recognized for his ability to “build bridges between different communities and intellectual currents” and for his philosophy of solidarity, which continues to inspire contemporary debates.
The declaration coincides with the 25th anniversary of his death.
The Sejm, the lower house of Poland's bicameral legislature, has also passed resolutions recognizing other key figures and anniversaries.
Stefan Żeromski, a novelist and social activist, will be commemorated on the centenary of his death.
Żeromski was described as a writer who believed in the “special mission of literature” to shape the nation’s fate and inspire patriotism.
Antoni Słonimski, a poet and public intellectual, will be remembered on the 130th anniversary of his birth.
Known for his opposition to political repression and his defense of free speech, Słonimski famously co-authored the “Letter of 34” in 1964, protesting censorship in communist Poland. The Sejm described him as “one of the greatest moral authorities” of his time.
The resolutions also honor Olga Boznańska, a leading modernist painter, on the 160th anniversary of her birth and the 85th anniversary of her death.
The Sejm noted that her paintings belong to “the canon of Polish art history” and are showcased in Poland’s most prestigious museums.
General Kazimierz Sosnkowski, one of the closest associates of Józef Piłsudski and a leader in Poland’s fight for independence, will be honored on the 140th anniversary of his birth.
Sosnkowski was praised as a “tireless advocate for Poland’s sovereignty on the international stage,” during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921 and World War II.
Franciszek Duszeńko, a sculptor, former resistance fighter and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, on Poland's Baltic coast, will be commemorated on the centenary of his birth.
A survivor of Nazi concentration camps, Duszeńko created monumental works such as the Treblinka Memorial and the Westerplatte Monument, reflecting Poland’s wartime sacrifices.
The Sejm also declared 2025 as the millennium of the coronations of Bolesław the Brave and Mieszko II Lambert, the first Polish kings. Their reigns, beginning in 1025, were pivotal in establishing Poland’s statehood and European identity.
Additionally, the parliament designated 2025 as "the Year of Polish Heroes from Katyn, Kharkiv, Mednoye, Bykivnya..." to honor the victims of Soviet atrocities in World War II.
As the resolution states, “the truth about these crimes became the foundation of Poland’s drive for freedom and remains central to the identity of a sovereign Poland.”
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP