Stanisław Stomma

Stanisław Stomma (born 18 January [O.S. 5 January] 1908 – 21 July 2005) was a Polish lawyer, habilitated doctor of law, specialist in criminal law, academic teacher, publicist, Catholic activist, and politician. From 1957 to 1976, he was a member of Sejm of the Polish People's Republic (II, III, IV, V, and VI terms) representing Znak. From 1981 to 1984, he served as the chairman of the Primate's Social Council. From 1989 to 1991, he was a senator in the first term and the senior marshal of the Senate in the first term. He was awarded the Order of the White Eagle.

Early life He was the son of Ludwik (1859–1910) and Jadwiga née Jasieńska (1875–1944) and had three sisters: Helena (1901–1972), Zofia (1903–1981), and Aniela (1905–1989). He was born into a landowning family, in the family manor of Šacūnai (12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Kėdainiai and 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Šėta) in Lithuania, then under Imperial Russian rule.

Interwar He attended the Sigismund Augustus Gymnasium in Vilnius (1922–1928) and joined the Sodality of Our Lady and the Union of Polish Youth Przyszłość during his studies. Later, he studied law at Vilnius University. From 1928, he was active in the Vilnius branch of the Association of Catholic Academic Youth Odrodzenie and became its president in the academic year 1929/1930. In 1931, he made his debut as a journalist in the newspaper Słowo. He defended his master's thesis under the supervision of Stefan Glaser in 1932. After completing his studies, he worked as a non-remunerated judicial trainee, while also working at the rectorate of his alma mater as a student affairs officer. From 1933 to 1936, he was also the secretary of Marian Zdziechowski. At the end of 1936, he briefly joined the editorial board of the magazine Kurier Wileński, and in 1937, he directed the biweekly Pax. In 1937, he defended his doctoral thesis entitled Fault and Causal Connection in the Development of Criminal Law, written under the supervision of Bronisław Wróblewski. From 1937 to 1938, he collaborated with the newspaper Głos Narodu; for six months (until October 1937), he was a member of the editorial board of this…Citește mai mult

World War II In the summer of 1939, he returned to Poland. Following the outbreak of World War II, he was not mobilized due to his health category being "C". In September 1939, he replaced Józef Święcicki as the editor-in-chief of Kurier Wileński, but after the Soviet troops entered Poland, he left for Riga with his friend Antoni Gołubiew. After the Red Army entered Latvia, he returned to Lithuania, where he went into hiding in the countryside. He returned to Vilnius after the German army entered in June 1941. In 1941, he became a member of the editorial board of the underground magazine Dla Polski, published by Father Józef Wojtukiewicz, and also participated in underground education (his students included Henryk Gulbinowicz and Józefa Hennelowa).

1944 In July 1944, he fled from Vilnius due to the approaching Red Army. In August 1944, he found himself in Laski, where he joined the underground resistance, briefly serving in the ranks of the Stowbtsy-Naliboki Group. In October 1944, he moved to Kraków, where he worked for the Main Welfare Council. From December 1944 to May 1945, he was a seminarian at the Higher Theological Seminary of the Archdiocese of Kraków.

Under Stalinism (1946–1956) After leaving the seminary, he became a close collaborator and then a member of the editorial team of Tygodnik Powszechny; during this time, he advocated for seeking compromise with the communist authorities and taking into account political realities. He also briefly collaborated with the magazine Dziś i Jutro. In the autumn of 1946, together with Hanna Malewska, he became the editor-in-chief of the magazine Znak, but de facto from 1947, Hanna Malewska directed the magazine (Stanisław Stomma remained one of its main columnists). From 1947, he participated in meetings of the Kraków Club of Logophages. In September 1946, he was a signatory of a memorial by Catholic intellectuals to the Polish Episcopate, appealing for support for the establishment of a political party representing Polish Catholics. In November of the same year, he signed a declaration along with 37 Catholic writers who supported the initiative to create a Catholic political organization. He also participated in an attempt to create, with the consent of the authorities, a Catholic parliamentary representation in connection with the parliamentary elections in 1947 (the initiative, considered belated by the authorities, was ultimately rejected by the Polish Episcopate). In the autumn of 1946, he published…Citește mai mult

From 1956 to 1961 In October 1956, he was part of a group of lay Catholics who announced the establishment of the Nationwide Club of Progressive Catholic Intelligentsia, aimed at forming a "social representation" of Catholic communities. At that time, he, along with other leaders of this movement, was accepted both by Stefan Wyszyński and by Władysław Gomułka. In Przegląd Kulturalny (issue from October 25–31, 1956), he published an article titled Access to Contemporary Poland, in which he supported the October 1956 reforms aimed at eliminating Stalinist totalitarianism, pointing out that Poland's territorial integrity was guaranteed by the alliance with the USSR. In November 1956, he was re-employed at the Faculty of Law at the Jagiellonian University, although his actual academic work was hindered by his soon-to-be political activities (in the following years, he had only one doctoral student – Andrzej Spotowski, who defended his doctoral thesis in 1970). His application for the title of professor was never considered. In the following years, he advocated for the program of so-called neo-positivism, within which he sought a compromise with the authorities of the Polish People's Republic that would allow for the free operation of Catholic communities (including the operation of Catholic…Citește mai mult

From 1961 to 1976 In the parliamentary elections of 1961, he once again obtained a parliamentary seat in Kraków, receiving, according to official data, 302,000 votes (once again surpassing Józef Cyrankiewicz). He remained the chairman of Znak parliamentary caucus and was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Judiciary Committee. In his first parliamentary speech, he affirmed the achievements of the Polish People's Republic, accusing lower levels of administration of discriminating against believers; however, he emphasized hope for the growth of democracy in Poland and the socialist bloc. Despite the deteriorating relations between the state and the Catholic Church, he continued to seek possibilities for compromise, unsuccessfully urging Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński to do so. He advocated for a "socially constructive" attitude instead of "hostile neutrality" and stressed the importance of organic work, including the need to develop the spiritual and intellectual formation of youth. At least from 1961, his residence was bugged by officers of the Security Service. The authorities of the Polish People's Republic considered him a representative of the so-called right-wing faction within the Catholic Intelligentsia Club, with the criterion being the attitude towards the Polish United Workers' Party, indicating that this group viewed socialism as…Citește mai mult

From 1976 to 1989 In 1978, he retired from the Jagiellonian University. In the late 1970s, he maintained a distance from opposition activities but befriended Adam Michnik, whom he regarded as the wisest Polish politician of the time. In 1980, he published the book Is Fatalism of Hostility? Reflections on Polish-German Relations 1871–1933. During the events of August 1980, he joined a petition addressed to the communist authorities, signed by 64 scientists, writers, and journalists, calling for dialogue with striking workers. After the emergence of Solidarity, he maintained a friendly but cautious stance towards it, being critical of the excessive radicalism in many union actions. In the autumn of 1981, he was a signatory to two open letters addressed to the authorities of the Polish People's Republic, urging them to seek unity and dialogue. While highlighting the government's responsibility for the difficult economic situation, the letters also emphasized the necessity of respecting the alliance with the Soviet Union. However, these documents did not influence the decisions of the authorities. In December 1981, he became the chairman of the newly established Primate's Social Council. He was the main author of the council's fundamental document, announced in April 1982, titled Theses of…Citește mai mult

From 1989 until death in 2005 In the 1989 elections, he was elected to the Senate from the Płock Voivodeship. On 4 July 1989, as the senior marshal, he chaired the inaugural session of the first term of the Senate, at that time belonging to the Citizens' Parliamentary Club. In the upper house of parliament, he became a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. After the elections, he considered the compromise reached at the Round Table as binding. He cast an invalid vote during the vote on Wojciech Jaruzelski's candidacy for the presidency. He also supported the theses of Adam Michnik's article Your President, Our Prime Minister, published a few weeks earlier. In the autumn of 1989, he concluded the activities of the Dziekania Political Thought Club along with other members. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Right Forum, established in June 1990, and was a member of its program council. He was also a member of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Right Forum. He was among the supporters of Tadeusz Mazowiecki's candidacy for the presidency in 1990. In late 1990, he, along with other Democratic Right Forum politicians, joined the Democratic Union, where he belonged…Citește mai mult

Private life In 1947, he married Elwira Szykowska (1924–2006), whom he had met in Vilnius. In 1948, their daughter Magdalena was born, and in 1950, their son Ludwik was born.

Order of the White Eagle (1994) Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1969) Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1964) Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1988) Badge of the 1000th Anniversary of the Polish State (1966)

Włodzimierz Pietrzak Award (1950) Honorary Doctorate from the Jagiellonian University (2000)

Bibliography Friszke, Andrzej (1997). Oaza na Kopernika. Klub Inteligencji Katolickiej 1956–1989 (in Polish). Warsaw: Biblioteka "Więzi". ISBN 83-85124-90-X. Friszke, Andrzej (2002). Koło posłów "Znak" w Sejmie PRL 1957–1976 (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe. ISBN 83-7059-527-8. Ptaszyński, Radosław (2018). Stommizm. Biografia polityczna Stanisława Stommy (in Polish). Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy "Znak". ISBN 978-83-240-5360-5. "Stanisław Stomma" (PDF). senat.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-07-03. "Stanisław Stomma (1908–2005) – sylwetka i publikacje". kul.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-07-03.