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Jerzy Urban (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjɛʐɨ ˈurban]), also known as: Jerzy Kibic, Jan Rem, Klakson (born August 3, 1933 in Łódź) born Jerzy Urbach, is a Jewish-Polish journalist, commentator, writer and politician, editor-in-chief of the weekly Nie and owner of the company which owns it, Urma.

Biography[link]

Before 1989[link]

Urban was born in Jewish family in Łódź. His father was an activist of PPS and Bund. In 1939, during the issuing of his Soviet ID, an official confused the letters in his name (ch – х in Russian, was transcribed as н – corresponding to the Latin n). Nevertheless his parents decided not change it, a move which possibly saved their lives when Germany seized Lviv in 1941.

Jerzy Urban reportedly attended 17 different primary and high schools. He completed his senior high school exams as an external student. He studied in two faculties of the University of Warsaw and was expelled from both. He started his journalistic career with the journal Nowa Wieś.

During 1955-1957, he was a journalist – reporter and commentator – for the weekly Po prostu, which started during the rehabilitation of Władysław Gomułka, who became communist party leader. However, the newspaper was closed by the personal initiative of Gomułka, which symbolised the end of the thaw which started under Gomułka. The newspaper was closed mainly because of the biting, uncompromising opinion articles by Urban. Urban himself was officially banned from publishing under his own name. From 1961, he worked for the weekly Polityka, continuing his opinion pieces under pseudonyms. He was eventually totally forbidden from carrying out any journalistic activities. This ban continued until Gomułka lost power as party leader.

From August 1981 to April 1989, Jerzy Urban was a government spokesperson. He created the tradition of weekly press conferences, transmitted by the Polish television and attended by both Polish and foreign journalists.

In September 1984, during the month before the murder of the priest Jerzy Popiełuszko, he wrote a column "Seanse nienawiści" (hate session), criticising the priest as an anti-communist Savonarola.^[1]

In 1986 Urban masterminded a media story that the United States had betrayed the Solidarity movement. On June 3 he met with a Washington Post reporter and told him that a Polish spy for the CIA, who was later identified as Ryszard Kukliński, was aware of the plan to install martial law in 1981 and had passed that information on to Washington. "The US administration could have publicly revealed these plans to the world and warned Solidarity," Urban said, "Had it done so, the implementation of martial law would have been impossible."^[2] At a June 6 press conference Urban alleged that "Washington ... did not warn its allies. It did not boast of its agent as it customarily does." According to Urban, the Reagan administration had "lied to its own people and to its friends in Poland," when it denied having prior knowledge of martial law.

After 1989[link]

During the semi-free elections in 1989, Urban candidated as an independent (he was never a member of the PZPR). He suffered a landslide defeat and since then gave up attempts to actively participate in politics.

In 1990 he established Nie, an anti-clerical tabloid-like newspaper, which often uses profanity. He has been the chief editor ever since and the newspaper itself has many readers.

See also[link]

• Zły

References[link]

External links[link]

• official page of the weekly Nie
• Criminal Defamation Laws in Poland Hamper Free Expression – IFEX

Tomasz Krzysztof Sommer (born 16 October 1972 in Puławy, Poland) is a Polish writer, journalist and publisher, Editor-in-chief of weekly magazine Najwyższy CZAS. Sommer graduated from the University of Warsaw Department of Journalism and Political Science, and received his Ph.D. in Sociology at the School of Social Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Philosophy and Sociology.^[1] He resides in Warsaw.^[2]

Tomasz Sommer begun his career writing for Warsaw daily Express Wieczorny. Later, he worked as journalist for Academic Weekly "Auditorium" and newspapers Nowy Świat, and Życie. In 1995 he became a contributing writer to weekly magazines Najwyższy CZAS, and Lux. In the following year, Sommer became the Editor-in-chief of Lux and subsequently, a deputy chief of Najwyższy CZAS (1996–1999 and 2004–2007); and its Editor-in-chief (in 1999-2003 and, from 2007 until now).^[3] He also writes for the Foreign Department of Super Express. In 2002 Sommer co-founded 2S Media group which owns the monthly GIGA Sport, published also in German since 2004 as the GIGA Sport - Deutschland. In 2007, along with business partners, Sommer took over the weekly magazine Najwyższy CZAS.^[3]

Political life[link]

Aside from his professional work as a writer, Sommer participates in political life, and is the vice-president of the Globalization Institute, a free-market think tank based in Gliwice, ranked as one of the most important policy institutes in Poland by Warsaw Difin publishers' in 2011, and awarded First Prize by newspaper Gazeta Finansowa in 2009.^[4] In 2009 Sommer ran in European Parliament elections, on the list of KW Libertas for Gdańsk constituency, and in 2010 became involved with political party Wolność i Praworządność (Freedom and Lawfulness) during elections for Warsaw city hall.^[2] Tomasz Sommer is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking book entitled Rozstrzelać Polaków. Ludobójstwo Polaków w Związku Sowieckim w latach 1937-1938. Dokumenty z Centrali (Execute the Poles: The Genocide of Poles in the Soviet Union (1937–1938). Documents from Headquarters"), devoted to a little known chapter of Soviet–Polish history with official documents made available only after the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc communist states.^[5][6] The documents, containing the NKVD Order № 00485 which led to execution of 111,091 ethnic Poles in the USSR, came from the Memorial (society)^[7] in Moscow. They were first published in Polish by Tomasz Sommer.^[8]

Book publications[link]

• Poza Unią jest życie (There's life outside the EU), Arwil, Warsaw 2004 (with Miłosz Marczuk)
• Czy można usprawiedliwić podatki? (Is it possible to justify taxes?), 3S Media, Warsaw 2006, ISBN 978-83-923894-6-0
• Korwin – wolnościowiec z misją (Korwin - libertarian with a mission), 3S Media, Warsaw 2009
• Michalkiewicz – nie bójcie się prawdy (Michalkiewicz - do not be afraid of the truth), 3S Media, Warsaw 2009, ISBN 978-83-7673-008-0
• Absurdy Unii Europejskiej (Absurdities of the European Union), Vesper, Poznań 2009
• Rozstrzelać Polaków. Ludobójstwo Polaków w Związku Sowieckim – dokumenty z centrali (Shoot the Poles. Genocide of Poles in the Soviet Union - the documents from the headquarters), 3S Media, Warsaw 2010 (development and translation), ISBN 978-83-7673-020-2
• Wolniewicz – zdanie własne (Wolniewicz – one's own opinion), 3S Media, Warsaw 2010

Footnotes[link]

Anna Mucha

Anna Maria Mucha, born on April 26, 1980 in Warsaw, Poland, is a Polish film and television actress and journalist. She is best known to American audiences as the character Danka Dresner (the little girl with the round glasses) in the movie Schindler's List. Winner of the Polish version of Dancing with the Stars. In 2010 she became a member of jury in the Polish version of So You Think You Can Dance (You can dance: Po prostu tańcz).

Taniec z Gwiazdami[link]

Anna Mucha won the 10th season of Polish Dancing with the Stars - Taniec z Gwiazdami.

Filmography[link]

• 1990: 'Korczak jako Sabinka'
• 1990: 'Femina'
• 1991: 'Przeklęta Ameryka' as Karolina Szymańska
• 1991-1993: 'Kuchnia Polska' as Anna Biesiekierska (hospitably)
• 1992: 'Sprawa kobiet' (Le Violeur Impuni) as Agnes
• 1993-1994: 'Bank nie z tej ziemi' as Hania (hospitably)
• 1993: 'Lista Schindlera' as Danka Dresner
• 1995: 'Matki, żony i kochanki' (1st series) as Klara, daughter of Dorota and Michał(Micheal)
• 1996: 'Panna Nikt' as Kasia(Katarzyna)Bogdańska
• 1997: 'Młode wilki 1/2' as Anna
• 1998: 'Matki, żony i kochanki' (second series)as Klara
• 1999: 'Na dobre i na złe' as Kinga Radwańska (hospitably)
• 2000: 'Życie jako śmiertelna choroba przenoszona drogą płciową' as secretary
• 2000: 'Chłopaki nie płaczą as prostitute of Lili
• 2001: 'Marszałek Piłsudski as Wanda Juszkiewiczówna, daughter Maria Piłsudska
• 2003-2006, 2007, 2008–2009, 2009: 'M jak miłość' as Magda Marszałek, best friend of Kinga Zduńska
• 2009: 'Teraz albo nigdy!' as Olga
• 2010: 'Usta Usta' as Anita
• 2011: 'Och, Karol 2' as Mira
• 2011: 'Prosto w serce' as Monika Milewska

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anna Mucha

• Anna Mucha Official Website
• Anna Mucha at the Internet Movie Database
• Schindler's List Official Website

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