Prof. Antony Polonsky received honorary doctorate from the Jagiellonian University
Photo: Fotolia
Professor Antony Polonsky, a famous expert in the field of Polish-Jewish relations, one of the co-creators of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, received an honorary doctorate from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
The ceremony, presided over by the Rector of the Jagiellonian University Prof. Wojciech Nowak, took place during a special session of the Senate of the oldest Polish university. In addition to the members of the university authorities and professors, the ceremony was attended by representatives of local authorities and the Jewish community in Kraków.
In the ceremonial laudation, director of the Institute of Jewish Studies of the Jagiellonian University Prof. Edward Dąbrowa emphasised that Prof. Polonsky was one of the leading animators of studies of the history of Polish Jews. It was thanks to Professor - reminded Dąbrowa - that a scientific conference was held in Oxford 30 years ago, which resulted in the establishment at the Jagiellonian University of the first research unit in Poland for the study of history of Polish Jews.
Prof. Dąbrowa also drew attention to the long-term relationship of the researcher with the Kraków university. Prof. Polonsky told the audience about his relationship with Poland - Warsaw, where he studied, and Kraków, the city with which he has numerous professional and social ties.
In an interview with PAP, the new doctor honoris causa of the Jagiellonian University also referred to his involvement, as the main consultant, in the recently opened permanent exhibition in the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. He noted that the authors were guided by two assumptions: to show that Jews had lived in Poland for 1000 years, and that the history of Polish Jews is an integral part of Polish history.
According to Prof. Polonsky, the very fact of the creation of a museum of the history of Polish Jews "presents an image of Poland in a very good light", especially "at a time when anti-Semitism is growing in other countries".
He believes that the Institute of Jewish Studies at the Jagiellonian University is now "the strongest centre of research on the history of Polish Jews in Poland".
Prof. Polonsky was also honoured by the Polish Historical Society, which awarded him the title of honorary member of the organization. He joined the group of eminent persons thus honoured, including Jacques Le Goff, Jerzy Giedroyc and Piotr Wandycz.
Prof. Antony Polonsky is one of the world’s most renowned historians of Jewish-Polish relations. He was born in 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa, in a Jewish family, whose ancestors emigrated to Africa in the nineteenth century from the area of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He created the Institute of Polish-Jewish Studies in Oxford in the UK.
He is the author of several books, including "The Jews in Poland and Russia", recently published in Poland. One of his greatest achievements is the journal "Polin", of which he is editor and publisher continuously since 1986.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
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