The Polish embassy in Jakarta has published a comic book about geologist Józef Zwierzycki. In the first half of the 20th century, the researcher worked in today’s Indonesia and helped discover the country’s most valuable natural resources.
In 1914, a 26-year-old doctor of geology and mining engineer, Józef Zwierzycki, applied for a job in the Dutch Geological Service. Previously, he had researched in Africa, and then he dreamt of going to one of the European colonies in Asia. He got a job as an explorer in the Dutch East Indies.
This is how the story of a geologist and lecturer, who in the future will help in the discovery of Indonesia’s natural resources, and post-war Poland will co-create the University of Wrocław and contribute to the creation of the Lower Silesian Copper District, begins.
Zwierzycki, who comes from Greater Poland (Wielkopolska), lived and worked on the islands of the Malay Archipelago for almost a quarter of a century.
Piotr Firlus, from 2019 head of the political and economic department of the embassy in Jakarta, read about Zwierzycki, a well-known figure in the geological community. He said in an interview with PAP (Polish Press Agency) that the figure of this researcher and scientist was a treasure for diplomats. To popularize the knowledge about the professor, Firlus came up with the idea to commemorate him in a comic book in the year of the 60th anniversary of the death of the Polish geologist.
The comic was published this month in 500 copies, in Polish and Indonesian.