The Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor announced on Monday that Dr. Joanna Kiliszek, a cultural manager and academic, will head the Berlin branch of the Pilecki Institute. She will replace Hanna Radziejowska, who was dismissed by the Institute’s director, Prof. Krzysztof Ruchniewicz.
Farewell to Radziejowska, Who Raised the Alarm About a Scandal
On August 14, Hanna Radziejowska lost her position. At the time, IP director Prof. Krzysztof Ruchniewicz stated that “Radziejowska’s recent actions have seriously undermined her employer’s trust.”
The decision was linked to recent events that brought the branch’s activities into the public spotlight.
A few days ago, we reported that:
“In recent weeks, Radziejowska had alerted the Ministry of Culture about a seminar project concerning the restitution of cultural property to, among others, Germany, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. In her view, this could have conflicted with the policies of the Polish state and the principle of protecting national heritage. Her letter to Minister of Culture Marta Cieńkowska and the Polish Embassy in Berlin was picked up by the media and triggered numerous political reactions.”
Successor from Germany’s Green Party
The new director will be responsible for strengthening the Institute’s research activities with support from Warsaw-based scholars, as well as for fostering Polish-German dialogue in the fields of history, culture, and memory.
“Dr. Joanna Kiliszek has repeatedly demonstrated throughout her career that she is an effective manager, capable of building cooperation between cultural and academic institutions. I am convinced that her experience and vision will give the Berlin branch of the Pilecki Institute new momentum in research and public engagement,”
wrote Prof. Ruchniewicz in a statement.
Shortly after the announcement of the new director’s name, a social media user reported on X that Dr. Kiliszek had run in the last local elections for a council seat in the German municipality of Schönwalde-Glien. In 2024, she won a council mandate in this Berlin suburb as a candidate of the Alliance 90/The Greens party.
“Fun fact: the new head of the Pilecki Institute in Berlin, Dr. Joanna Kiliszek, became a councilor of the suburban municipality of Schönwalde-Glien in 2024 on behalf of the German party Alliance 90/The Greens,” wrote Krzysztof Kloc.
The matter was commented on by Law and Justice MP Krzysztof Fogiel:
“Excuse me? So, instead of someone who defended Polish interests, Hanna Radziejowska, we are getting Ruchniewicz 2.0? Was there really no one else but a politician from a German party? If Dr. Kiliszek became a councilor in Germany, it means that her center of life is there, and that is where she places her priorities,”
the right-wing politician wrote on X.