Piotr Wierzbicki, the first editor-in-chief of Gazeta Polska, a distinguished writer and publicist, music critic, opposition activist in the Polish People’s Republic, and Knight of the Order of Polonia Restituta, has died. He was 90.
Piotr Wierzbicki – Biography
Piotr Wierzbicki was born on 5 November 1935 in Warsaw. In 1953, he graduated from the Tadeusz Reytan Secondary School in Warsaw, then studied Polish philology at the University of Warsaw. He initially worked as a teacher before fully dedicating himself to writing and journalism.
In 1957, he became involved with literary press, publishing in Współczesność, and later co-creating the editorial teams of the weeklies itd and Literatura. For opposing the repression of KOR activists in 1977, he was dismissed from his job. He continued writing, including for Tygodnik Powszechny, and in the underground publication Zapis he published the famous Treatise on Lice, one of the most important texts of opposition journalism.
When martial law was introduced, Wierzbicki was among those interned. He was held in succession at the internment centers in Białołęka, Jaworze, and Darłówek.
After the political changes of the late 1980s, he joined the editorial staff of Tygodnik Solidarność, where he worked from 1989 to 1991. It was there, on 10 November 1989, that he published the article “Family, Entourage, Court,” in which he described the networks and groups of influence operating within the leadership of Solidarity. The text became one of the first indications of the tensions and splits that would soon emerge in the post-Solidarity camp.
In 1993, Wierzbicki founded the monthly Gazeta Polska, which was soon transformed into a weekly. He led it as editor-in-chief for the next twelve years, until 2005.
A critic of Wałęsa
In 1990, he publicly supported Lech Wałęsa in the presidential election, but over time became one of his sharpest critics. While heading the daily Nowy Świat, he advocated for the policies of the Jan Olszewski government and consistently challenged both Wałęsa and the Democratic Union and Freedom Union parties.
He was a staunch supporter of lustration and decommunization, and in Gazeta Polska he published the so-called Macierewicz list.
Knight of the Order of Polonia Restituta
On 3 May 2007, President Lech Kaczyński awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. The decoration was granted “for outstanding services to the independence of the Republic of Poland, for activity in support of democratic transformation, and for achievements in professional and social work undertaken for the benefit of the country.”
The official award ceremony took place the same day during the 3 May Constitution Day celebrations.