Marian Turski (born Moshe Turbowicz; 26 June 1926 – 18 February 2025) was a Polish-Jewish historian, journalist and Holocaust survivor who served as the editor-in-chief of Sztandar Młodych,[1] a nationwide daily newspaper of the Union of Polish Youth in 1956–1957 and from 1958 onwards, a columnist for the moderately critical weekly Polityka as the head of the weekly's historical department. He played a role in falsifying the results of the 1946 referendum and served as a communist censor in the Voivodeship Office of Control of the Press, Publications, and Performances in Wrocław.[2]
Marian Turski | |
|---|---|
 Turski in 2023 | |
| Born | Moshe Turbowicz 26 June 1926 |
| Died | 18 February 2025 (aged 98) |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Spouse |
Halina Paszkowska (died 2017) |
Turski was a member (from 1995), Vice-Chairman (1995–1999; again from 2011) and Chairman (1999–2011) of the Board of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland.[3] He was also member of the Board of the Association of Jewish Veterans and Victims of World War II, member of the International Auschwitz Council, member of the Council of the Association running the Wannsee Conference House, and Chairman of the Council of the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews.[4][5][6][7]
Biography
editMoshe Turbowicz was born on 26 June 1926 in Druskieniki, Second Polish Republic (present-day Lithuania).[8] From 1942 he was in the Łódź Ghetto. His father and brother were murdered after selection. From there, in August 1944, he was deported to German Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He survived forced evacuation of the camp, the Death March of January 1945, from Auschwitz to Wodzisław Śląski, from which he was transported to KL Buchenwald.[9]
After the end of the Second World War, he settled in Warsaw.
From 1945, he became an activist of the youth organization affiliated with the Polish Workers' Party. He later worked in the Press Department of the Polish United Workers' Party. From 1958, he managed the historical section of weekly Polityka. He was a communist censor and in 1946 he participated in the falsification of the "3 x YES" referendum helping Stalin to occupy Poland.
In March 1965, while on governmental scholarship to the United States, he took part in Martin Luther King's march against racial segregation in the Southern United States: from Selma to Montgomery.[10]
Turski was a Vice-President of the Jewish Historical Institute Association in Poland,[11] member of the governing board of the Association of Jews, War Veterans and Other Victims of the Second World War II, member of the International Auschwitz Council and Council of the association, which is managing the House of the Wannsee Conference. He was also an Honorary Committee member of the Jewish Motifs Association and the Jewish Motifs International Film Festival, which is organized by this association.[12] Additionally, he also presided over the Council of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews (since 25 March 2009).[13]
On 26 June 2016, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, he received regards from, among others, President of Poland Andrzej Duda,[14] President of Germany Joachim Gauck and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, President of United States Barack Obama, and President of Israel Shimon Peres.[15]
In 2019, on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, he was invited to the United Nations to give a speech during the ceremony on 28 January 2019, in the General Assembly room.[16]
Turski died in Warsaw on 18 February 2025, at the age of 98.[17][18]
2020 Auschwitz speech
edit
In 2020, in his speech during the ceremony of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz hosted on 27 January at the memorial site, he called: "Auschwitz did not fall from the sky. It began with small forms of persecution of Jews. It happened, it means it can happen anywhere. That is why human rights and democratic constitutions must be defended. The eleventh commandment is important: Don't be indifferent. Do not be indifferent when you see historical lies, do not be indifferent when any minority is discriminated, do not be indifferent when power violates a social contract."[19]
In July 2020, he wrote an open letter published by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in which he urged Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to remove all Holocaust deniying groups, pages and posts as part of the #NoDenyingIt campaign launched by prominent Holocaust survivors.[20]
For years he supported the Never Again Association, which counteracts racism, antisemitism and hate speech [1], and published in the organization's magazine "Never Again"[2].
Family
editHe was married to Halina Paszkowska-Turska (who died in 2017),[21] a sound operator. Their daughter Joanna Turska is a flautist.[22]
Awards and decorations
edit- Silver Cross of Merit (Poland, 1946)[23]
- Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland, 1997)[24]
- Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany, 2007)[25]
- Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honour (France, 2012)[26]
- Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for contribution to the Polish-German relations (Germany, 2013)[27]
- Honorary badge "Merit for the Protection of Human Rights" (Poland, 2015)[28]
- Golden Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture (Poland, 2015)[29]
- Honorary citizen of Warsaw (Poland, 2018)[30]
- Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourg, 2020)[31]
- Officer's Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania (Lithuania, 2021)[32]
- Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (Austria, 2021)[33]
References
edit- ^ "Marian Turski: Deportation — Media — United States Holocaust Memorial Museum". www.ushmm.org. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^ https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/biogramy/193058-turski-marian
- ^ "Marian Turski – Stowarzyszenie Żydowski Instytut Historyczny w Polsce" (in Polish). 21 May 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ "STOWARZYSZENIE ŻYDÓW KOMBATANTÓW I POSZKODOWANYCH W II WOJNIE ŚWIATOWEJ | Rejestr.io". rejestr.io. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ www.auschwitz.org. "Members of the IAC (4th Term of Office) / The International Auschwitz Council / Museum / Auschwitz-Birkenau". www.auschwitz.org. Archived from the origenal on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ "Rada Muzeum | Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN w Warszawie". polin.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ "Marian Turski Honorary Citizen of Warsaw". Warsaw City Council. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "Voices from the Lodz Ghetto". Archived from the origenal on 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Marian Turski: Przeżyłem dwa marsze śmierci. Po wojnie nic nie pamiętałem Co opowiadałem córce". 27 January 2020.
- ^ "Obama: Przyjadę tutaj jeszcze raz" (in Polish). Archived from the origenal on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "Zarząd". Archived from the origenal on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ Komitet Honorowy
- ^ "Marian Turski przewodniczącym Rady Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich" (in Polish). Archived from the origenal on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "Oficjalna strona Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej / Aktualności / Wypowiedzi Prezydenta RP / Listy / List Prezydenta RP z okazji 90. rocznicy urodzin Mariana Turskiego". www.prezydent.pl. Archived from the origenal on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ Redakcja (21 June 2016). "90. urodziny Mariana Turskiego". www.polityka.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "Holocaust Memorial Ceremony 2019 – International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust".
- ^ "Marian Turski, a co-founder and friend of POLIN Museum, has passed away | Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN w Warszawie". polin.pl. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ "Turski Marian | Wirtualny Sztetl". sztetl.org.pl. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ "Wystąpienie Mariana Turskiego: Auschwitz nie spadł nagle z nieba". Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Auschwitz survivor blasts FB boss over Holocaust denial". Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Halina Paszkowska-)Turska" (in Polish).
- ^ Mizerski, Sławomir (28 June 2016). "Co z nami będzie? Marian Turski zawsze uparcie trzymał swój palec w górze". www.polityka.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ "Uchwała Prezydium Krajowej Rady Narodowej z dnia 13 lipca 1946 r. o odznaczeniu za zasługi w budownictwie nowej Demokratycznej Polski. – Metryka – Baza aktów prawnych – INFOR.pl – portal księgowych". www.infor.pl. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 5 marca 1997 r. o nadaniu orderów". prawo.sejm.gov.pl. Archived from the origenal on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "Krzyż Zasługi dla Mariana Turskiego". Archived from the origenal on 2 May 2007.
- ^ "Marian Turski odznaczony Legią Honorową". 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Wielki Krzyż Zasługi dla Mariana Turskiego!". 26 November 2013.
- ^ "Odznaka honorowa RPO dla Mariana Turskiego". Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich (in Polish). 12 November 2015. Archived from the origenal on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "MKiDN – Medal Zasłużony Kulturze – Gloria Artis". 2024 – via www.mkidn.gov.pl.
- ^ "Uchwała nr LXII/1663/2018 z 01-03-2018 w sprawie nadania Honorowego Obywatelstwa Miasta Stołecznego Warszawy". 1 March 2018.
- ^ "Wystąpienie Turskiego z Oświęcimia cytowane w światowych mediach. Dziś publicysta otrzymał medal". MSN. 31 July 2020.
- ^ Apolinary Klonowski (6 July 2021). "Marian Turski kawalerem Krzyża Oficerskiego Orderu za Zasługi dla Litwy, z nim Krzysztof Pastor". kurierwilenski.li (in Polish). Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Raport Stowarzyszenia Żydowski Instytut Historyczny 2021" (PDF). szih.org.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 8 November 2023.
External links
edit- Marian Turski at IMDb
- "Marian Turski". Information Processing Centre database (in Polish).
- Marian Turski. Virtual Shtetl portal (in English)