WILDSTEIN Bronisław

Born on 11 June 1952 in Olsztyn; son of the military doctor Szymon Wildstein and the nurse Genowefa, née Szydlik. In 1957, he fell ill with tuberculosis, thus he and his parents moved to Przemyśl, where climatic conditions were more favourable. When his father was dismissed from the army in 1967 owing to his Jewish origins, Wildstein's family moved to Krakow. He attended the Nicolaus Copernicus Grammar School No. XIV before being expelled for what was deemed inappropriate behaviour, an experience that repeated itself at the Zofia Nałkowska Grammar School No. VII. He was subsequently a pupil at the Zygmunt Wróblewski Grammar School No. IX, where he completed his advanced secondary education. During his school years, he was a keen wrestler and was junior regional champion. Between 1971 and 1980, he studied (with breaks) Polish philology at the Jagiellonian University (UJ) in Krakow. During this period, he was also a physical labourer (washing and unloading wagons). He was active in the anti-communist opposition. In 1973, he was involved in protests against the formation of a branch of the Socialist Union of Polish Students at UJ. In 1975/76, together with his friends Stanisław Pyjas and Lesław Maleszka, he organized an informal oppositional group called the Anarchists. He was dismissed from his studies in October 1976 before being reinstated following fellow students' protests. He became involved during this period with the group associated with the Beczka (Barrel) Academic Pastoral Service. He collaborated with the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR; which later became the KOR Committee for Social Self-Defence). He was involved in initiatives to assist the victims of the events of June 1976, while in September 1977 he signed the Declaration of the Democratic Movement issued by KOR. He was regularly subject to repression by the Security Service (SB). He worked for a time at the Grammar School for Fine Arts in Krakow, before being dismissed in 1976. Following the tragic death of Stanisław Pyjas on 7 May 1977, Wildstein co-organized what was known as the black student festival (czarne juwenalia) and subsequently spent many years trying to establish the perpetrators of the crime. He was, among other things, co-founder and then from 1977 spokesperson of the Solidarity Student Committee (SKS). Later, he would write Wspomnienie o przyjacielu (Memories of a Friend), which appeared in the book Czy ktoś przebije ten mur? Sprawa Stanisława Pyjasa (Will Someone Break Through this Wall? The Case of Stanisław Pyjas; Krakow, 2001). He was involved in the independent publishing movement. In 1977, he co-founded the underground student periodical "Indeks", where he also served on the editorial board. He made his debut as a journalist in the November 1977 issue of the publication with the report KRAM, czyli stragan (KRAM, or a Stall; no. 2). His articles, column pieces and interviews appeared in periodicals published outside the reach of state censorship: the Krakow-based "Sygnał" (1978-79, also as: B.W., as well as column pieces published under the name Bronisław Dzikikamień; he became co-editor there in 1978), "Miesięcznik Małopolski" (1983), "Veto" (1983) and the Krakow-based periodical "Bez Dekretu" (1989; including pieces as: Szymon Dawidowicz). He was one of the participants of the hunger strike conducted in St Christopher's Church in Podkowa Leśna in May 1980 as a protest against the jailing of opposition activists, including Mirosław Chojecki. In August 1980, he was captured and arrested in Gdynia in connection with the events at the Gdansk Shipyards. He was released in September that year as a result of the Gdansk Agreement between the opposition and communist authorities. He was involved in the founding of the Independent Self-Government Trade Union Solidarity (NSZZ Solidarność), where his roles included organizing an advice centre for the founders of the Trade Union. He was part of the Initiative Group comprising primarily of members of the Solidarity Student Committee and responsible for establishing the Founding Committee of the Independent Students' Association (NZS) at UJ. He was also co-founder of its bulletin "Biuletyn NZS", editing the earliest issues. In November 1980, fearing arrest following a chance disagreement with the police, he used his recently issued passport to leave with his wife Iwona Galińska for Vienna and then Stockholm, Cologne and Bonn, before travelling through the Netherlands to France and Italy, where he spent several months. He then returned to Paris. Throughout this time, he worked as a physical labourer. At the same time, he was involved in meetings with various groups, including Polish émigrés, whom he informed of the state of affairs in Poland. He had intended to return to Poland in late 1981, but found himself in the Netherlands as martial law was imposed in December that year. In February 1982, he returned to Paris with the aim of creating a periodical and Solidarity group among Polish émigrés. He earned a living in the city through odd jobs, including working as a night watchman. He was a political and social activist, promoting the Polish cause and disseminating information about Solidarity, which meant that he took regular trips. In May 1982, he was appointed editor of the Paris-based Solidarity-related periodical "Kontakt. Miesięcznik redagowany przez członków i współpracowników NSZZ Solidarność", which he co-founded with M. Chojecki (from 1987 the publication's subtitle changed to: "Miesięcznik redagowany przez członków i sympatyków Solidarności"). Here Wildstein published articles (including some as Barbara Dawidowicz) and conducted interviews, before ending his collaboration with the journal in 1987. He published in the Paris-based periodical "Kultura" (1982) and the London-based "Puls" (1983). He was Paris correspondent of Radio Free Europe from 1987 to 1990. During this period he joined the Free Masons, initially associating himself with the Polish Lodge Copernicus (which was subordinate to the Grande Loge de France in Paris. In 1988, he was granted the status of master. In 1990, he joined the independent Lodge Copernicus (which in 1991 became the Grand National Lodge of Poland) in Warsaw. Between 1991 and 1993, he was head of the Superstition Overcome (Przesąd Zwyciężony) lodge in Krakow, while from 1991 he was made grand officer of the Grand National Lodge of Poland that had been revived that year. In the 1990s, he withdrew from activities in the Masonic order. In 1989, he published his first novel, Jak woda (Like Water), outside the reach of state censorship and the following year, it received an award from the Geneva-based Kościelski Foundation. In early 1990, he returned to Poland and was director of Polish Radio in Krakow until 1993. He moved to Warsaw in 1994, where he worked as secretary of the editorial office of the daily "Życie Warszawy" until 1996 and then served as deputy editor-in-chief of the periodical "Życie" until 1997. His articles, column pieces, reviews and excerpts of novels also appeared in "Zeszyty Literackie" (1989 and 2003), "Polityka Polska" (1990), "Tygodnik Powszechny" (1990-2000 and 2012), "Znak" (1991, 1995, and 2002-04), the monthly "Architektura-murator" (around 1995), the daily "Gazeta Wyborcza" (1997), and the weekly "Wprost" (1997-2000). For a period, he wrote internal reviews for the publishing house "Świat Książki". In 1997, he started writing for the daily "Rzeczpospolita" and its supplement "Plus Minus", becoming a regular contributor in 2000. He also edited the daily's the opinion section (Opinie) until 2004. In 2001, he and his former SKS colleagues revealed the identity of the Security Service secret collaborator known as "Ketman". It turned out to be his former friend L. Maleszka. Wildstein remained active as a writer. In 2004, he joined the Polish Writers' Association (SPP). As an adherent of general lustration (revealing the identity of people who collaborated with the communist authorities and subsequently limiting their role in public life), in January 2005, he smuggled a list of names relating to the security services' spying on individuals out of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) and handed it over to journalists. The document became known as the Wildstein List. This led to significant debate and had repercussions for various groups, including politicians. He was dismissed from "Rzeczpospolita" as a result on 31 January 2005. He then worked as a journalist with the weekly "Wprost" (2005/06) and presented the TV show Bez autocenzury (Without Self-Censorship) on the private station Telewizja Puls (2005). In April 2005, he was made an honorary member of the KoLiber Conservative-Liberal Association. In 2005, he received the prize of the Pruszyński Foundation Endowment (Wieczysta Fundacja Pruszyńskich). He joined the Free Speech Association (Stowarzyszenie Wolnego Słowa), which involved figures from the anti-communist opposition. From May 2006 to February 2007, he was chair of the board of Polish Television (TVP). After being removed from this post, he returned to "Rzeczpospolita" as a political commentator. From 2008, he presented shows on TVP, first Cienie PRL-u (Shadows of Communist Poland) then from September 2008 to October 2010 Bronisław Wildstein przedstawia (Bronisław Wildstein Presents). When the show ended, he remained active as a journalist with the online platform tv.rp.pl. In 2009, he received the D. Fikus Prize in the category of "media work" for 2008. His journalism focused primarily on discussing and commenting on current political and social affairs, as well as cultural life. He published numerous articles, essays, reviews, excerpts of novels and interviews in periodicals and newspapers including "Przegląd Polityczny" (1999-2000 and 2003), "Gazeta Polska" (2000, 2002-03, 2005, and 2009) and "Nowe Państwo" (2002-03), as well as in their successor publication, the monthly "Niezależna Gazeta Polska Nowe Państwo" (2010 and 2013). He also published in "Arcana" (2003, 2010-11) and the weeklies "Uważam Rze" (2011-12; regular contributor), "wSieci" (regular contributor from 2012, and with the related online portal wPolityce.pl), and "Do Rzeczy" (regular contributor from 2013 to March 2015). In late 2012, he was appointed editor-in-chief of the new television station Telewizja Republika, of which he was co-founder and deputy chair, later becoming president. He also presented Bronisław Wildstein przedstawia there, reviving his show from TVP. In September 2014, he resigned from the posts of president and editor-in-chief at Telewizja Republika, likewise giving up his shares in the company and his show there. In October 2015, he joined the National Development Council, which was established by the Polish president Andrzej Duda, who nominated Wildstein for membership of the College of the Institute of National Remembrance the following year. From September 2016 to June 2017, he presented the current affairs show "Południk Wildsteina" (Wildstein's Meridian) on TVP 2, before becoming co-presenter of "O co chodzi" (What's Going On) on the news channel TVP Info. In recognition of his contributions to the cultural sphere, he received the Pan Cogito (Mr Cogito) Award of the Lech Kaczyński Academic Civic Club in January 2018. In November that year, prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki appointed him a member of the Polish team involved in legal and historical dialogue with Israel. This initiative emerged following the passing of new legislation relating to the Institute of National Remembrance before being disbanded as a result of new legislation passed on 27 June 2018. That month, Wildstein was appointed to the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle. He is recipient of awards including the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2006), the Constant Word Medal (2011) – awarded to those who in the 1980s struggled for freedom of speech in Poland, the Polish Association of Journalists Award for 2015, the Order of the White Eagle (2016), the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2016), the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity (2017) and the Prize of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for literature (2018). He married the psychologist Iwona Galińska in 1978; they have two sons: the reporter and journalist David (b. 1983) and Szymon (b. 1988). He moved to the village of Knurowiec near Wyszków in 2012.