„Trudne” życiorysy lubelskich uczonych – przyczynek do biografii Aleksandra Kierka
The “difficult” biographies of scientists from Lublin. The starting point for the biography of Aleksander Kierek

Summary/Abstract: Economic historian Aleksander Kierek was a member of the group of important figures in the Lublin world of science in mid-20th century. Memories of this persona might be slightly faded today, probably due to the lapse of time (he died in 1976). Kierek was a soldier of the Polish Peasants’ Battalions (Bataliony Chłopskie), and unfortunately he fell victim to the times into which he was born. This article is an attempt to recall his biography, and – first and foremost – to complete it with facts that have remained unknown until recently. When Kierek was held at a Stalinist prison, he decided to take up cooperation with the security authorities. The author strives to elucidate and comprehend the reasons for this decision and present the long-term activity that Kierek pursued to the benefit of UB/SB. Moreover, the author tries to decipher the relations between Kierek and the UB/SB, i.e. attempts toanswer the question whether Kierek can be perceived solely as a victim of the system, or rather as a person who engaged in a “symbiotic relationship”. Nevertheless, when reading the reports of informer “Jan Mewa” – the pseudonym adopted by Kierek – one also has to bear in mind that such documents are specific. The world depicted in them is usually schematic, black and white, in many instances exaggerated, sometimes contrived.This work is not an attempt to “defile a sanctity”, i.e. disclose unfavourable facts from Kierek’s past or intrude on his privacy. It is rather about filling in the “blank spots” in the image of Lublin’s intelligentsia that was forced to develop various adaptation mechanisms after 1944

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