An Attempt ahead of Its Time: Adam Vetulani’s Efforts towards the Reactivation of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1956–1958
An Attempt ahead of Its Time: Adam Vetulani’s Efforts towards the Reactivation of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1956–1958

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the activities of Adam Vetulani (1901–1976), historian of law and professor at the Jagiellonian University, pursued in 1956–1958 for the sake of the reactivation of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU). The endeavours in question failed due to the disapproval of the Communist authorities and the presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) in Warsaw. The price paid by Vetulani for his activities entailed not only a years-long ban on travelling abroad (to the detriment of Polish science) and the fact that he did not become a full member of PAN, but also long-term surveillance by the security services of the People’s Republic of Poland. The article also shows why in the second half of the 1950s it was still impossible to achieve Vetulani’s goal. This was despite the promises contemporaries could expect from the changes associated with destalinization and the “Polish” October 1956.The article discusses the activities of Adam Vetulani (1901–1976), historian of law and professor at the Jagiellonian University, pursued in 1956–1958 for the sake of the reactivationof the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU). The endeavours in question failed due to the disapproval of the Communist authorities and the presidium of the PolishAcademy of Sciences (PAN) in Warsaw. The price paid by Vetulani for his activities entailed not only a years-long ban on travelling abroad (to the detriment of Polish science) and thefact that he did not become a full member of PAN, but also long-term surveillance by the security services of the People’s Republic of Poland. The article also shows why in the secondhalf of the 1950s it was still impossible to achieve Vetulani’s goal. This was despite the promises contemporaries could expect from the changes associated with destalinizationand the “Polish” October 1956.

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