Prominent Polish-Jewish Intellectual Named First Center Fellow
First Senior Fellow Professor Kostek Gebert (Warsaw, Poland)
Last year, the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies introduced a new program that brings an established scholar and intellectual in JHPS to campus. The recipient will be in residence at the Center for one semester, conduct research, teach a class, and participate in all programs. After an international search, the committee is proud to announce that Prof. Kostek Gebert (Warsaw, Poland) has accepted our offer. Prof. Gebert is nothing short of a legend. He combines, as one of his recommenders from Italy described, the “role of a public intellectual of the highest class” with numerous scholarly and non-scholarly undertakings, including that of one of the leading journalists in Poland and Europe.
Gebert has taught psychology at the Medical Academy, Warsaw, under Communist rule, but soon came into conflict with the regime. He co-founded the famed (unofficial) Jewish Flying University in the 1970s. In 1989, he joined the newly-founded Gazeta Wyborcza, now a leading Polish daily, and continues to contribute to many international media outlets, including the BBC. Gebert established the Midrasz magazine, which remains Poland’s most influential Jewish publication. He is the author of sixteen books and is one of the most prominent voices in the (re)building of the Jewish community in Poland. Despite the paused visa program, we hope to be able to welcome him on campus soon!
Gebert has taught psychology at the Medical Academy, Warsaw, under Communist rule, but soon came into conflict with the regime. He co-founded the famed (unofficial) Jewish Flying University in the 1970s. In 1989, he joined the newly-founded Gazeta Wyborcza, now a leading Polish daily, and continues to contribute to many international media outlets, including the BBC. Gebert established the Midrasz magazine, which remains Poland’s most influential Jewish publication. He is the author of sixteen books and is one of the most prominent voices in the (re)building of the Jewish community in Poland. Despite the paused visa program, we hope to be able to welcome him on campus soon!