It is with great sadness that we have learned this morning of the passing of Henryk Wujec, the Chair of the Forum’s Board of Trustees. He was a communist-era oppositionist, activist, and politician. In the times of the Polish People’s Republic, he was one of the founders of the Workers’ Defense Committee, a political prisoner, and a legend of the Solidarity movement. After the fall of communism, he was a Member of Parliament and an Advisor to the President of Poland. In all of this, he was always approachable, direct, and modest. We saw Henryk when he visited Forum’s Schools of Dialogue and activists, and met with foreign guests, always open and cheerful, he made people comfortable in his presence. They knew they were meeting a real icon, but he would joke and share with them his life stories and experiences. He listened, asked questions, and wanted to understand. He was always curious about people and places: his host, the school principal, the students, or the initially confused foreign visitors.
Each year, at the School of Dialogue Gala we anticipated his annual speech. We knew it was going to be acute, witty, and profound. The most memorable in recent years were his words at the Gala happening just a month after the biggest crisis in Polish/Jewish relations caused by the proposed amendment to the Polish Anti-Defamation Law, the so-called Holocaust Law. In reference to a prewar article by Stanisław Stomma, entitled “Upstream on the Niagara,” he addressed the audience with these words: “You, too, are paddling upstream on the Niagara, as you oppose this global, not just Polish, rising wave of nationalism. Back then the fight was not entirely successful. Let’s hope that these experiences and the fact that there are so many of you here, all equally courageous as Stanisław Stomma, will lead to a great success and that we’ll prevent humanity and Poland from things to be ashamed of.”
Poland lost a hero today, and Forum for Dialogue lost a dear Friend. Without Henryk Forum would not be what it is today. All of us – the Forum team, our friends and allies – will miss him very much. Ludko, Pawle, Kasiu, we’re thinking of you in this hour of need.
