Flying University
Encyclopedia
Flying University was the name of an underground
education
al enterprise that operated from 1885 to 1905 in Warsaw
, the historic Polish capital, then under the control of the Russian Empire
, and that was revived between 1977 and 1981 in the People's Republic of Poland
. Institutions claiming a spiritual kinship with the Flying University have existed in Poland, in one form or another, since 1905. The institution is now known as the Society for Educational Courses (Towarzystwo Kursów Naukowych).
The purpose of this and similar institutions was to provide Polish youth with an opportunity for an education within the framework of traditional Polish scholarship, when that collided with the ideology of the governing authorities. In the 19th century, such underground institutions were important in the national effort to resist Germanization and Russification
, respectively, under Prussian and Russian occupation
. In the communist People's Republic of Poland
, the Flying University provided educational opportunities outside government censorship
and control of education.
was partitioned
in the late-18th century, its lands were divided among its neighbors: Imperial Russia, Prussia
and Austro-Hungary. Warsaw
, the historic Polish capital, fell under Russian control. In the Russian and Prussian partitions the situation of Poles progressively worsened. Particularly in the Russian sector, the initially moderate ethnic policies were revised in the aftermath of the Polish revolts aimed at overthrowing Russian control, the November Uprising
(1830–1831) and the January Uprising
(1863–1864). Following the defeats of the uprising the autonomy of the Congress Poland
was initially limited (1831) and finally abolished (1865).
Among the increasing policies of Germanization and Russification
, it became increasingly difficult for Poles to obtain a Polish higher education
. Also, like in most parts of Europe at the time, the higher education opportunities for women that existed in the Russian Empire were severely limited , and teaching or research into some fields, like Polish language
, Catholicism
or Polish history, ranged from difficult to illegal.
As a response to such policies, and inspired by the Polish positivism movement, secret courses began in 1882 in private houses in Warsaw. At first it was a series the conspiratorial education courses for women, and among the first teachers were Józef Siemaszko, Stanisław Norblin, Piotr Chmielowski
and Władysław Smoleński. In 1885 transformed due to the efforts of one of the students, Jadwiga Szczawińska (also known as Zofia Szczawińska), the various pro-education groups were united into a single, informal, and illegal, secret university open for both sexes known as the Flying University (the courses, spread throughout the city, often changed locations to prevent the Russian authorities from learning the location and arresting the teachers and students). The fees (2–4 rubles
per month) were used as gratification for the teachers, and to create a secret library. The curriculum
of the Flying University covered 5–6 years with 8–11 hours per week and was divided into four main subjects: social sciences
, pedagogy
, philology
and history
, and natural sciences.
Among the teachers of the university were the best contemporary Polish academics, such as Władysław Smoleński and Tadeusz Korzon
(history), Bronisław Chlebowski, Ignacy Chrzanowski and Piotr Chmielowski (literature), Jan Władysław David and Adam Mahrburg
(philosophy), Ludwik Krzywicki
(sociology), Józef Nussbaum-Hilarowicz (biology).
During the twenty years of the existence of the university, it courses were attended by approximately 5,000 women and thousands of men. Among the most famous of its students was the future Nobel Prize
winner, Maria Skłodowska-Curie. Other well known students included Zofia Nałkowska and Janusz Korczak
.
), the Association was transformed into the private university
, Free Polish University (Wolna Wszechnica Polska). In 1927 it founded a branch in Łódź.
which forbade Poles to attend university-level courses, many teachers of the Flying University used their experience and took part in secret teaching during World War II
.
During the time of communist domination
in the People's Republic of Poland
, as the curriculum became a tool of politics
, and much of Polish history (like Polish-Soviet War
, Katyn Massacre
or Praga Massacre) was censored in an attempt to 'erase' the history of Polish-Russian conflicts, the tradition of the Flying University was revived once again, first by the Society of Free Polish University (Towarzystwo Wolnej Wszechnicy Polskiej) active in Warsaw from 1957, later from 1977 by the new Flying University and Society of Science Courses, supported by Polish dissident
s: Stefan Amsterdamski, Andrzej Celiński
, Bohdan Cywiński, Aldona Jawłowska, Jan Kielanowski, Andrzej Kijowski
, Tadeusz Mazowiecki
, Wojciech Ostrowski.
Many participants of this second flying university were abused by militsiya
, with common incidents like a prominent dissident, Jacek Kuroń
being thrown down the stairs or his apartment ransacked by militsiya-supported thugs; despite such harassment the Flying University was active until the imposition of martial law in Poland
in 1981, designed to destroy Solidarity movement, stifled its activities too. With Solidarity's peaceful victory in the Polish legislative elections, 1989, the goals of the Flying University — the freeing of Polish education from party's control and censorship — have been achieved.
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
al enterprise that operated from 1885 to 1905 in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, the historic Polish capital, then under the control of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, and that was revived between 1977 and 1981 in the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. Institutions claiming a spiritual kinship with the Flying University have existed in Poland, in one form or another, since 1905. The institution is now known as the Society for Educational Courses (Towarzystwo Kursów Naukowych).
The purpose of this and similar institutions was to provide Polish youth with an opportunity for an education within the framework of traditional Polish scholarship, when that collided with the ideology of the governing authorities. In the 19th century, such underground institutions were important in the national effort to resist Germanization and Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
, respectively, under Prussian and Russian occupation
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
. In the communist People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
, the Flying University provided educational opportunities outside government censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
and control of education.
Partitions
After the Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
was partitioned
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
in the late-18th century, its lands were divided among its neighbors: Imperial Russia, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and Austro-Hungary. Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, the historic Polish capital, fell under Russian control. In the Russian and Prussian partitions the situation of Poles progressively worsened. Particularly in the Russian sector, the initially moderate ethnic policies were revised in the aftermath of the Polish revolts aimed at overthrowing Russian control, the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
(1830–1831) and the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
(1863–1864). Following the defeats of the uprising the autonomy of the Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
was initially limited (1831) and finally abolished (1865).
Among the increasing policies of Germanization and Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
, it became increasingly difficult for Poles to obtain a Polish higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
. Also, like in most parts of Europe at the time, the higher education opportunities for women that existed in the Russian Empire were severely limited , and teaching or research into some fields, like Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
or Polish history, ranged from difficult to illegal.
As a response to such policies, and inspired by the Polish positivism movement, secret courses began in 1882 in private houses in Warsaw. At first it was a series the conspiratorial education courses for women, and among the first teachers were Józef Siemaszko, Stanisław Norblin, Piotr Chmielowski
Piotr Chmielowski
Piotr Chmielowski was a Polish philosopher, literary historian and critic.-Life:...
and Władysław Smoleński. In 1885 transformed due to the efforts of one of the students, Jadwiga Szczawińska (also known as Zofia Szczawińska), the various pro-education groups were united into a single, informal, and illegal, secret university open for both sexes known as the Flying University (the courses, spread throughout the city, often changed locations to prevent the Russian authorities from learning the location and arresting the teachers and students). The fees (2–4 rubles
Russian ruble
The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...
per month) were used as gratification for the teachers, and to create a secret library. The curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
of the Flying University covered 5–6 years with 8–11 hours per week and was divided into four main subjects: social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
, pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
, philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, and natural sciences.
Among the teachers of the university were the best contemporary Polish academics, such as Władysław Smoleński and Tadeusz Korzon
Tadeusz Korzon
Tadeusz Korzon was a Polish historian, specializing in history of Poland.- Biography :He studied at Moscow University. He took part in the January Uprising of Poles against the Russian occupation by organising pro-Polish patriotic demonstrations...
(history), Bronisław Chlebowski, Ignacy Chrzanowski and Piotr Chmielowski (literature), Jan Władysław David and Adam Mahrburg
Adam Mahrburg
Adam Mahrburg was a Polish philosopher—the outstanding philosophical mind of Poland's Positivist period.-Life:Adam Mahrburg was a philosopher and theoretician of knowledge. He taught in Warsaw's secret university and published in learned and popular journals.He reduced philosophy to the theory of...
(philosophy), Ludwik Krzywicki
Ludwik Krzywicki
Ludwik Krzywicki was a Polish anthropologist, economist and sociologist. One of the early champions of sociology in Poland, he approached historical materialism from a sociological viewpoint...
(sociology), Józef Nussbaum-Hilarowicz (biology).
During the twenty years of the existence of the university, it courses were attended by approximately 5,000 women and thousands of men. Among the most famous of its students was the future Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner, Maria Skłodowska-Curie. Other well known students included Zofia Nałkowska and Janusz Korczak
Janusz Korczak
Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit was a Polish-Jewish children's author, and pediatrician known as Pan Doktor or Stary Doktor...
.
Legalization
Around 1905–1906 the Flying University was able to start legal activities, and was transformed into the Society of Science Courses (Towarzystwo Kursów Naukowych), as Poland's partitioners, anticipating the coming war, sought to convert the Poles to their cause. Around 1918–1919, after Poland regained independence (as the Second Polish RepublicSecond Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
), the Association was transformed into the private university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, Free Polish University (Wolna Wszechnica Polska). In 1927 it founded a branch in Łódź.
World War II
During the Second World War, when Poland was occupied by Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
which forbade Poles to attend university-level courses, many teachers of the Flying University used their experience and took part in secret teaching during World War II
Education in Poland during World War II
This article covers the topic of underground education in Poland during World War II. Secret learning prepared new cadres for the post-war reconstruction of Poland and countered the German and Soviet threat to exterminate the Polish culture....
.
People's Republic
After the Second World War, the Wolna Wszechnica Polska was not immediately recreated in Warsaw, although its branch in Łódź served as the foundation for the University of Łódź.During the time of communist domination
History of Poland (1945–1989)
The history of Poland from 1945 to 1989 spans the period of Soviet Communist dominance imposed after the end of World War II over the People's Republic of Poland...
in the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
, as the curriculum became a tool of politics
Education in the People's Republic of Poland
Education in the People's Republic of Poland was controlled by the communist state, which provided primary schools, secondary schools, vocational education and universities. Education in communist Poland was compulsory from age 7 to 15....
, and much of Polish history (like Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
, Katyn Massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
or Praga Massacre) was censored in an attempt to 'erase' the history of Polish-Russian conflicts, the tradition of the Flying University was revived once again, first by the Society of Free Polish University (Towarzystwo Wolnej Wszechnicy Polskiej) active in Warsaw from 1957, later from 1977 by the new Flying University and Society of Science Courses, supported by Polish dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
s: Stefan Amsterdamski, Andrzej Celiński
Andrzej Celinski
Andrzej Celiński is a Polish socialist politician, a prominent leader of the Democratic opposition to the communist regime, and after 1989, a member of the Sejm and Senate and Minister of Culture....
, Bohdan Cywiński, Aldona Jawłowska, Jan Kielanowski, Andrzej Kijowski
Andrzej Kijowski
Andrzej Kijowski was a Polish literary critic, essayist, prose and screenwriter. His son is poet and critic Andrzej Tadeusz Kijowski....
, Tadeusz Mazowiecki
Tadeusz Mazowiecki
Tadeusz Mazowiecki is a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and Christian-democratic politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist prime minister in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.-Biography:Mazowiecki comes from a Polish...
, Wojciech Ostrowski.
Many participants of this second flying university were abused by militsiya
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
, with common incidents like a prominent dissident, Jacek Kuroń
Jacek Kuron
Jacek Jan Kuroń was one of the democratic leaders of opposition in the People's Republic of Poland. Kuroń was a prominent Polish social and political figure; educator and historian; an activist of the Polish Scouting Association; co-founder of the Workers' Defence Committee; twice a Minister of...
being thrown down the stairs or his apartment ransacked by militsiya-supported thugs; despite such harassment the Flying University was active until the imposition of martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition to it. Thousands of opposition...
in 1981, designed to destroy Solidarity movement, stifled its activities too. With Solidarity's peaceful victory in the Polish legislative elections, 1989, the goals of the Flying University — the freeing of Polish education from party's control and censorship — have been achieved.