Maciej Giertych
Maciej Marian Giertych | |
---|---|
Member of the European Parliament for Poland | |
In office 2004–2009 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Oxford University, University of Toronto | 24 March 1936
Maciej Marian Giertych (
Biography
Maciej Giertych was born on 24 March 1936 in Warsaw, the son of notable writer politician of the nationalist
In late 1945 his family left
]In 1962, Giertych returned to Poland, where he completed his qualifications for an assistant professorship at the Institute of Dendrology of the
In 1986, Giertych joined the advisory council (Rada Konsultacyjna), made up of opposition members and party officials set up by the leader of the communist authorities, Wojciech Jaruzelski. He continuously showed his support for General Jaruzelski, and supported the alliance between Poland and the Soviet Union.[6] The council included several prominent Poles such as Marek Kotański, Krzysztof Skubiszewski and Kazimierz Dejmek, but also leading members of the communist party. He also served as the Polish representative to the International Union of Forest Research Organisations from 1986 to 1995.[7]
After the fall of the communist regime in Poland in 1990, Giertych continued his scientific work; between 1993 and 2000 he was an advisor to the Ministry of Environmental Affairs. In 1990 he was a member of one of the minor political parties, the
On 23 September 2001 Giertych was elected to the Polish Parliament from a Poznań constituency. On 16 June 2004 he became a Member of the European Parliament for the LPR. Together with the rest of his party he sits as a
Political views
Maciej Giertych opposed lifting the ban on purchase of land in Poland by foreigners (due to fears of resurgence of German colonialism),
During his discourse Giertych had explicitly condemned National Socialism and insisted Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler also had an "atheistic and socialistic taste about them". He praised Francisco Franco, António Salazar and Éamon de Valera, as guardsmen of traditional European values, in the same address to the European Parliament.[10]
In February 2007, Giertych sparked outrage among European Union officials and Jewish organizations by publishing a brochure called "Civilisations at war in Europe"[11] that claimed Jews create their own "ghettos" because they supposedly prefer to separate themselves from others. A number of journalists and certain Jewish organizations considered the brochure to be anti-Semitic.[12]
During the European Parliament's session on 14 March 2007, Parliament's President[13] Hans-Gert Pöttering reprimanded Maciej Giertych for the content of his pamphlet in accordance with Rule 147 of the EP's Rules of Procedure. He said that the publication was "a serious breach of fundamental rights and, in particular, the dignity of human beings to which our institution so strongly adheres". Pöttering dissociated the Parliament from the work saying that it had made no financial contribution to its publication. Several members of the Parliament have joined with the European Jewish Congress in calling for an investigation of the publishing of the pamphlet and whether Parliament funds were involved.[14]
Creationist views
Giertych supports a version of
In his foreword to Gerard Keane's 1999 book Creation Rediscovered, Giertych documented how his views changed from assuming evolution is true to being skeptical of it.[16]
In 2006, Giertych rebutted the accusation[4] that he advocated teaching creationism in schools. He stated, "I am a scientist — a population geneticist with a degree from Oxford University and a PhD from the University of Toronto — and I am critical of the theory of evolution as a scientist, with no religious connotation."[17]
On 11 October 2006 Giertych introduced and moderated a pro-creationist seminar held in Brussels for members of the European Parliament; The title of the presentation was Teaching evolutionary theory in Europe. Is your child being indoctrinated in the classroom?[18]
In 2008, Giertych appeared in Ben Stein's movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (credited as Marciej Giertych). The documentary features Giertych talking about his views on the theory of evolution.[19]
See also
References
- ^ "Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej". katalog.bip.ipn.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-05-12.
- ^ "New theologian appointed for papal household". Catholic World News. Catholic Culture.org. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- ^ a b Mickens, Robert (10 December 2005). "Vatican names new papal theologian". The Tablet. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- ^ S2CID 4312008.
- ^ Profile at Nauka Polska website Archived 2012-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wojciech Czuchnowski: Jak Giertych wspierał stan wojenny i ZSRR at Gazeta.pl, 21 January 2005.
- ^ Maciej Giertych - biografia - Biography at Giertych's official website
- ^ Profile of Stronnictwo Narodowe at the Polska Partia Narodowa website
- ^ a b Mariusz Urbanek: Giertychowie: Maciej i Roman - Dekalog rodzinny at Polityka.pl, 7 March 2007.
- ^ Wprost.pl: Maciej Giertych złożył hołd gen. Franco, 17 July 2006.
- ^ Giertych, Maciej. "Civilisations at war in Europe" (PDF). Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Polish EU legislator's anti-Semitic booklet sparks outrage - Haaretz - Israel News
- ^ The President of the European Parliament Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Dateline World Jewry", April 2007, World Jewish Congress
- ^ Beatriz Navarro: Todos contra Darwin, que empiece el debate Archived 2009-05-12 at the Wayback Machine at prensa.com, 29 October 2006.
- ^ Maciej Giertych (1999). "Creation Rediscovered, by Gerard J. Keane; Foreword by Professor Maciej Giertych". TAN Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
- ^
Maciej Giertych (15 November 2006). "Creationism, evolution: nothing has been proved". Nature. 444 (7117). Nature 444, 265: 265. PMID 17108936.
- ^ Ulirch Kutschera (2006). "Devolution and Dinosaurs, The Anti-Evolution Seminar in the European Parliament". National Center for Science Education. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed at the IMDb
External links
- personal website (Polish & English)
- League of Polish Families (Polish)
- Maciej Giertych – "Poland above all!"
- Maciej Giertych – Speech in European Parliament, 4 July 2006, about the Spanish Civil War
- Skeptics: scientists who are skeptical of the claims of Darwinism, abiogenesis or macroevolution
- Graebsch A, Schiermeier Q (November 2006). "Anti-evolutionists raise their profile in Europe". Nature. 444 (7118): 406–407. S2CID 4411996.
- Civilisations at war in Europe