Rather a positivist than a revolutionary, he likes to keep his distance to today’s fast lifepace and ever-changing intellectual and political fashions. His slightly ironic skepticism arises from a deep and unchanging faith in traditional values. Władysław Bartoszewski is neither prone to excessive fascination nor all-out hatred, and avoids being linked to political parties or groups. Indeed, as he puts it himself, he is “somewhat withdrawn”.
Consistency and strength of character, unbending adherence to professed values and a passion for life understood as a process of creation are all features which aptly characterize Władysław Bartoszewski – and are very, very rare today. Precisely this makes him an “oldschooler” in the best sense of the term.
(Andrzej Friszke – “Portrait Sketch”)


Władysław Bartoszewski – historian, politician, diplomat, social activist, author, journalist, wartime inmate of the Auschwitz concentration camp, soldier in the underground Home Army, participant in the Warsaw Uprising, holder of the White Eagle Order.