The Department of Economic Geography has existed at SGH since the introduction of departments at the University as its basic teaching and research units. Its establishment resulted from the fact that from the very beginning of the Higher Commercial Courses, i.e. from 1906, economic geography was a subject of teaching as a general economic discipline. Lectures on economic geography were conducted without interruption throughout the entire period of the University’s existence. They are addressed to all students.
The Department of Economic Geography at SGH has always been an important teaching and research center in Poland. This was possible thanks to the outstanding scientists who headed it, namely Antoni Sujkowski, Jerzy Loth, Mieczysław Fleszar, Stanisław Berezowski and Irena Fierli. For some time, the Department of Economic Geography had two independent departments dealing with national and international issues. Currently, the Department does not have a department structure.
The purpose of the Department of Economic Geography is to teach in the field of general economic geography, industry geography and spatial economy with particular emphasis on the issues of location of economic entities. The Department also conducts scientific research of a macro and microgeographic nature. They focus on the analysis of the location of companies, regional development and spatial organization of the economy.
Economic geography, being a subdiscipline of geographical sciences, is also an increasingly important area of research undertaken by representatives of other sciences, especially economics. These studies concern the spatial configuration of companies, fields of economic activity and national economies in all forms of their manifestation within the emerging global economy. So far, economic geography has focused its interests on the issues of settlement systems, the structure and hierarchy of settlement units, the optimal location of economic activity and its spatial structure. In connection with this, the organizing research concept was the theory of location, and the main research tool were optimization methods and techniques.
This trend, still present in contemporary economic geography, is currently being replaced by research problems related to globalization, regional and local development, innovations, restructuring of spatial economic systems of various types and spatial scales, and spatial aspects (conditions) of management. Research undertaken in this area remains under the strong influence of the theory of international trade, and issues related to the benefits of agglomeration, revenue dynamics, and imperfect competition are of key importance in the analyses undertaken.
Contemporary research undertaken by economic geographers and in the area of the research field of economic geography (an example of which is the so-called new economic geography) concerns issues of regional and local development considered in a global perspective, as well as the formation of spatial structures of economic activity. This research focuses on the issues of:
global economic integration (migration of industries and capital, international flows of goods and services and factors of production, conditions of economic growth of national and regional economies); spatial structure of economic entities and their location (location, restructuring, competitiveness, spatial network structures, clusters, time-space structures, regional and local development, glocalization, territorial marketing);
geography of knowledge and innovation (innovation and knowledge as factors of development of economy and regions, spatial innovation systems, conditions for development of knowledge-based economy);
human and social capital in spatial growth processes (labor markets as a spatial category, ways of using the human factor in the economy, social and cultural conditions of economic development of countries and regions, political and institutional conditions of economic development of countries and regions);
global transformation of the economy (sustainable development, barriers to economic growth, international regional integration, global perspective of local and regional development, global implications of regional and local development, marketing of nations).
The current research interests of the academic staff of the Department of Economic Geography and the doctoral students cooperating with them are fully consistent with the contemporary research directions of economic geography in the world, as they concern:
• studies on European integration and its implications for the Polish economy;
• foreign direct investments and the conditions for their location;
• the location of economic entities;
• external (global and European) conditions for the development of cities;
• regional and local development;
• restructuring of industrial agglomerations;
• knowledge and innovation as a factor of regional development;
• spatial conditions of interpersonal communication.
/prepared by: Kazimierz Kuciński/
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY 2016-2020
The guiding idea of the past four years at our University was the concept of a three-series school of schools that were to be strong institutes, because departments were considered passé. Preparations for the implementation of this concept swept away many departments, but as is usually the case with the wind of history, it sweeps away almost everything, leaving, however, through oversight, or just in case, some relics that are a stronghold of tradition and a bridge between old and new times. One of such relics is the Department of Economic Geography.
Departments are established at universities and exist to create institutional conditions necessary for an outstanding professor to develop his research passions, to be able to create a team dealing with solving some important research problem, and above all to teach some subject that is an element of the academic didactic canon for a given field or discipline of science. The latter is the Department of Economic Geography, which has been operating at the Warsaw School of Economics continuously since the beginning of the University’s existence. It was established to show students of economic sciences the spatial dimension of the economy, i.e. how and why the production of goods, their distribution and consumption are spatially diversified and how it is presented, what results from it and what causes the uneven level of economic development of countries and regions. Economic geography understood in this way also deals with the analysis of the distribution and use of production factors and economic growth, and also examines the spatial connections and flows of these factors, as well as goods and services. It shows how spatial systems of human economic activity and social life are formed in connection with the natural environment. It analyzes their differences and similarities at various levels of the geographical scale, i.e. both on a global, continental, national, regional and local scale. It is a science about the dynamically understood location of human social activity related to obtaining the means of living and the location of various spatial forms of existence of societies and communities. It tells us how and why the economy is arranged in this way and how social life is arranged, as well as what the space is like in which they are located, and what results from the mutual relationship of these anthropogenic elements of the geographical environment and their spatial, or if you prefer ecological, conditions. This knowledge can be conveyed in an idiographic or nomothetic way. The idiographic approach, also known as the traditional approach, consists in talking about how the economy is presented in various places and what development conditions it has there, remembering that these places are components of the global socio-economic space. The nomothetic approach, on the other hand, tries to show the regularities governing these locations and the mechanisms of their formation. It looks for generalizations, builds theories and borrows them from other specialties, disciplines and fields of science, in order to use the isomorphism of the analyzed phenomena to explain the spatial organization of the economy and social life. Economic geography can also be taught in a hybrid way, combining these two approaches, and this is how the Department of Economic Geography currently carries out its basic didactic tasks in a monographic lecture intended for first-year bachelor’s degree students. The essence of this approach is illustrated by the third edition of the textbook prepared by the Department team entitled “Economic Geography” (Wolters Kluwer, Warsaw 2015).
It is difficult for us to understand why this has been an optional lecture at SGH for some time now, and not obligatory. It is especially difficult to understand this, considering the growing importance of knowledge about the spatial organization of the economy and social life, when its location is considered crucial for the success of undertaken and conducted economic activity, and the thesis about the alleged death of geography in a globalized world turned out to be absolutely wrong. Students can, and even should, choose the lectures they attend, but this cannot concern the basics of the field of science studied, and the economic geography we teach is an important element of this basics, regardless of whether someone likes it or not and whether it is inconvenient for one reason or another.
Economic geography, understood as a canonical element of the academic education of economists, can be taught ex cathedra to large groups of students, or classes can be conducted interactively in small groups, as is currently the case.
This form of teaching has the advantage of activating students and forcing them to systematically and carefully read relevant texts, which is unfortunately becoming increasingly difficult.
A deepening of the monographic lecture on economic geography is provided by the lectures we offer to students, maintained in a rather idiographic convention, with lectures on regional economic geography of Europe and the former Soviet Union, as well as classes devoted to elements of population, industry and tourism geography. Our lectures on development economics, globalization, international regionalization, regional competitiveness, spatial economy theory and enterprise location, energy security, innovative development and human and social capital are maintained in the nomothetic convention.
The lectures, which deepen students’ knowledge of the spatial organization of the economy and its conditions, are feedback-linked with the research conducted for some time by our team on the location-related conditions of economic security of enterprises.
In this research, we are particularly interested in how the natural, physical, economic, social, cultural, institutional and spatial features of places affect the functioning of enterprises located and located in them, and the ability of these economic entities to overcome internal and external threats to the realization of their economic goals.
We pay special attention to the topological conditions of innovation of enterprises and local public authorities.
We would like to use this last strand of our research interests in the teaching offer of the postgraduate study of innovative local development organized by our Department. We believe that this offer could also be used as a program of one of the specializations of the management course conducted in master’s studies by our parent College of Business Sciences.
Most employees of the Department of Economic Geography have so far affiliated with the minimum staff faculty of spatial economy, which was related to our research and teaching interests, and above all with the leader of this faculty, Prof. Zbigniew Strzelecki, who for some time was an employee of our College and our Department.
Since he is gone, and at the same time there has appeared an opportunity for a different, and above all real, use of our teaching competences in our parent College, it would be reasonable to affiliate the team of the Department of Economic Geography to the minimum staff faculty of the management course conducted by our College.
Management is not in itself and by definition an oddity in economic sciences. It is only its technocratic drift that makes it a freak, losing its economic goals, economic essence, and especially economic conditions and implications. Management practiced on the basis of economic sciences makes sense only when it is understood as applied economics, and we hope that this will be the content and message of the management course run by the College of Business Administration.
Wanting to participate in its implementation, we will continue our previous research and teaching interests. However, in order for the Department of Economic Geography to properly fulfill the tasks resulting from this obligation and possibly undertake research and teaching related to the geography of cities, and especially an attempt to show that these settlement units can be treated as specific analogues of an enterprise that is not only a habitat, but above all a location environment for economic entities, it should receive significant staff reinforcement in the near future.
We painfully feel the “bloodletting” that we experienced in recent years, when Prof. Hanna Godlewska-Majkowska, Teresa Pakulska and Małgorzata Poniatowska-Jaksch left our team for other units of our College. Their transfer was undoubtedly beneficial for the College as a whole, but very unfavorable for us as a research and teaching team.
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And one more thing. It may be surprising why the undersigned, instead of focusing exclusively on economic geography, and especially its theory, which has long occupied him, has for some time been involved in teaching and research on the methodology of scientific study of economic phenomena.
This is by no means just a coincidence, but results from the fact that in economic geography in general, and in that practiced at SGPiS/SGH in particular, much attention has been paid for years to methodological issues.
This was extremely important due to the fact that when describing and studying anthropogenic elements of the geographical environment, they did not want to perceive them as if they were natural. This gave rise to the need, so popular among economists today, for an interdisciplinary approach and creative combination of a naturalistic approach to the issues studied with a humanistic approach.
It required the creation of new paradigms of the practiced specialty of economic sciences and taking into account the various contexts of the analyzed phenomena. This situation became a source of various, demanding solutions, methodological dilemmas and challenges, which over time turned out to be universal for economic sciences in general. And hence my intellectual adventure with the methodology of economic sciences.
Head of the Department of Economic Geography
Prof. dr hab. Kazimierz Kuciński
October 2016
History of the Department
From the day when the Higher Trade Courses were established in Warsaw (1906) to today, i.e. at the current Warsaw School of Economics, geography has been continuously associated with the education of Polish economists. Initially, it was trade and specific (i.e. regional) geography. Later, “it transformed into general and industry-specific economic geography, and descriptive approaches gained increasingly stronger analytical and theoretical support” (Kuciński, 2009, p. 373).
In the curriculum, in the first year of studies of the academic year 1906/1907, geography appeared in the group of subjects: “social sciences” as “trade and economic geography” with special consideration of the trade policy of European countries, taught by Zygmunt Grabowski and “political geography of Europe”, taught by Władysław Mieczysław Kozłowski. Thus, economic geography was born in Warsaw from trade geography, which “dealt with various types of goods or raw materials, mainly in international trade” (Berezowski, 1981, p. 649).
Later, geography underwent changes and was taught in different hours, but its role as an important element of academic economic education was never questioned. As it methodologically separated from physical geography and anthropogeography, economic geography underwent significant changes. More and more attention was paid to various branches of production and transport from the perspective of their types of functions and distribution. An example of such studies, and absolutely pioneering ones, are two works by Stanisław Koszutski. The first one is: Rozwój przemysł wielki w Królestwie Polskim (1898), and the second one is: Nasz przemysł wielki na pierwszy XX wieku. Obraz statystyczno-ekonomiczny (Our great industry at the beginning of the 20th century. Obraz statystyczno-ekonomiczny (Our great industry at the beginning of the 20th century. Obraz statysczno-ekonomiczny) (1905).
The problems of developing countries began to be analyzed more and more broadly from the perspective of economic laws and locational regularities. And in this case, it is also worth mentioning the work of the same author, S. Koszutski, entitled Geografia gospodarcza Polski historiij i etnograficznej (Economic Geography of Historical and Ethnographic Poland, 1918). This work was written based on a thorough knowledge of economic laws and economic relations and supported by rich statistical material. It is not only the first work in Poland in the field of economic geography, but also the most progressive work of its time. For this reason, Stanisław Koszutski, a lawyer and economist, is considered the “father of economic geography” in Poland, although he was associated with the University (Higher Commercial Courses named after A. Zieliński) for a very short time, only for three years (1910-1913).
However, the first academic textbook was Geografia gospodarka by Antoni Sujkowski, the first volume of which was published in 1907, a year after the Higher Commercial Courses were established in Warsaw. As a textbook, this work is considered a pioneering work, introducing not only the name “economic geography” to the scientific literature but also setting the issue itself in a more modern way. Interestingly, A. Sujkowski was not a lecturer at the Higher Commercial Courses in Warsaw at that time, because for his independence activities during the revolution in 1905 he was sentenced to forced residence in Kalisz.
From the very beginning of the University’s existence, geographers not only conducted didactic classes, but also engaged in scientific research, primarily concerning economic, social geography and resources of the natural environment. Over its hundred-year history, the geography department changed its name and status several times, being for some time only a department or part of the Institute, e.g. the Institute of Economic and Spatial Policy, and even two departments of economic geography, where the Department of Economic Geography of the World was headed by Mieczysław Fleszar, and the Department of Economic Geography of Poland by Stanisław Berezowski. It should be emphasized here that both Departments had their predecessors before, i.e. in the pre-war period. These were: the Department of General Economic Geography, which was established in 1906, and its first head was the lawyer and later rector of SGH Julian Makowski, and the Department of Polish Economic Geography, dating from 1910, with the first head Stanisław Koszutski, an outstanding lawyer and economist - the “father of economic geography” in Poland.
The Department also changed its location. For a long time, it occupied two representative rooms on the second floor of the Main Building of SGH, only to return after many years to its original seat, i.e. the historic Building A at 24 Rakowiecka Street. Regardless of its status and location, however, it has always been an important element of the organizational structure of the university, and its employees played an important role in the academic community.
The previously mentioned Antoni Sujkowski (1867-1941), and then Julian Makowski (1875-1959), Jerzy Loth (1880-1967) were the rectors of the University and Mieczysław Fleszar (1915-1973) its vice-rector.
In addition to the aforementioned professors and economic geographers, Professor Stanisław Berezowski (1910-1986) should be mentioned in one line.
Professors: Irena Fierla, Witold Rakowski and Kazimierz Kuciński – the current Head of the Department of Economic Geography, are the successors of their predecessors. However, each of them found an individual and unique path of scientific development, and above all the development of economic geography at the Warsaw School of Economics, and not only.
The didactic and research foundations of modern economic geography at the Warsaw School of Economics were created by the previously mentioned Antoni Sujkowski and Jerzy Loth.
Professor Antoni Sujkowski was one of the pioneers of economic geography in Poland, because his works are of fundamental importance for the development of geography in our country. The works of Professor Jerzy Loth fulfill a similar role. Professor A. Sujkowski dealt with the economic geography of Poland, America and Africa. In addition to economic geography, he also lectured on political geography. Jerzy Loth, on the other hand, gave lectures on general and detailed (regional) economic geography, colonial and political geography, and economic geography of Poland. In 1919, Loth published an extensive publication entitled Wykładi geografia gospodarkaj ziemi Polski przedrorozrodziowej (Lecture on the Economic Geography of the Lands of Pre-Partition Poland). The subtitle is characteristic of this publication, which reads: “on the basis of economic geography and anthropogeography, taking into account history and commodity science”, constituting a methodological key to this publication, enabling understanding of the structure of the work and the essence of all the fifteen chapters included in the book.
Stanisław Berezowski dealt with the economic geography of Poland, the geography of communication (transport), the geography of tourism, and economic regionalization. His works: Geografia transport (1962) and Zarys geografia komunikatii (Outline of the Geography of Communication) (1975) were of fundamental importance for the development of transport geography in Poland, and the work Przedszkole do regionalizacji gospodarka (Introduction to Economic Regionalization) (1968) for the development of regional economics. Geografia gospodarkana Polski (Economic Geography of Poland) (1969) is, according to many, a model for a monograph.
In turn, Mieczysław Fleszar’s merits include methodological studies and studies on the history of geographical sciences, as well as the first study in Poland on pollution and protection of the natural environment in the world from 1972. Mieczysław Fleszar’s Economic Geography of the World (1967) became a model for synthetic approaches to the geographical description and analysis of the world economy. Thus, similarly to the initial period of the Department’s activity, when three very important books appeared: Koszutski, Sujkowski and Loth, concerning the economic geography of Polish lands, so in the 1960s, two works of particular importance for the development of economic geography were developed in the same place, both on the geography of the world (Fleszar) and Poland (Berezowski).
What was the characteristic feature of these studies, what was their uniqueness?
A characteristic feature of the authors’ approach was the shift of emphasis from the description of facts and phenomena to the analysis of their conditions and the exposure of economic content. The search for regularities occurring in the spatial structure of the economy and the processes occurring in it also constituted the uniqueness of these publications. The specificity of this approach also included emphasizing the role of man in economic processes (Kuciński, 2009, p. 374).
“This method of research in economic geography was undertaken by Professor Irena Fierla in her pioneering studies on the location of enterprises and industry, population migrations and the economic geography of Poland, Europe and the world. The works, reissued many times: Location of Industry (1987) and Geography of the Polish Industry (1973) are undeniable proof of this. The following books, edited by Professor I. Fierli and with her significant authorial participation, are in a similar vein: Economic Geography of Capitalist Countries of Europe (1978), Economic Geography (1987), Economic Geography of Poland (1994), Economic Geography of the World (1998), Economic Geography of the European Union (2007)”, (Kuciński, 2009, 375). “Irena Fierli’s students, Professors Witold Rakowski, Kazimierz Kuciński and Hanna Godlewska-Majkowska, are faithful to this approach. Continuing their research and teaching in the field of general and regional economic geography and industrial geography, they undertook studies in the field of population geography (K. Kuciński), theory of economic geography (K. Kuciński), agricultural geography (W. Rakowski, H. Godlewska-Majkowska) and regional development. Particularly interesting and innovative are the studies on urbanization and migration processes in Poland (W. Rakowski, K. Kuciński) and the location of enterprises (H. Godlewska-Majkowska)”, (Kuciński, 2009, p. 375).
The Department of Economic Geography at the Warsaw School of Economics, headed since 2006 by Professor Kazimier Kuciński, conducts research on regional development (K. Kuciński, J. Brdulak), the attractiveness of Poland’s location and capital export (T. Pakulska, M. Poniatowska-Jaksch) and environmental protection (E. Taylor, and until her retirement, such studies were also conducted by K. Dybczyńska). Research is undertaken in the field of transport and trade geography (J. Brdulak, D. Niedziółka), tourism geography (M. Molenda), urban geography (A. Rutkowska-Gurak), and industrial geography (B. Trzcińska). Much attention is paid to the processes of globalization and glocalization and the formation of post-industrial spatial structures of the economy (K. Kuciński). The current research interests of the academic staff of the Department of Economic Geography are consistent with contemporary research directions in European and world economic geography. These are: (1) studies on European integration and its implications for the Polish economy, (2) foreign direct investment and the conditions for their location, (3) the location of economic entities, (4) global and European conditions for infrastructure development, (5) regional and local development, (6) restructuring of industrial agglomerations, (7) knowledge and innovation as factors of regional development, and (8) spatial conditions for interpersonal communication.
For over a hundred years, monographic lectures on economic geography have been held continuously (currently not only in Polish but also in English and in e-learning form), lectures, seminars and conversation classes on regional development, spatial management, and protection of the natural environment. The Department of Economic Geography, SGH produces bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral theses, which address the issues presented above. These theses constitute the basis for obtaining academic degrees in the field of economic sciences, with the emphasis that their authors specialize in the field of economic geography.
Economic geography taught in the first semester of studies at SGH is a typical general education subject, similarly to economic history. If the academic character of an economic university is to be developed and deepened, and SGH is such a university, both of these subjects should be taught from the beginning of studies and at the same time. They develop a broad culture of knowledge about the world, countries and regions, without which educating economists at the highest level makes no sense. The words of Professor Stanisław Berezowski, quoted, although not verbatim, have not lost their relevance to this day, although they are not always well understood.
Professors not mentioned above were also associated with the Department of Economic Geography, SGH. They were both economists and economic geographers: Jan Bossak, Tadeusz Hoff, Jerzy Kostrowicki, Witold Kusiński, Jacek Rudziński, Ignacy Rzędowski, Zbigniew Strzelecki, Józef Tobiasz, Stanisław Maciej Zawadzki.
The Department of Economic Geography at the Warsaw School of Economics has always tried to be an integral part of the Warsaw and Polish economic geographers’ community, and looking at its over one hundred-year history and achievements, we can say that it has succeeded (Kuciński 2009, p. 375).
References:
Berezowski S., 1981, Economic geography at the Warsaw University of Economics 1906-1981, “Przegląd Geograficzny”, 53, 3, pp. 649-663.
Kuciński K., 2009, Warsaw School of Economics, [in:] A. Jackowski, S. Liszewski, A. Richling (eds.) Historia geografia polskiego, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warsaw, pp. 373-375.
prepared by: Ewa Taylor/
biographies
Antoni Sujkowski (1867-1941)
Antoni Sujkowski, geographer, politician and minister, was born in Zakroczym on May 21, 1867. He was the son of Bronisław and Laura née Dmowska. His father was a judge, but when Polish courts were liquidated after the fall of the January Uprising (1863-1864), he moved to the registry office, which he practiced in Rypin, Płock and Raciąż.
A. Sujkowski graduated from the Russian gymnasium in Płock, and then the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Kiev (in 1892). His diploma thesis concerned geology (granites near Korosten). After graduation, he went abroad (to Germany, Belgium and France), where he worked as a chemist in sugar factories. After returning to Poland, he worked not only in sugar refineries, but also in steelworks (zinc smelter in Zagórze, iron smelter in Częstochowa). In 1899, he finally gave up working in industry and moved to Warsaw. Here, A. Sujkowski took up a job as a teacher of geography, a scientific discipline he had been interested in for a very long time. He began teaching at the Kronenberg School of Commerce, with which, although with interruptions, he was associated until the end of his life.
After the revolution of 1905, as he was strongly involved in activities for the Polish school, he was forced to leave Warsaw. He then took up the position of director of a trade school in Kalisz, and then in Będzin. In the latter, he was involved in independence activities related to the legion movement initiated by Józef Piłsudski, as a result of which he was arrested by the Germans. After being released from custody, he returned to Warsaw in 1916.
While teaching geography, A. Sujkowski became a geographer, and an outstanding geographer at that. It was not a difficult task, as he had completed natural science studies, knew languages, had a good knowledge of Polish history, and above all, had practical knowledge of industry, both European and Polish. This last factor influenced Sujkowski’s interest in the economic direction in geography.
In 1906, he published his first dissertation entitled Rys geograficzna ziemi Europy Środkowej. According to Stanisław Lencewicz, the work “gives a synthetic approach to the entirety of historical Polish lands and is a step forward in relation to Nałkowski’s synthesis. It discusses great historical routes and their significance in the creation of cities. Based on recent advances in anthropogeography, Sujkowski emphasizes the significance of Polish rivers for human geography, but does not consider river connections to be a feature distinguishing Poland from other countries. These ideas, in an exaggerated deterministic form, were later popularized by Romer” (Lencewicz 1945-1946, p. 100).
During World War I and the occupation, A. Sujkowski wrote a large work entitled Geography of the Lands of Old Poland, published in 1918. It contains not only detailed geographical characteristics of individual regions of Poland (in the second part of the work, the so-called detailed part), but above all an original, geographical assessment of the entire country (in the first part, the so-called general part). The background of the work is human geography derived from history, which constitutes its undeniable cognitive value. The influence of French geographical thought is visible in it, in contrast to the German influences widespread in Poland at that time.
At the same time, A. Sujkowski’s lectures (1917) were published, delivered at courses for officials entitled Krajoznawstwo. Sujkowski also supplemented the above-mentioned Geography of the Lands of Old Poland, primarily with economic, cultural and political issues of the country, publishing a book entitled Polska Niepodległa (1926).
A. Sujkowski can be considered and is often considered a pioneer of economic geography in Poland. He published the first work in Polish entitled Economic Geography (Vol. 1 in 1907, Vol. 2 in 1909). He emphasizes in it that the name commonly used at that time: “commercial geography” is a literal translation from German, and the most appropriate should be the name: “economic geography” or “economic”. The novelty in this case consisted not only in the title of the work. Sujkowski considered this discipline to be an applied branch of geography, a branch of human geography, and encompassing agricultural and industrial production, transport and trade. He consistently does not stop at the economic characteristics of individual countries, but considers economic phenomena against the broad background of anthropogeography (taking into account natural conditions), history and social sciences (in this case, taking into account social conditions, i.e. the value of human work). In 1926, the second edition of this work was published. It is believed that A. Sujkowski remained faithful to the anthropogenic point of view and the comparative-descriptive method until the end of his life. He did not develop or deepen the assumptions adopted in the initial period of his scientific work. He expressed these views in the article entitled The needs of Polish science in the field of geography, published in “Nauka Polska” in 1918. He claimed that the Earth and man in their mutual interaction not only in the past, but also at present, are the subject of geography research. He understood geography as a science of spatial relationships detected by means of the descriptive-comparative method. He therefore stopped at his scientific views from the years 1905-1910, and as one of his students, Mieczysław Fleszar, writes about A. Sujkowski: “he did not conduct his own scientific research in the interwar period, limiting himself to supervising numerous master’s and doctoral theses”. In addition to M. Fleszar’s argument, it can be said that A. Sujkowski’s students were also two outstanding Polish geographers: Jadwiga Mrozowska and Zofia Cichocka-Petrażycka.
In addition to the books mentioned, Sujkowski wrote articles and reviews on geography and published them in the journals: “Przyroda” and “Ziemia”. However, he did not write much. He had, as S. Lencewicz repeatedly emphasized, an extraordinary erudition and memory, and was very sensitive to stylistic deficiencies and flaws, especially those of his students.
In 1913, he participated in the International Geographical Congress in Rome, as the only and unofficial representative of geography from the Kingdom of Poland, because it was only in independent Poland that international congresses had official Polish representatives.
In the spring of 1918, when lectures were launched at the University of Warsaw, and this was still during the occupation, Sujkowski was entrusted with anthropogeography. He interrupted his work as a scholar and teacher for a while, because he was sent by the Chief of State to Paris as one of the Polish delegates to conclude the Treaty of Versailles.
After returning to Poland in the summer of 1919, he became head of the department at the Central Statistical Office in Warsaw, and at the same time professor of economic geography at the Higher School of Commerce (later the Warsaw School of Commerce), in which position he remained uninterruptedly until the end of his life. As head of the department at the Central Statistical Office, he edited the magazine “Handel Zagraniczny Polski”.
As a teacher and scholar, Professor A. Sujkowski taught economic geography at the Higher School of Commerce from 1919, where in 1925 he was appointed its professor. Then, already at the Warsaw School of Commerce, in addition to economic geography, he taught political geography for the consular course. From 1925 he was a member of the Senate of this University, and in the years 1929-1931 its Rector. During the Nazi occupation, he also lectured at the underground SGH, which existed under the official name of the Municipal School of Commerce.
As president of the Polish Geographical Society (1932-1941), he participated in organizational work related to the preparation of the International Geographical Congress in Warsaw in 1934.
In 1926, he was the Minister of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment for several months. Although he moved in the highest circles, according to what S. Lencewicz wrote about Sujkowski, he did not make a political career and led a modest life of a professor. He died in Warsaw on December 12, 1941. The grave of Professor Antoni Sujkowski and his wife Helena Sujkowska (Senator of the Republic of Poland) is located at the Stare Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.
Literature:
Fleszar M., 1962, Outline of the history of economic geography in Poland until 1939, Wydawnictwa Geologiczne, Warsaw.
Lencewicz S., 1945-1946, Antoni Sujkowski (1867-1941), “Przegląd Geograficzny”, 19, Warsaw, pp. 99-101.
Kaliński J. (ed.), 2006, Antoni Sujkowski rector of WSH in the years 1929-1931, [in:] List of rectors of the Warsaw School of Economics, Publishing House of the Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, pp. 37-38.
Romer E., 1989, Paris diary 1918-1919, Ossoliński National Institute, Wrocław-Warsaw-Kraków-Gdańsk-Łódź.
/prepared by: Ewa Taylor/
Stanisław Koszutski (1872-1930)
Stanisław Koszutski, lawyer, economist, geographer and publicist, was born in Imbramowice in Miechów district in 1872. He was the son of Kazimierz, the head of the insurgent national police in Kraków. His mother was Bronisława née Mazurska.
He attended Russian grammar school in Siedlce, and then in Kielce. During his studies, he participated in the work of illegal self-education circles with a patriotic-socialist orientation. He edited the circle’s newspaper, where, in addition to poems, he published his economic treatises. In the Kielce grammar school, under the influence of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauze, he became interested in Marxist literature.
In 1891, he began studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Warsaw, where he continued to actively participate in the work of illegal student organizations. In 1894, he was expelled from the University and sentenced to two years of exile in the Simbirsk Governorate on the Volga. In July 1894, he left Russia and settled in Ardatov. Under an amnesty in January 1895, he left the place of exile. He then began studying at the Faculty of Law of the University of Kiev. After graduating in June 1897, he returned to Warsaw.
S. Koszutski began working as an assistant to a sworn attorney in a law firm, and earned his living as a journalist in the editorial office of “Kurier Poranny”. He developed selected materials from the Russian press, which he printed as his own correspondence. At the same time, he published feuilletons with social content, political and economic articles, and poems in “Głos”.
In 1898, he wrote his first book entitled The Development of Large-Scale Industry in the Kingdom of Poland. With the fee he received, he went to Berlin for additional studies. After a year, he moved to Paris and attended special higher legal courses at the Sorbonne, which were intended for students with a law or economics degree.
He returned to Warsaw in 1900. He divided his time between legal work, scientific work, journalism and lecturing. The most important publications that were created after 1900 were: The Development of Large-Scale Industry in the Kingdom of Poland (1901), Our Large-Scale Industry at the Beginning of the 20th Century. A Statistical and Economic Picture (1905), The Economic Development of the Kingdom of Poland in the Last Thirty Years (1870-1900) (1905), and The Manual of Political Economy (1907). He was interested in women’s emancipation and devoted a special treatise to this issue entitled Woman and Politics. On the Need for Political Rights for Women (1908).
The work entitled The Economic Geography of Historical and Ethnographic Poland (1918) deserves special attention. This book, due to its approach to the subject, the way of its development and the methods of drawing conclusions, surpassed all similar studies. It consists of two parts. The first concerns the wealth, which consists of both nature and people, and the second concerns production, i.e. human activity using this potential, i.e. agriculture, forestry, mining and industry, described by regions. The work was written on the basis of a thorough knowledge of economic theories and economic relations, documented with rich numerical material. According to Mieczysław Fleszar, “this work continued the interrupted trend of development of economic geography, deriving from the progressive achievements of Surowiecki, Skarbek and Kozłowski” (Fleszar, 1962, p. 87). Koszutski’s economic views were strongly influenced by the writings of Marx and Plekhanov. In his views on the role of the geographical environment in social development, he was close to the geographical determinism of the latter. Koszutski’s Economic Geography of Poland was the most progressive work, because, according to the quoted M. Fleszar, it showed “the least dependence on Western European anthropological concepts” (Fleszar, 1962, p. 93).
S. Koszutski was also a teacher. He taught law and then economic geography in the eighth grades of commercial and general schools. He lectured in various educational associations and at the A. Zieliński Higher Commercial Courses (1910-1913).
In 1918, he moved to Mława, where he lived until his death and ran a law firm. After 1918, he published only one book entitled The Struggle of Polish Youth for Great Ideals: Memories from High School and University Times – Siedlce, Kielce, Warsaw, Kiev, Berlin, Paris: 1881-1900 (1928), which is his autobiography.
According to Zbigniew Landau (1968-1969, p. 388), “Kosutski’s political evolution gradually took place. Already during World War I – although he still paid homage to Marxism – he was far from the political views of the SDKPiL, and rather approached the concept of the PPE-Legion camp. The external expression of this was the composition and writing of the lyrics of the song Czesio Legionom, which was later performed at the Warsaw Philharmonic. After the war, he sympathized with the left wing of the Polish Socialist Party, and as a lawyer, he effectively defended socialist and communist workers in courts (Landau, 1968-1969, p. 388).
Koszutski was generally considered an economist, but for Polish geographers he was always the father of economic geography.
The professor died in Warsaw on August 5, 1930.
References:
Fleszar M., 1962, Outline of the history of economic geography in Poland until 1939, “Prace Geograficzne” 30, Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geography, Geological Publishing House, Warsaw.
Landau Z., 1968-1969, Stanisław Koszutski, [in:] Polish Bibliographic Dictionary, vol. XIV, Ossoliński National Institute, Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków, pp. 386-388.
/prepared by: Ewa Taylor /
Jerzy Loth (1880-1967)
Jerzy Loth, geographer, ethnographer, traveler and sports activist, was born in Warsaw on August 4, 1880. He was the son of Edward, a small industrialist of Huguenot origin, and Anna née Hoser.
J. Loth spent his youth in Warsaw, where he attended a Russian secondary school, from which he was expelled with a “wolf ticket” for patriotic activities. As a result, he completed secondary school in Godesberg (today Bonn district), and higher education at the commercial faculty in Antwerp in 1901, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in economics. He also studied geology, geography, sociology and psychology in Brussels, and English in Cambridge. He mastered 11 languages, including five fluently.
For several years, J. Loth worked in commercial companies, mainly as a correspondent. Travels to many European countries (including Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland and Austria) and to the Western Hemisphere (including the United States, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Cuba) in connection with company interests deepened his interest in geography.
After opening a Polish university in Warsaw, J. Loth completed his academic studies at the age of 38 (1918), this time obtaining a Polish diploma from the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
J. Loth already had extensive knowledge of the economic geography of the world and could boast the results of his first field studies, conducted before World War I in Nicaragua, in the area inhabited by the Miskito tribe. His stay in Nicaragua was professional in nature (he visited gold mines) and was combined with work in an export-import company. The field studies he conducted were described and published. This was J. Loth’s first scientific work published in “Sprawozdani Towarzystwo Naukowego Warszawskiego” (Reports of the Warsaw Scientific Society) (1913). Later, when he was already the president of the Association of Trade Representatives in Warsaw and a counselor of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, he also held the honorary position of Nicaragua’s consul in Poland.
His later works, concerning Gibraltar (1926) and Afghanistan (1928), are of a completely different nature. They are extensive monographs. Loth obtained his doctorate in 1920 from Professor Ludomir Sawicki at the Jagiellonian University, obtaining a doctor of philosophy degree in the field of geography. He obtained his habilitation at the Higher School of Commerce in Warsaw in 1929 from Professor Antoni Sujkowski, based on the work entitled Geografia gospodara Polski w granic przedroróbowych.
J. Loth was one of the scholars, as Stanisław Berezowski writes, “who was not so much brought to geography by any school, but by life, everyday professional work, and who made him a geographer. The years of his youth coincided with the decline of the romanticism of discovery and travel. At that time, people from big “business” patronized the development of the geographical movement, facilitated the financing of scientific travel and publishing ventures” (Berezowski, 1968, p. 208).
In the years 1917-1918, the Polish Geographical Society was organized in Warsaw. J. Loth was one of the academics at that time, and also relatively well-off. He was one of the first to apply to join the Polish Geographical Society and became its benefactor, as a lifelong “supporting member”, which was particularly valuable in that difficult post-war period.
J. Loth’s activity developed in several directions. It was primarily over 50 years of scientific work, combined with a passion for travel, didactic and educational activity at several Warsaw universities, outstanding participation in the geographical movement, participation in the Esperanto movement, activity in the International Olympic Committee and in other social organizations related to sports (he himself was an active athlete - he won awards in rowing).
From 1917 J. Loth devoted himself to scientific and didactic and educational work, gradually withdrawing from work in international trade. At the urging of Bolesław Miklaszewski, he took up work at the Higher School of Commerce, later renamed the Warsaw School of Commerce (SGH). Both at the SGH and later the Main School of Planning and Statistics (SGPiS) he lectured on: general economic geography, detailed (regional) economic geography, colonial and political geography, economic geography of Poland, history of geographical discoveries, history of development of the geographical horizon and introduction to anthropogeography.
As Kazimierz Kuciński writes in his extensive biography of Professor J. Loth from 1986: for many years this school (WSH, SGH, and later SGPiS) became the place of his basic scientific and didactic activity. Here he became an associate professor, and in 1948 – a full professor. He was the head of the Department and Chair of Economic Geography for many years, and in the years 1945-1947 the Rector of this University. He also lectured in its branches in Częstochowa (when this branch was conspiratorial in nature), then in Łódź, where he was also the Rector. In 1949 he was removed from the University for his political beliefs and retired. However, he returned to work in 1957 and taught until 1960. It is worth mentioning that he also lectured at the Consular and Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1946-1947), the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (1945-1950) and at the University of Warsaw (until 1950).
Professor Jerzy Loth was an anthropogeographer with a natural science, economics and law education. His works, inspired by the works of Western authors (mainly English), concerned both the geography of Poland and the world, including the geography of colonial and underdeveloped countries. He used monographic and descriptive methods based on rich statistical materials, as well as excellent knowledge of the countries he visited frequently as a trader, traveller, sports activist and, above all, a geographer.
J. Loth’s first publication appeared in 1913 and concerned, as already mentioned, Nicaragua. However, a more important and extensive work was Wykładi geologii gospodarnej ziemi Polskiej przedrorozwiązowej (Economic Geography Lecture on the Lands of Pre-Partition Poland), published in 1919. Characteristic of this publication is its subtitle, which reads: “on the basis of economic geography and anthropogeography with consideration of history and commodity science”, which is also a methodological key to this publication, enabling the reader to understand the structure of the work and the essence of all the fifteen chapters included in the book.
The next extensive textbooks were: Zarys geografia polityczne polityczna (Outline of Political Geography) (1925), Zarys dziejów horyzontu geografnego (Outline of the History of the Geographical Horizon) (1928), Wykładi geografia gospodarnej siecinej (Economic Geography in Detail), published in the form of notebooks in the period 1930-1933. Professor J. Loth also wrote many scientific articles in the field of regional geography, of which the following are worth noting: on Gibraltar (doctoral dissertation), Afghanistan, the Suez Canal and the Fiji Islands. In the years 1936-1939 he was a regular contributor to the Encyclopedia of Political Science, writing many entries, especially in the field of regional geography. In 1930 in the “Przegląd Geograficzny” (Vol. 10) he published an extensive 45-page report on an African journey from Cape Town to Cairo, which he undertook together with Professor Walery Goetel. The materials that J. Loth brought back from this expedition allowed him to describe Africa in one of the volumes of Wielka Geografia Powszechna (1939). In several works J. Loth commented on the subject of economic and political geography. He devoted two works exclusively to theoretical and methodological issues. These are The Genesis of the Science of Economic Geography and Its Essence, Objectives and Tasks (1938) and Political Geography (1925), where, among other things, he transferred the views and assumptions of Fryderyk Ratzel to the field of Polish science, illustrating the discussed theses with interesting statistical summaries.
After World War II, 17 publications by Professor J. Loth were published. Among them are two extensive textbooks: Economic Geography of Poland (1947) and Outline of the Geographical and Economic Problems of Non-Ferrous Metals in the World (1950). He wrote both together with Dr. Zofia Petrażycka. The latter work on metals is considered the first and at the same time very original on the Polish publishing market. It concerns the geography of metallic raw materials and their economic use (mainly commercial). This work proves how much geographical, geological, commercial and, above all, linguistic knowledge the authors of this textbook had. The reissue of the book by PWN under the changed title Metale. Zarys geograficzno-ekonomicznych (Metals. An Outline of Geography and Economics) (1962) was a response to the demand of the then reading market for scientific and at the same time applied knowledge in the field of economic geography.
Professor Loth’s lectures were among the most interesting ones delivered at Warsaw universities in the field of economic and political geography, although sometimes, as Stanisław Berezowski writes (1981, p. 652), they were perhaps too brilliant. The role of geography during the years of Professor J. Loth’s activity at WSE/SGH/SGPiS was largely limited to teaching, and his ability to encourage students to choose diploma seminars in economic geography was also significant. Although economic geography was considered a general science discipline at this university, Professor J. Loth’s seminar groups grew larger year by year. Initially, diploma theses were carried out on the economic geography of Poland, but over the years the issues of other countries became dominant, similar to his scientific interests promotors.
“Professor Jerzy Loth is an extremely colourful and versatile figure, whose multi-threaded life cannot be fit into any scheme, and given his numerous interests, any attempt to characterise or evaluate him will necessarily be one-sided” (Kostrowicki, 1968, p. 685).
“In the memories of those who had the good fortune to be his students, he remains as a dignified man, a man of great moral and intellectual stature, a true Professor, in the good, old style” (Kuciński, 1986, p. 202).
In recognition of his great services to geography, and above all to the Polish Geographical Society, he was elected its honorary member (1958). He was also an honorary member of the Royal Geographical Society in London. He was awarded, among others: the Golden Cross of Merit (1932), Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1939) and Commander of the Olympic Order (1952).
Professor Jerzy Loth died in Warsaw on September 30, 1967 at the age of 87. He was buried at the Evangelical-Augsburg Cemetery in Warsaw’s Wola district.
References:
Berezowski S., 1968, Professor Doctor Jerzy Loth, “Czasopismo Geograficzne”, 39, 2, pp. 207-210.
Berezowski S., 1972, Loth Jerzy (1880-1967), [in:] Polish Biographical Dictionary, vol. 17, Ossoliński National Institute, Wrocław-Warsaw-Kraków, pp. 567-569.
Berezowski S., 1981, Economic geography at the Warsaw University of Economics 1906-1981, “Przegląd Geograficzny”, 53, 3, pp. 649-663.
Fleszar M., 1962, Outline of economic geography in Poland until 1939, Wydawnictwa Geologiczne, Warsaw, pp. 100-101.
Kostrowicki J., 1968, Jerzy Loth 4. VIII. 1880 -30. IX. 1967, “Przegląd Geograficzny”,40, 3, pp. 685-688.
Kuciński K., 1986, Jerzy Loth (1880-1967), List of outstanding professors of SGH-SGPiS, Institute of Trade Union Publishing, Warsaw, pp. 194-206.
Kuciński K., 2006, Jerzy Loth, Rector of the Warsaw School of Economics in 1945-1946, List of Rectors of the Warsaw School of Economics, Publishing House of the Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, pp. 55-57.
/prepared by: Ewa Taylor/
Mieczysław Fleszar (1915-1973)
Mieczysław Fleszar was born in Zakopane on October 23, 1915. He was the son of Albin, a geographer and geologist, and Regina née Danysz, a geographer. M. Fleszar’s parents were students of Professor Eugeniusz Romer.
He completed his higher education in 1934-1938 in Warsaw, at the Warsaw School of Economics, obtaining a master’s degree in economics and trade. He was a student of Antoni Sujkowski, considered one of the pioneers of economic geography in Poland. In 1935, M. Fleszar went to London to study languages, and in 1938-1939, as a scholarship holder of the National Culture Fund, he stayed in France. In Paris, under the supervision of A. Demangeon, he began writing his doctoral dissertation on Polish-French economic relations. Unfortunately, the war interrupted his studies on the doctoral dissertation.
He fought in the 1939-1940 campaign, during which he was promoted to second lieutenant, in the 1st Grenadier Division. After a short captivity and escape from a POW camp, he found himself in Great Britain in July 1942. He was then incorporated into the 1st Armoured Division and fought with it on the European continent. He returned to Poland in August 1945.
In the years 1945-1948 he worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this time he travelled around Europe and the Middle East. He took part in the sessions of the International Migration Committee in Geneva.
In 1949 he returned to his scientific interests and became an assistant professor at the Department of Anthropogeography at the University of Warsaw. He also obtained his doctorate there (1950) based on a dissertation entitled Geographical environment and social development. It is worth noting that M. Fleszar’s last book, published in 1972, also concerned the geographical environment, or rather its pollution and protection in the world. According to Stanisław Leszczycki, it was “the only textbook in Polish with such a broad scope” (Leszczycki, 1973, p. 812). The undersigned also shared a similar opinion, writing in her review: “in recent years, a dozen or so studies have been published on the natural environment and its protection. However, none of them shows such a broad view of these matters as the work of Professor M. Fleszar” (Taylor, 1973, p. 667). After obtaining his doctorate, M. Fleszar became a deputy professor at the Central School of Planning and Statistics (currently the Warsaw School of Economics), then Head of the Department of Economic Geography, and for some time he was also Vice-Rector of this University. In 1951 he moved to the Poznań School of Economics, where he was Head of the Department of Economic Geography and later Rector of the school. In 1954 he returned to SGPiS as a lecturer. In 1960 he became an associate professor, and in 1968 a full professor. He was a passionate supporter of introducing Marxist foundations to Polish geography. He was also a lecturer at the Party School and an active member of the Circle of Geographers-Marxists.
He worked at SGPiS until 1970, and then moved to the Polish Institute of International Affairs, where he was Head of the Latin America Workshop in the Department of Developing Countries. While working at the Department of International Organizations of the aforementioned Institute, he became interested in international issues of environmental protection. It was here that the previously mentioned work on pollution and protection of the natural environment in the world was written. It is estimated that the value of this last work was double. Firstly, it filled the gap in publications of this type in Poland at that time (1972), presenting pollution and environmental protection in a broad international context. Secondly, the rich statistical material presented, although not complete, was adapted for the Polish recipient, and thus the author initiated further research in this area.
The scientific achievements of M. Fleszar are significant. He has published over 180 works, including 10 books and academic textbooks, and 50 dissertations and scientific articles. Under his supervision, 160 masters graduated from master’s studies, and seven of his students obtained doctoral degrees. Several dozen students from developing countries received diplomas for their studies in the field of national economy. This study was led by M. Fleszar in the years 1968-1970.
However, the most important achievements of M. Fleszar do not concern international issues of environmental protection, but the history and methodology of geographical sciences. As S. Leszczycki writes, his doctoral thesis, published in 1950, was profiled in this trend. The dissertations on Wawrzyniec Surowiecki, whom he considered one of the first lecturers of economic geography in Poland (1957), were based on source and archival studies. The most extensive are Studia dziejów geografia gospodarji w Polsce od półmi 18 wieku do 1848 r. (1956) and Zarys geografia gospodarji w Polsce do 1939 r. (1962). The more interesting treatises include W Sprawy metody badania nad początkami geologii gospodarji w Polsce (1956) and the article Marx i Engels o roli przestrzennego (Marx and Engels on the Role of the Geographical Environment) (1953). Of note is the monograph W Spraw badania nad geografia polityczne w Polsce (1956) and the work Spatial Structure of Poland’s Economy (1970), written together with S. Leszczycki.
M. Fleszar’s achievements in the field of textbooks are also significant. The most frequently mentioned here are: Geografia gospodarka świata (Economic Geography of the World) (1967), Geografia gospodarka Polski (Economic Geography of Poland) (1963) and Przegląd do geografii: Materiały do wykładów (Introduction to Geography: Materials for Lectures) (1965). In collective works on the subject of economic geography of Poland, he wrote chapters on agriculture. At this point it is worth emphasizing that the book entitled Economic Geography of the World was a national textbook for many years. It is worth noting that it was the first textbook in Poland written from a problem-based perspective, not just a factual perspective, and the excellently written introductory chapters are a reflection of the author’s methodological passion.
M. Fleszar was a popularizer of geographical knowledge. He wrote dozens of popular and popular science articles. He also wrote many reviews. The review of the book entitled Travels in the Tropical America, based on selected texts by Alexander von Humboldt (published in Poland in 1952 by the Książka i Wiedza publishing house), deserves special attention. The review of this book is not only a tribute to the great scholar Humboldt was, but also an expression of respect and friendship that M. Fleszar had for Bolesław Olszewicz, who oversaw the selection of texts and their translation. It is worth emphasizing that book reviewers do not often appreciate the work of translators and editors of studies. It was therefore a good thing that M. Fleszar was the editor of the geographical and travel book reviews section in “Nowe Książki” for 10 years (1958-1968). He published many of them, providing footnotes and comments, not to mention very interesting prefaces.
S. Leszczycki recalls: “He was completely devoted to the People’s Republic of Poland and geography. From his youth he represented left-wing views, hence his membership in the Union of Independent Socialist Youth (1936-1938), from 1946 to the PPR, and from 1948 to the PZPR.” (Leszczycki, 1973, p. 812). Mieczysław Fleszar was a hard-working man, a meticulous researcher, a reader and writer, a good teacher and educator. For his work he received a number of decorations […], including the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1969).
He died in the prime of life, on March 24, 1973.
References:
Berezowski S., 1981, Economic geography at the Warsaw University of Economics 1906-1981, “Przegląd Geograficzny”, 53, 3, pp. 649-663.
Leszczycki S., 1973, Mieczysław Fleszar, 1915-1973, “Przegląd Geograficzny”, 45, 4, pp. 810-812.
Taylor E., 1973, M. Fleszar, Pollution and protection of the natural environment in the world, “Przegląd Geograficzny”, 45, 3, pp. 667-668 [review].
/prepared by: Ewa Taylor/
Stanisław Wiktor Berezowski (1910-1986)
Stanisław Wiktor Berezowski was born on October 18, 1910 in Kraków. In 1930, he began studying geography at the Jagiellonian University, and in 1934 he obtained a master’s degree in philosophy in the field of geography. He wrote his master’s thesis under the supervision of Professor Jerzy Smoleński. At the same time, he graduated from the School of Political Science at the Faculty of Law of the Jagiellonian University. After completing his studies, he received a scholarship from the National Culture Fund in Warsaw, in the research studio of Professor Bogdan Zaborski.
Since 1935, Stanisław Berezowski worked at the Silesian Institute in Katowice, where he developed a tourist and sightseeing guide to the Silesian Voivodeship, published in 1937. In the years 1936-1938, he studied at the Institute des Hautes Études Internationales at the Faculty of Law of the University of Paris.
Stanisław Berezowski spent the war years in Warsaw working in the Warsaw City Hall, and his underground work in those years left a beautiful mark on his life story.
After the end of the war, Stanisław Berezowski went back to Paris to continue his doctoral studies, which he did under the supervision of Prof. Georges Chabot. He defended his doctoral thesis, devoted to the ports of the Middle Danube, in June 1946. The supervisor of the thesis was Prof. Stanisław Leszczycki. The subject of communication geography appeared in Stanisław Berezowski’s research works throughout all the subsequent years of his scientific work.
In November 1946, he began his long-term cooperation with the Warsaw School of Economics (from 1949 the Main School of Planning and Statistics, from 1991 again the Warsaw School of Economics), initially as an assistant to Prof. Jerzy Loth in the Department of Economic Geography, and from 1 March 1947 as an assistant professor in the Department of Economic Geography of Poland, and on 1 September 1949 he became a contract lecturer. He was appointed as an independent researcher in the Department of Economic Geography on 1 September 1952. In the years 1957-1972 he led the Department of Economic Geography.
Stanisław Berezowski combined scientific work with work in state administration. From 1946 he was an employee of the Central Planning Office in the International Department in Warsaw. In 1947 he was delegated twice to Geneva for conferences at the European office of the United Nations. He also used his theoretical knowledge related to spatial planning and development in his work undertaken in September 1948 at the Main Office of Spatial Planning and at the State Economic Planning Commission in the Department of Regional Plans and Localization, where he worked until 1952.
Professor Berezowski was mainly associated with Warsaw in his academic career, but in the years 1948-1958 he also worked at the Higher School of Economics in Łódź, later incorporated into the University of Łódź, where he established and headed the Department of Economic Geography. In June 1954, the University of Łódź awarded Stanisław Berezowski the academic degree of associate professor. In 1965, he was nominated at the SGPiS as an associate professor, and in November 1974 as a full professor of economic sciences.
Professor Stanisław Berezowski died on February 4, 1986. He was buried at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.
Professor Berezowski combined the features of a scholar, a teacher of academic staff, a dedicated student educator, a popularizer of scientific knowledge, and a social activist.
Professor Berezowski conducted scientific work in several research areas. His early work, carried out in the 1950s, concerned the geography of the Tatra Mountains, as well as nomadic pastoralism, as a dying form of grazing, in the Carpathians and other regions of Europe. He wrote many articles on this subject and presented several papers at international congresses.
Another direction of research, initiated in his doctoral thesis, was the geography of communication. The professor classified transport hubs in Poland. The results of his research were numerous publications, including valued academic textbooks.
The many years of studies directed and implemented by the Professor were related to the theory of spatial structures and economic regionalization. He began this research during his stay in 1950 at the Moscow State Economic Institute. The Professor developed the theory of economic regions, especially the theory of the complex region inspired by the concepts of the Soviet school and the theory of the region, which was presented in French literature. He adapted these theories for the needs of regional planning in Poland. He conducted research on the internal regionalization of the Warsaw region. He created the theoretical foundations for planning this region, publishing many scientific works on individual subregions and the metropolitan region of Warsaw. This subject is still extremely relevant, and studies on the spatial organization of the economy and its impact on local and regional development are currently conducted by many research centers in Poland.
An important trend in the Professor’s research was the geography of small towns. Initially, in his works, he focused on research on cities in the then Łódź and Warsaw provinces, and later expanded the research to other regions of Poland.
The work of Professor Berezowski and the research team cooperating with him related to the location of economic activity provided the basis for many years of research conducted at the Department of Economic Geography at the Main School of Planning and Statistics, and later at the Warsaw School of Economics.
The result of Professor Stanisław Berezowski’s scientific work was the publication of about 630 items, including about 350 scientific studies. He published his works in several languages (French, English, German, Russian). Many years of scientific research also became the basis for conducting studies on the methodology of geographical sciences.
The Professor’s merits in educating scientific staff are significant. Under his supervision, doctoral theses were written by 8 people, including Irena Fierla, Stanislaw Maciej Zawadzki, Jerzy Lehr-Spławiński, Tadeusz Hoff, and many other doctoral theses were inspired by his research.
The measure of Professor Stanisław Berezowski’s didactic achievements was the promotion of over 350 master’s degrees. Many students used textbooks written or scientifically edited by Professor Berezowski, and the following are particularly noteworthy: Economic Geography of Poland, Outline of the Geography of Communication, Spatial Structure of the National Economy of Poland, Introduction to Economic Regionalization, Geography of Transport, Geography of Communication, Research Methods in Economic Geography. Each of these works went through several editions. High school students also learned about economic geography from a textbook written together with Józef Barbag. In the years 1974-81, Professor Berezowski chaired the Polish group in the work of bilateral commissions (Polish-Czechoslovak and Polish-Romanian) for the improvement of school textbooks on history and geography.
As a teacher and promoter of science, he cared about the development of academic youth. During his studies, he actively worked in the student scientific Geographers’ Club of the Jagiellonian University, which is perhaps why he founded the Student Scientific Geographers’ Club at the SGPiS. He was its supervisor and supported students in conducting research and learning about the world. All students who were involved in the work of the student scientific club, and today some of them are academics with academic titles, remember the great sympathy the Professor had for students and their work. He participated in many meetings of student scientific clubs and scientific camps. He offered his knowledge and experience.
Professor Berezowski was invited to lecture at many universities in Europe and Canada. For several years, he gave lectures at the SGPiS for the francophone group at the higher economic planning course.
In the years 1972-1978, he served as the chairman of the Polish Geographical Society. He participated in five congresses of the International Geographical Union and in all periodically organized Polish-French geographical colloquia. For many years he was a member of the Committee of Geographical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Professor Berezowski was a great lover of Kraków and Mazovia, and he especially wanted to get to know the Warsaw region in depth in the historical, economic, geographical, tourist and social sense. In 1966, he was a co-founder of the Mazovian Culture Society and the Mazovian Scientific Research Centre operating at it. In the years 1968-1974 and again from 1979, he was the deputy chairman of the Scientific Council of the Mazovian Scientific Research Centre, and throughout the period - chairman of the Contemporary Research Commission of that Centre. He was also a member of the Editorial Board of “Rocznik Mazowiecki” and “Czasopismo Geograficzne”. The professor was a co-initiator of the creation of scientific stations in Mazovia.
Professor Berezowski was a populariser of science from the beginning of his work. In the years 1955-68, he was the editor-in-chief of the geographical monthly “Poznaj Świat”, where in numerous articles he brought geographical knowledge to young people.
For his work he was awarded many prizes and medals, and the Geographical Societies in Czechoslovakia and Paris gave the Professor the title of honorary member.
The motto of Professor Stanisław Berezowski’s research was to thoroughly understand the landscape, the economic life of society and its culture, in order to serve the environment and the needs of its inhabitants. He set directions for scientific research, to which science is currently returning. He created the foundations of many, still relevant, research trends.
/prepared by: Barbara Trzcińska/
Irena Fierla
Irena Fierla (born January 19, 1933 in Nowosiółki), geographer, economist. She studied at the Main School of Planning and Statistics in Warsaw at the Faculty of Industrial Economics (first-cycle studies) and the Faculty of General Economics (second-cycle studies), obtaining a master’s degree in economics in 1955. In 1962, she defended her doctoral thesis entitled “Geographical and economic analysis of the location of the car plant in Starachowice”, prepared under the scientific supervision of prof. St. Berezowski, and in 1978 the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Production Economics of the Main School of Planning and Statistics awarded her the degree of habilitated doctor of economics in recognition of her scientific achievements and habilitation thesis “Population migrations in Poland and industrialization”. In 1981, she received the title of associate professor at the Warsaw School of Economics and Statistics, and in 1994, she took up the position of full professor at the Warsaw School of Economics.
Achieving successive levels of her academic career was accompanied by professional work at the Department of Economic Geography, initially as an assistant, senior assistant, assistant professor, associate professor, and finally professor and long-term head of this Department. In her professional work, apart from scientific research and teaching, she held various academic management positions. From 1977, she held the position of Head of the Department of Economic Geography and Environmental Management at the Institute of Spatial Policy and Management at the Warsaw School of Economics and Statistics, and after its dissolution, at the Department of Economic Geography and Environmental Management, and then at the Department of Economic Geography. In the years 1968-1975 she held the position of Vice-Dean, and during the term 1978-1981 the position of Dean at the Faculty of Production Economics of her alma mater. Her experience and knowledge meant that she was repeatedly appointed as a member of the committees for teaching programs and for study regulations, and the trust she enjoyed among the academic community allowed her to sit on the disciplinary committee for students and the disciplinary committee for academic staff.
Her high professional activity was also reflected in her educational and teaching activities. Prof. I. Fierla is an extremely valued lecturer and teacher. She was the supervisor of over 220 diploma theses (master’s and engineering), 6 doctoral theses, a reviewer of 10 doctoral dissertations and 5 habilitation dissertations. She prepared 6 publishing reviews of publications prepared as part of her professional advancement and 5 opinions on scientific, teaching and organizational achievements in the procedure for awarding the title of professor.
Since the beginning of the 1960s, Prof. I. Fierla has been a member of the Spatial Development Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, since 1975 a member of the presidium and scientific secretary of this Committee, and since 1981 she has held the position of vice-chairwoman of the Committee. At that time she was also the editor-in-chief of the “Zeszyt Badań Regionów Uprzemysławianych”. Since 1975 she has cooperated with the Committee for the Study of Industrial Regions of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Much earlier, during her studies, she was a member of the Polish Geographical Society, within which she led scientific seminars of the Industrial Geography section. For many years she cooperated with the Ostrołęka Scientific Society and the Central Teacher Training Centre, conducting seminars and giving lectures. For many years, as the Head of the Department of Economic Geography at the Warsaw School of Economics, she gave this Department a very clear direction of development, in which, by examining and describing the spatial differentiation of the economy and the conditions for its development, the causes of the differentiation and its consequences for both the national economy and the regional economy were indicated, taking into account the variability of the internal and external environment and its dynamics. The specificity of the research and publications of the Department’s employees was, in effect, an expression of the Professor’s concern for preserving the tradition and achievements of her predecessors and, at the same time, the need for modernity and orientation towards the future.
Prof. I. Fierla saw the need to open up and cooperate with other leading scientific centers, hence, among others, she maintained scientific contacts with the Department of Economic Geography and the Institute of Spatial Economy of the Higher School of Economics in Berlin and the Department of Economic Geography of the Plekhov Institute of National Economy in Moscow and the Department of Geography of the University of Ostrava.
The main subject of the scientific and research interests of prof. I. Fierli was the location and spatial structure of industry. Within this research area, she conducted analyses of the location of industrial plants, assessed location factors and the specificity of the location of industries and branches of industry. She studied the conditions for changes in the spatial structure of the industry in highly developed Western European countries. She repeatedly presented issues related to industrial restructuring as a regional problem, with the coordination of the processes of economic restructuring at the regional level and the analysis of sources of financing for this restructuring. Observations of economic and political changes taking place in the Polish economy allowed her to determine the impact of these changes on the spatial structure of industry. Prof. I. Fierla contributed significantly to the development of the theory of industrial location in Poland and the typology of spatial units of industry.
The second important area of research of Prof. Irena Fierla was issues related to the formation of industrial spatial units. She created an original typology of districts, centers and industrial complexes formed in our country, and also indicated regions at risk of regression as a result of the economic transformation taking place in the 1990s. Professor Irena Fierla is also one of the most valued specialists in the field of Polish regional economics.
The basic trend of Prof. I. Fierla’s interests is related to population issues. Within their framework, she studied the interdependencies between the location of industry and labor resources and population migrations. She was particularly active in the field of research on the management of the human factor in industrialized regions and the depopulation of some regions of Central Europe, including Poland. An important area of interest was population migration and the specificity of local labor markets. In addition, in many publications she raised issues of cognitive importance in the field of population geography and regional aspects of socio-economic development.
Prof. I. Fierla is an undisputed authority in relation to the spatial issues of industry location, the theory of shaping industrial regions and economic conditions of population migration. This is evidenced by the number and importance of publications, activity at conferences, symposia and recognition in the geographers’ community. Prof. I. Fierla is the author and co-author of many publications, among which 11 monographs, 33 articles and over 25 academic textbooks are noteworthy.
She has received numerous awards for her scientific, teaching and organizational activities. She received the Silver Cross of Merit, the Golden Cross of Merit, the Medal of the National Education Commission and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, she received the award of the Minister of Science, Higher Education and Technology five times and the awards of the Rector of the SGPIS and the Rector of the Warsaw School of Economics many times.
/prepared by: Dorota Niedziółka/
Witold Rakowski
Prof. W. Rakowski belongs to a group of scientists distinguished by very rich scientific activity, didactic talent, managerial charisma, but also a very specific, not only scientific, but also “social” approach to local and regional development and specific groups of adversaries (residents, socio-professional groups). An extremely rich biography shows the professor as a person who flexibly combines scientific, didactic and managerial functions. When drawing the profile of Prof. Rakowski, one cannot resist the impression that this is a biography so rich that it certainly exceeds the common idea of a scientist’s profile and, as a result, is difficult to capture in a concise way, while at the same time showing the wealth of personality and achievements.
Rakowski is perceived as a “well-known researcher of regional issues”, focusing his research field on the subject of “population geography”. Among the numerous scientific and research issues undertaken by Rakowski, which include: urbanization and industrialization processes, migrations of people (shuttle and permanent), communication, settlement system, agriculture, spatial planning, local and regional economy and living conditions of the population, the following were considered to be particularly original achievements: migrations of people, shaping the settlement system, living conditions of the population. Characteristic features of Rakowski’s scientific profile include the concentration of research interests on empirical investigations supported by a thorough and multi-dimensional methodological and statistical analysis.
It seems that elements of his biography such as: historical roots in the tradition of the Polish village, upbringing in a large family and forced migration had a great influence on the shape of Rakowski’s research interests. Therefore, his research interests and passions in matters related to the development of agriculture, urbanization of the village, migration and industrialization processes, as well as the living conditions of local communities were also built in reference to personal experiences.
W. Rakowski was born on January 6, 1936 in Radowicze in Volhynia into a peasant family as the ninth of ten children. After the war, the Rakowski family settled near Sztum (Pomeranian Voivodeship) and Rakowski connected his primary and secondary education (Agricultural Accounting Technical School) with this region. He experienced his first practical connection between theory and economic practice as an instructor of accounting for production cooperatives in the local Presidium of the National Council. However, he connected his academic education and later professional career with another region, namely Mazovia, for which the leading economic school was the Warsaw School of Economics (then SGPiS). In the years 1956-1961 Rakowski studied Production Economics, and then began working as a researcher (from 1963), starting as a trainee assistant/assistant through subsequent academic degrees: assistant professor (1971), habilitated doctor (1981), associate professor (1991) and professor (1993).
For about 30 years (until 1993), W. Rakowski was associated with the Department of Economic Geography, where he shaped his interests as a researcher, scientist and teacher. The results of the research conducted at that time were a doctoral thesis written under the supervision of prof. I. Fierli and a habilitation thesis, showing in a broader context the issues of urbanization, industrialization and migration previously presented as examples. Both works, i.e. a book that is a short version of the doctoral thesis entitled The processes of rural urbanization on the example of the Warsaw voivodeship in the years 1950-1966 (“Studia KPZK PAN”, vol. L, PWN, Warsaw 1975), as well as the habilitation thesis entitled Uprzemysłowienie a Proces Urbanizacji (PWE, Warsaw 1980) were among his most important book publications. As Rakowski emphasizes, the study of rural urbanization processes in the Warsaw voivodeship (based on numerous study trips, among others, as part of scientific camps) is among the group of “the best publications on urbanization processes in the countryside”. It shows the comprehensive relationships that occur in rural areas under the influence of non-agricultural work undertaken by the rural population, including the relationship between the location of the village in the settlement subsystem and the process of their depopulation.
Among Rakowski’s outstanding works is also the book “City regions in Poland in the light of population migration” (MiO, SGPiS 1989, no. 271). This is a study defining the delimitation of the catchment zones of large cities in Poland based on (permanent) population migration, which is the first study of this type in Poland. Another important work written in this period is the book based on research reports entitled Migracje ludzi wiejskiej wojewódza radomskiego i ich istotne na prąd wyludania się rolniczych (Migracje ludzi wója radomskiego i ich istotne na prąd wyludania się rolniczych) (Migacje ruralej wojewódza … It should be noted that the aforementioned publication gained a supranational dimension with its inclusion in the list of literature recommended in demography by Princeton University (Population Idex” vol. 54 no. 10572).
It is also worth emphasizing Rakowski’s contribution to the scientific activity of the Institute of Social Economy (IGS) of the Warsaw School of Economics, where he served successively as deputy director in the years 1987-1993 and director until 1996. The research conducted on the living conditions of the population and academic communities met with great interest, resulting, among other things, in the ordering by the Chancellery of the Sejm of an expert opinion on the financial situation of the student community (2000).
Rakowski’s scientific profile was shaped by cooperation with such well-known geographers as: prof. S. Berezowski (economic regionalization), prof. K. Secomski (spatial planning, socio-economic development), prof. I. Fierla (industrial geography), prof. B. Prandecka (economic policy and natural environment), prof. M. Kiełczewska-Zaleska (settlement), prof. K. Dziewoński (settlement) and with other scientists, including prof. A. Kurzynowski (social policy).
Among the most important research directions undertaken in cooperation with the Department of Economic Geography of the Warsaw School of Economics were research in the area of regionalization conducted under the supervision of prof. S. Berezowski, issues of industry (especially the issues of newly industrialized districts) under the supervision of prof. I. Fierli, as well as issues of population (including migration) and settlement undertaken in cooperation with prof. K. Kuciński and prof. T. Pakulska and prof. M. Poniatowska-Jaksch, who were his students, as was dr hab. D. Gospodarowicz (Kołodziejczyk) currently working at the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics.
The impressive scientific and teaching achievements of prof. W. Rakowski’s output includes over 300 publications. This group includes 9 books of his authorship and 5 books (including 2 academic textbooks) of which he was a co-author. He is, among others, the co-author of the textbook “Economic Geography” which contains 2 chapters of his authorship: Agriculture and Infrastructure. In addition, there are 20 books of which he is the editor or co-editor. These include a valued publication created thanks to a research grant from the State Committee for Scientific Research entitled Living conditions of selected local communities at the beginning of the 21st century (SGH, Warsaw 2003). Among the latest publications edited by prof. Rakowski are the cyclically published Rocznik Żyrardowski (2011-2002) and the book entitled Przyszłość integracji Europejskiej. Umocniania rozwój gospodarowania Unii Europejskiej (co-editor P. Misztal, 2012). The aforementioned publications also contain chapters of his authorship.
In addition, he is the author of 271 articles and studies. This number consists of 204 articles in scientific journals and 42 papers in collective works and other studies (e.g. 9 forewords in books, 5 interviews, 5 articles in newspapers, 7 voices in discussions, 3 biographies).
Teaching and cooperation with academic youth is also a “strong point” of Prof. W. Rakowski, as evidenced by popular lectures at the Warsaw School of Economics on Economic Geography, or the lecture entitled Social Conditioning of Production Distribution. His teaching activity is also associated with other universities in the region and beyond. In 1997, he co-founded the Higher School of Local Development in Żyrardów, of which he is the rector. He also lectured at the Private Higher School of Environmental Protection in Radom, and (since 1981) at the Radom University of Technology (economic geography, spatial planning), where he serves as the head of the Department of Regional and Local Development (Faculty of Economics). He also lectured at the Private Higher School of Social Service in Suwałki.
The professor’s fruitful educational work is evidenced by his promoted students and graduates. He has supervised 11 doctoral theses and 1,040 bachelor’s and master’s theses. He has also prepared about 400 reviews of diploma theses. It is worth emphasizing his involvement in the work of the Geographers’ Scientific Circle of the Warsaw School of Economics, of which he was the supervisor for many years (he organized, among other things, numerous scientific camps, and the papers written under his supervision won awards at national scientific circle conventions, and among the circle’s graduates were later scientists). An interesting fact from his biography was his lectures at the Polish University in Vilnius (1992-1996), where he also organized the competition “Memoirs of Poles in Lithuania”, the results of which were published by IGS in the book Diaries of Poles in Lithuania 1945-1995. The Fates of Generations (SGPiS, 1998). Very active in terms of organization, he held many managerial positions (including at his alma mater (SGH). Apart from his managerial positions at IGS, he was the vice-dean of the Faculty of Production Economics (1984-1990), and the first dean of the College of Business Administration established after the reform of the university (1991-1993). He also held the position of chairman of the Qualification Committee for the Degree of Professional Specialization of Teachers in Geography at the Voivodeship Methodical and Polytechnical Center in Radom. Rakowski (1995-1996) was a member of the State Council for Spatial Economy CUP and belonged to the Scientific Council at the President of the Capital City of Warsaw (1986-1989). He also actively works in the Mazovian Scientific Society (vice-chairman since 1999), the Radom Scientific Society and the Polish Society for the Protection of Geography. Demographic.
A broad spectrum of research interests and their close connection with economic and social practice are the basis for perceiving Rakowski as a “scientist-economist with great, even humanistic, social sensitivity and broad interests”.
/prepared by Anna Rutkowska-Gurak/