Dyskursy Młodych Andragogów / Adult Education Discourses • 21/2020 CC BY 4.0 • ISSN 2084-2740 • doi.org/10.34768/dma.vi21.533 • s. 143-153 Elżbieta Perzycka* Grażyna Czubińska** ACADEMIC EDUCATION OF POLES ABROAD. TRADITION AND NEW CHALLENGES ON THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUNO KSZTAŁCENIE AKADEMICKIE POLAKÓW NA OBCZYŹNIE. TRADYCJA I NOWE WYZWANIA W ROCZNICĘ 80-LECIA PUNO abstract: The everyday life of Poles living abroad is closely related to the tradition of their country of origin regardless of the elements that make up this life. Education and science play an important role in maintaining ties with the nation and the ethos of the Polish national heritage. This article undertakes the description of the conditions for implementing the academic education of Poles in exile and emigration, noting the importance of the activity of the Polish University Abroad for the traditions of Polish culture, education and science. The article also attempts to identify the mission and vision of academic education at the Polish University Abroad, as well as its present and future directions of development. Keywords: academic education, university. abstrakt: Codzienność Polaków przebywających poza granicami Polski, niezależnie od elementów, jakie się na nią składają, jest w ścisłym związku z tradycją kraju swojego pochodzenia. W zachowaniu więzi z narodem oraz z etosem polskiego dziedzictwa narodowego ważną rolę odgrywa edukacja i na- uka. W artykule podejmujemy się opisania warunków realizacji kształcenia akademickiego Polaków na uchodźstwie i emigracji, zwracając uwagę na znaczenie aktywności Polskiego Uniwersytetu na Uchodźstwie dla tradycji kultury polskiej, edukacji i nauki. Podjęliśmy także próbę wskazania Misji i Wizji kształcenia akademickiego w Polskiej Uczelni Wyższej poza granicami ojczyzny, w czasach teraźniejszych i kierunków rozwoju w przyszłości. Słowa kluczowe: kształcenie akademickie, uczelnia wyższa. Introduction In the spatial history of the Polish state, access to education was not always possible, even in accordance with the human right to education. Such restrictions particularly took place during partitions or wars. The 80th anniversary of the Polish University Abroad creates a convenient situation to familiarise Poles, especially the young generation, with the conditions in which actions were taken to maintain the continuity of the Polish language and of academic education. The 80th anniversary of PUNO is the celebration of * Elżbieta Perzycka, dr hab. prof. US – University of Szczecin, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Pedagogy; e-mail: [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7829-3806. ** Grażyna Czubińska, dr, prof. PUNO – The Polish University Abroad, London, United King- dom; e-mail: [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5993-5360. 144 Elżbieta Perzycka, Grażyna Czubińska the great idea of establishing a Polish independent university abroad working for the good of Poles scattered around the world and for the good of their homeland – an idea adopted by the Polish university founded in Paris, that has been continued and developed for dec- ades by the Polish University Abroad in London (excerpt from a statement by Professor Tomasz J. Kazmierski, rector of PUNO, during the inauguration of the celebration of the 80th anniversary of PUNO on October 11, 2019 in London). We devote this article to events related to Polish education between the years 1339-1940 and the memory of numerous heroes, among whom a large number were teachers. The social group most persecuted by the Germans at that time was the in- telligensia: priests, teachers, doctors, officers, officials, buyers, landowners, writers, editors, and others (Walczak 1995, p. 60). They were primarily people who received higher and secondary education. At the same time, similar survivors were recorded on the eastern side of the Polish border. They were primarily people who received higher and secondary education (Walczak 1995, pp. 26-27) The Soviets destroyed the Polish intelligentsia to make the remaining inhabitants of Polish nationality vulnerable to Moscow’s indoctrination (Grzenia 1995, p. 14). In order to stop the development of the intellectual staff, the occupiers began a fight against all manifestations of national and cultural life. Higher education institutions were closed and the process of shutting down secondary schools in the entire territory of the Commonwealth occupied by German troops and elementary schools in the territories annexed to the Reich lasted from October 1939. Until March 1940, only general vocational education was left in the General Government (GG), preparing workers for the needs of German occupations (industrial, economic (arches, trade, agriculture and horticulture and others)), and elementary schools which banned the teaching of humanities and physical education (Pospieszalski 1952, pp. 43-45). Not only the level of organization of the chauffeur service, but above all the knowledge transferred aroused resistance. Two hours a day classes in German were conducted by German teachers, student’s exchanged their education for work, thus creating labor camps for children and youth (Walczak 1987, p. 44). On the basis of source studies, as well as reports of starosts and mayors, the War Compensation Bureau at the Presidium of the Council of Ministers in 1945 determined that during the Second World War, 5,851 teachers and academics (representing 6.6% of pre-martial law) died, including 3,963 from general education (5.1%), 848 from general secondary education (13.1%), 340 from vocational education (14.2%) and 700 from higher education (28.5%) (Walczak 1995a, p. 10). Two years later, he reported that ‘the Nazis murdered 48,500 representatives of various intellectual professions (Walczak 1978, pp. 30-32). However, these statistics are not complete, as they come from the period of Poland being under the influence of the Soviet Union (Grzenia 1995, p. 7), which made it impossible to include data from the period of the Soviet occupation. Poles’ struggle to Academic education of Poles abroad. Tradition and new challenges on the 80th anniversary of PUNO 145 preserve the continuity of Polish education and science also contributes to the destruc- tion of Polish dignity. Therefore, and due to the 80th anniversary of PUNO, we have attempted to answer the following questions: What were the reasons for the establish- ment of PUNO? What is the tradition of a university abroad? What is the significance of academic education abroad for Poles in exile today? Due to the time and historical circumstances of numerous PUNO events, this article does not aspire to describe all the conditions that may answer the questions posed. These considerations are an at- tempt to show continuity that is independent of external influences of the university and of conditions of continuity of the academic tradition; a tradition that has enabled and continues to allow Poles to receive academic education outside their homeland. Methodological conditions for gathering empirical data The establishment and maintenance of a Polish university abroad can be analysed from two perspectives: horizontal and vertical. The first indicates the external causes of the establishment of the university, and these are the historical and cultural circumstances of Poland and Poles. The second perspective is the tradition of academic education and patriotic education which has changed over time and under the influence of politi- cal and religious changes. In order to describe both perspectives, this article refers to documents found in the Polish Library in Paris and to scientific (analytical) texts, as well as studies popularising the activities of academic education abroad, issued on the occasion of a number of ceremonies and celebrations such as the previously mentioned 80th anniversary of PUNO and previous 50th, 70th and 75th anniversaries. In the Polish Library in Paris, reviewed were the executive acts documenting the conditions for the functioning of the University and the scientific and didactic activi- ties undertaken. The documents have been grouped into three categories: 1) Materials related to the establishment and organization of the Polish University Abroad in Paris (documents related to the establishment of the University and university norms), 2) Materials regarding the activity of the University abroad, 3) Files on financial mat- ters and other materials. A total of 26 documents were analysed. The second method used to answer the questions was a free interview conducted among PUNO graduates. Nine people participated in the interview, this included 2 people currently living in France, 1 in Switzerland, and 6 in Great Britain. Interviews took place during the 80th anniversary of PUNO, in the POSK building in London. The situation (break in the graduates meeting) of obtaining research material favoured the conversation. Respondents felt free to provide information about their private lives. They were informed that their statements would be made public. The ethical aspects of interviewing in relation to acquired knowledge were taken into account (Sennett 146 Elżbieta Perzycka, Grażyna Czubińska 2004, pp. 37-38). As a result of the analysis of documents and interviews, extensive empirical material was collected. Due to the volume, this article mentions only a few fragments and is a general outline and at the same time an introduction to the issue. More extensive material is being prepared for printing at the University Abroad in London Publishing