English Section

Polish state honour for German scientist

20.09.2021 09:45
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has granted a state medal to German sociologist, economist and demographer Gunnar Heinsohn.
Audio
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (right) and Prof. Gunnar Heinsohn (left) during the ceremony in Warsaw on Sunday.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (right) and Prof. Gunnar Heinsohn (left) during the ceremony in Warsaw on Sunday.Photo: PAP/Wojciech Olkuśnik

The decoration ceremony took place during the “Poland - Big Project” annual conference at Warsaw’s Royal Castle on Sunday.

Entitled “Courage and Credibility,” the medal is conferred for helping advance the image of Poland and its citizens internationally.

The Polish prime minister saluted Heinsohn as “a Renaissance man” who “is able to bring together knowledge from multiple disciplines.”

Morawiecki added that such a broad approach “is much needed today” because “human knowledge is increasing at mind-boggling speed.”

Morawiecki also reflected that "neoliberal views have dominated science" since 1989.

“This is why today, we so badly need those who can expose the true nature of such models, in a daring and sometimes provocative way," he said.

Born during World War II in the Nazi German-occupied northern Polish city of Gdynia, Heinsohn is a longtime lecturer at the University of Bremen in northwestern Germany.

He has published extensively on a range of topics, such as economics, genocide, the links between demography and security policy and the impact of education on the success of societies.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP

Click on the audio player above to listen to a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.