# Karol Nawrocki

Karol Tadeusz Nawrocki (born 3 March 1983) is a Polish historian. Since 2021, he is the head of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). He also served as the director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk from 2017 to 2021.
His research focuses on anticommunist opposition in Poland, organised crime in the Polish People's Republic and the history of sports. In February 2024, Karol Nawrocki was listed as one of the persons wanted by the Russian Federation on criminal charges in relation to actions pertaining to the removal of monuments commemorating the presence of the Red Army on Polish territory in the years 1944-1989.
On 24 November 2024, Nawrocki was announced and supported by Law and Justice as an independent candidate for the 2025 Polish presidential election.

## Career

Nawrocki graduated from the Faculty of History at the University of Gdańsk where he earned his PhD in 2013. In 2023, he completed International MBA in Strategy, Programme and Project Management postgraduate studies at the Gdańsk University of Technology.
He worked at the Institute of National Remembrance in the years 2009–2017, heading its Branch Public Education Office in Gdańsk from 2013 to 2017. He also served as the chairman of the Siedlce District Council in Gdańsk between 2011 and 2017.
In 2017, he was appointed the director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, a job he held until 2021. He then returned to the Institute of National Remembrance, becoming its deputy president in June 2021. In July 2021, he took office as the IPN's new head after being elected by the Sejm and approved by the Senate of Poland.
Nawrocki is the author or co-author of several books as well as numerous scientific and popular science papers on anticommunist opposition, organised crime in the Polish People's Republic and the history of sports.
On 24 November 2024, Karol Nawrocki was announced and supported by Law and Justice as an independent candidate for the office of the President of the Republic of Poland.

## Political views

Nawrocki is considered a nonpartisan, but of conservative outlook. Nawrocki describes himself as a "representative of the broadly defined patriotic camp", and stresses that he has never belonged to a political party. He considers himself "a civic candidate" that will end the "Polish-Polish war". He declared that he is ready to support "any Polish government that demands the exhumation of Polish victims in Volhynia", and describes issues of history and social accountability as his "demarcation lines". Euronews describes the political alignment of Nawrocki's campaign as "patriotic, pro-Christian, pro-NATO and favourable to president Donald Trump".
Socially, Nawrocki stresses his commitment to Polish patriotism, Christian values and national sovereignty, and declares the need to defend traditional social values. He stated his strong opposition to removal of crosses from state buildings. When asked about his views on same-sex civil partnerships and abortion, Nawrocki said that he has strong beliefs on these issues, but refused to reveal them. He holds anti-communist views, and criticizes Polish education system, claiming that Polish education is controlled by the "post-communist party environment". He is responsible for removal of several Red Army monuments in Poland - this is considered a criminal act by Russia, which put him on its national wanted list. He describes cursed soldiers as national heroes of Poland, and praised Law and Justice for implementing a national remembrance day in their memory.
On economic matters, Nawrocki describes himself as a strong supporter of armanents and social investment programs. In a speech in which he accepted the Law and Justice's endorsement for his candidacy, Nawrocki pledged to abolish overtime labor tax and to focus on large economic investments; he strongly supports the Central Communication Port project, and praised the Central Industrial Region and Stocznia Gdynia schemes developed in the interwar Second Polish Republic. Nawrocki expressed his fascination with other large investments such as the Vistula Spit canal and Świnoujście LNG terminal, and wants to pursue similar undertakings. He supports welfare programs and opposes adopting Euro as the Polish currency. He stresses the problem of transport exclusion in Poland and pledged to develop rail infrastructure in underdeveloped regions.
He argues that Poland needs to achieve "full energy sovereignty". He supports nuclear energy, describing it as "the most secure and stable one". He also criticized the European Green Deal, stating that while he supports environmental protection, he opposes "climate madness at the expense of Polish homes, workers and entrepreneurs". Nawrocki also believes that Poland needs to ensure its food security and respect "the sovereignty of the Polish countryside"; he described the Polish countryside as "the mainstay of Polish culture, traditions and social values". He wishes to implement new policies that will combat "unfair competition" in the Polish economy.
Nawrocki opposes the federalisation of the European Union and stresses the need to maintain Polish national identity within the European Union, adding that "Poland does not need a centralised state populated by EU citizens of Polish origin". He denounces attempts to downplay the massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia for the sake of improving Polish-Ukrainian relations. Nawrocki is opposed to Ukrainian membership of NATO or the European Union until the country accepts responsibility for the genocide of Poles in Volyn. He supports ending the Russo-Ukrainian War by a peace agreement, but argues that the issue of territorial cessions should be decided by the European community as well as Ukraine itself. He demands WW2 reparations from Germany to Poland, and states that the reparations are needed for Germany to prove that its peaceful intentions towards Poland. He also strongly opposes Russia, claiming that "Russia is imperialist in its foundation whether it is white terror, red terror or modern terror."

## Honors

In 2016, he was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland. In 2021, the Silver Cross of Merit followed.