Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Jan Nowak, the fighter for the Polish resistance during World War II who went on to head the Polish service of Radio Free Europe for a quarter of a century, died Jan. 20 in a hospital in his native Warsaw. He was 91 years old.
Nowak gained prominence as a result of his service with the Polish underground during WWII, when he shuttled between London, Stockholm and Warsaw to lobby allied leaders and organize the resistance at home. During the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, he oversaw English-language broadcasting from the Polish capital, and met his wife Greta, who passed away in 1999.
Nowak continued to fight for Poland after the war by helming the Polish service of Radio Free Europe, where his audience included Pope John Paul II. After his 1976 retirement from RFE, the Nowaks moved to America, where Jan served as national director of the Polish American Congress and later as a consultant to the National Security Council during the Carter administration.
RFE/RL President Thomas A. Dine called Nowak a “great leader. He was a great Polish patriot. He made the Polish section of RFE the jewel in the crown.”
Polish RFE Head Nowak Passes Away at 91
Polish RFE Head Nowak Passes Away at 91
