The article presents the scholarly profile and academic achievements of Professor Wojciech Roszkowski, a distinguished historian, economist, and intellectual. It is based on a laudation delivered by the author during the ceremony held on January 25, 2025, to confer the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński Primate of the Millennium Award. This distinction, granted by the Board of the Association of Alumni and Friends of the Faculty of Law at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), honors outstanding scholarly and professional accomplishments that promote Catholic values, by the guiding principle Deo et Patriae (For God and Country). The author delineates Professor Roszkowski’s academic career into three distinct phases: 1) the period of clandestine and academic activity (up to 1989); 2) the period of professional recognition and success (post-1989); 3) the period of marginalisation and repression (since 2022). During the first phase of his scholarly work, Professor Roszkowski was one among many researchers not widely known to the general public. Nonetheless, he demonstrated exceptional talent, intellectual resolve, and perseverance, which led him to undertake rigorous and innovative research on Polish history. At a time of the communist regime, Professor Roszkowski exhibited remarkable courage by addressing subjects such as the Katyn massacre and other communist atrocities. With the fall of communism in 1989 and the advent of a free Poland, Professor Roszkowski entered the second phase of his scholarly trajectory, marked by widespread recognition and professional acclaim. This period was particularly prolific, as he published extensively and articulated his findings with clarity and intellectual independence – no longer under pseudonyms. However, the same qualities of courage and principled authorship that garnered acclaim also provoked controversy. Some of his later works elicited strong opposition and rejection from segments of the academic community, inaugurating the third phase of his scholarly activity. This final phase presents significant material for further scholarly inquiry into the mechanisms, manifestations, and ethical dimensions of academic exclusion. It raises critical questions regarding the norms governing contemporary intellectual discourse and academic freedom. Throughout the article, the author underscores Professor Roszkowski’s unwavering intellectual independence, his steadfast commitment to Christian and patriotic values, and the enduring significance of his scholarly contributions to contemporary academic life and public discourse in Poland.
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