Jerzy (George) Zubrzycki was born in Krakow, Poland on 12 January 1920. In 1938, he entered the Cavalry Officer Cadet School (Szkola Podchorazych Rezerwy Kawalerii) in Grudziadz (Northern Poland) to complete a year's compulsory Military Service before beginning university studies. Graduating in June 1939, he was essentially sent straight to the front to fight the invading German Army. He was taken prisoner by the Germans in September 1939, but escaped and served with the Polish underground movement eventually making his way to France, via Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Italy. Evacuated to Britain in June 1940, he served with the Polish Parachute Brigade, and the Polish Section of the Special Operations Executive (SOE).
In September 1945 Zubrzycki began studies at the London School of Economics, graduating in 1952 with a M.Sc.Econ in population studies. He then enrolled and completed a PhD at the Free Polish University in London.
In 1955 Zubrzycki accepted a post in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University (ANU) and immigrated with his family to Australia in December 1955. He continued to work at the ANU until his retirement in 1986, founding the Department of Sociology in 1970.
Zubrzycki wrote extensively on immigration and served on many government councils and inquiries into Australian immigration and multicultural policies. He chaired the Australian Ethnic Affairs Council (1977-81) and served on the council of the Institute of Multicultural Affairs (1980-86) and on the interim council for the National Museum of Australia. He was involved in a number of other organisations, including Lifeline and the Australian Family Association. In 1994 he became a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. In 1999 he was appointed to a federal government initiated committee reconsidering multiculturalism. He differed publicly from the Howard Government (1996-2007) on immigration and cultural diversity issues and the treatment of asylum seekers.
Zubrzycki was awarded a MBE Mily in 1945, a CBE in 1978 and made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1984.
Source: National Library of Australia (http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms6690); James Jupp, 'An Advocate for Multiculturalism' The Age (26 May, 2009): 17
