Maria Curie–Skłodowska University – MCSU (Polish: Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej – UMCS) in Lublin was created on 23 October 1944 by the Polish Committee of National Liberation’s (Polish: Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego PKWN) proMoscow decree. It was first such an institution in “new Poland.” The person chosen to be the vice-chancellor of the MCSU was a pre-war socialist Henryk Raabe. He met all the criteria demanded by the new regime. Firstly, he was a left-winger, but on the other hand, he was not a communist; he was not a member of the unpopular Polish Workers’ Party (Polish: Polska Partia Robotnicza – PPR). As such, he had a greater opportunity to create a necessary team of co-workers. Furthermore, as a socialist, he confirmed the values promoted by propaganda, i.e. political pluralism and the alleged willingness to create a democratic state, in which there would be space for debate and the diversity of views. H. Raabe could be also considered the symbol of a person discriminated against in the Second Polish Republic on the basis of his socialist views, and what follows, a person deprived of the possibility for having an academic career. In the new reality, he became a perfect example portraying the rapid changes in the country where the chance to develop was given to people who had competence, passion and character.