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greater manchester police operate a video intelligence unit whose plainclothes officers confront and video certain freed prisoners as they leave prison after serving their sentences they also record footage of people involved in anti @@ social behaviour on the streets the aim is to give other police officers up to date information on the appearance of people who have broken the law video footage thus collected is constantly replayed on tv screens in rooms where officers complete their paperwork footage that they have recorded has also been uploaded onto youtube in an attempt to catch people they believe have this has resulted in several offenders being sent back to prison after breaching licence conditions since the unit was launched in 2006 more than 900 people have been filmed by the unit not all of these people are suspects in crime however people can be filmed if they are thought to associate with prolific offenders or if they have been stopped in an area of high crime under suspicious circumstances kieran walsh a civil liberties lawyer said the unit's work could have implications for the force under article 8 of the european convention on human rights the right to privacy he believes that filming must be a proportionate and reasonable response to a crime and that this does not appear to be the case as people are being targeted over what they might do in the future it is uncertain as to how long data collected by the unit is to be kept but gmp currently anticipate it will be stored for 5 years

trinsey v pennsylvania 941 f2d 224 was a case decided by the united states court of appeals for the third circuit that confirmed the validity of special elections held without a primary under the fourteenth and seventeenth amendments to the united states constitution the case came about due to the death of h john heinz iii one of the us senators from pennsylvania in a plane crash on april 4 1991 under the seventeenth amendment state legislatures may give the governor the power to appoint officials to fill temporarily vacant senate seats until a special election can be held and pennsylvanian law contained a statute executing this and requiring no primaries for the special election instead both the democrats and republicans would each internally select their candidates john s trinsey jr a voter and potential candidate asked the united states district court for the eastern district of pennsylvania to declare the statute unconstitutional as a violation on the fourteenth and seventeenth amendments because the lack of a primary removed his right to properly vote for candidates and delegated that power to political parties

after deciding that the statute's subject matter necessitated the strict scrutiny approach the district court decided on june 10 1991 that it was an unconstitutional violation of the right to vote for and select senate candidates this decision was appealed to the court of appeals for the third circuit who decided against the use of the strict scrutiny approach and in its absence ruled that the statute was not a violation of the fourteenth and seventeenth amendments academics have been critical of both the decision reached and the approach used with one suggesting that the substantial state interests test used in valenti v rockefeller would be more appropriate

on april 4 1991 h john heinz iii one of the us senators from pennsylvania was killed when his chartered plane collided with a helicopter inspecting its landing gear under the seventeenth amendment to the united states constitution the legislature of each state has the power to permit the governor to fill the vacant seat until a special election can be held in pennsylvania this power had been delegated and governor robert p casey signed a writ on may 13 1991 declaring november 5 the date for a special election and temporarily appointing harris wofford to fill heinz's now @@ vacant seat under pennsylvanian law there was no need for a primary in such a situation instead both the democrats and republicans would each internally select their candidate who would run in the special election john s trinsey jr a member of the pennsylvanian electorate and potential candidate challenged the constitutionality of this law claiming that it violated his rights under the fourteenth and seventeenth amendments

trinsey argued that by failing to allow for primaries the state legislation prevented him from getting to select a candidate of his choice and that this violated the fourteenth amendment the terms of the statute ( and absence of a requirement for primaries ) also allegedly infringed the rights of the electorate under the seventeenth amendment which required the selection of senators by popular vote trinsey's complaint was that the legislation had effectively delegated the power to choose candidates to political parties rather than the electorate accordingly trinsey filed a motion for a declaratory judgment to state that the statute was unconstitutional and also requested that wofford be removed from his seat counsel for the commonwealth of pennsylvania joined by the office of the governor argued that the constitution did not require the holding of primary elections to fill vacancies and that the statute protected valid and compelling state interests in protecting the validity of the electoral process and limiting the term of a [ ] appointed senator

the case was first heard in the united states district court for the eastern district of pennsylvania where following oral arguments the judge dismissed both trinsey's motion to remove wofford and the commonwealth's motion to dismiss on june 10 1991 however the district court declared the statute unconstitutional stating that it violated both the fourteenth and seventeenth amendments due to the failure to ensure popular participation through the use of primary elections this decision was reached following an analysis of the legislative history of the seventeenth amendment and electoral processes based on this analysis the court concluded that the pennsylvanian use of a nomination process before a special election implied a right to vote which was violated by the lack of a primary and necessitated a strict scrutinising of the legislation after considering the evidence the court concluded that the interests the commonwealth put forth in support of the statute could not outweigh the infringement of the right to vote leading to the conclusion that the statute governing special elections was unconstitutional

with this the public press and political parties quickly turned their attention to the case with the republican state committee of pennsylvania ( supported by their democratic counterparts ) and several prominent politicians intervening they moved to expedite an appeal to the court of appeals for the third circuit in a unanimous opinion the court of appeals ( consisting of greenberg and seitz ) confirmed that there was no restriction of any fundamental right and therefore that the strict scrutiny process did not need to be applied in the absence of this process they held that the seventeenth amendment did not require primary elections to fill vacancies and more broadly gave state legislatures wide discretion as to how to hold elections as such the statute did not violate the constitution in december 1991 the supreme court denied a writ of certiorari presumably because the special election had already taken place in november and the issue was thus moot

laura e little writing in the temple law review notes the dearth of guidance for either the district court or court of appeals in trinsey with no explicit direction and no direct precedent from either the constitutional provisions or prior case law to rely on in the absence of guidance the court of appeals took a narrow view of the issues something she criticises under pennsylvanian law primaries are mandatory in all other elections and in her opinion the lack of a primary in this case should have been judged to be a violation of trinsey's fundamental rights combined with the purpose of the seventeenth amendment to ensure direct election this should have led to the application of the strict scrutiny test and the decision that the statute governing special elections was unconstitutional kevin m gold instead suggests that the test used in valenti v rockefeller an analogous decision over the validity of new york state electoral law in valenti the judiciary applied the substantial state interests test which involves simply looking at whether the statute in question furthers the interests of the states who under the seventeenth amendment are given some discretion as to the electoral process they use

michael jeffrey jordan ( born february 17 1963 ) also known by his initials mj is an american retired professional basketball player he is also a businessman and principal owner and chairman of the charlotte hornets jordan played 15 seasons in the national basketball association ( nba ) for the chicago bulls and washington wizards his biography on the nba website states by acclamation michael jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the nba around the world in the 1980s and 1990s

jordan played three seasons for coach dean smith at the university of north carolina he was a member of the tar heels' national championship team in 1982 jordan joined the nba's chicago bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick he quickly emerged as a league star entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring his leaping ability demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests earned him the nicknames air jordan and his he also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball in 1991 he won his first nba championship with the bulls and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993 securing a three @@ peat although jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the beginning of the 1993 94 nba season to pursue a career in baseball he returned to the bulls in march 1995 and led them to three additional championships in 1996 1997 and 1998 as well as a then @@ record 72 regular @@ season wins in the 1995 96 nba season jordan retired for a second time in january 1999 but returned for two more nba seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the wizards

jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five most valuable player ( mvp ) awards ten all @@ nba first team designations nine all @@ defensive first team honors fourteen nba all @@ star game appearances three all @@ star game mvp awards ten scoring titles three steals titles six nba finals mvp awards and the 1988 nba defensive player of the year award among his numerous accomplishments jordan holds the nba records for highest career regular season scoring average ( 30 @@ 12 points per game ) and highest career playoff scoring average ( 33 @@ 45 points per game ) in 1999 he was named the greatest north american athlete of the 20th century by espn and was second to babe ruth on the associated press's list of athletes of the century jordan is a two @@ time inductee into the basketball hall of fame having been enshrined in 2009 for his individual career and again in 2010 as part of the group induction of the 1992 united states men's olympic basketball team ( the dream team ) he became a member of the fiba hall of fame in 2015

jordan is also known for his product endorsements he fueled the success of nike's air jordan sneakers which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film space jam as himself in 2006 he became part @@ owner and head of basketball operations for the then @@ charlotte bobcats buying a controlling interest in 2010 in 2015 as a result of the increase in value of nba franchises jordan became the first billionaire nba player in history and the world's second @@ richest african @@ american

jordan was born in brooklyn new york the son of ( née peoples ) who worked in banking and james r jordan sr an equipment supervisor his family moved to wilmington north carolina when he was a toddler

jordan is the fourth of five children he has two older brothers larry jordan and james r jordan jr one older sister and a younger sister roslyn jordan's brother james retired in 2006 as the command sergeant major of the 35th signal brigade of the xviii airborne corps in the us army

jordan attended emsley a laney high school in wilmington where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball football and basketball he tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year but at 5' 11 ( 1 @@ 80 m ) he was deemed too short to play at that level his taller friend harvest leroy smith was the only sophomore to make the team

motivated to prove his worth jordan became the star of laney's junior varsity squad and tallied several 40 @@ point games the following summer he grew four inches ( 10 cm ) and trained rigorously upon earning a spot on the varsity roster jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play as a senior he was selected to the mcdonald's all @@ american team after averaging a triple @@ double 29 @@ 2 points 11 @@ 6 rebounds and 10 @@ 1 assists

jordan was recruited by numerous college basketball programs including duke north carolina south carolina syracuse and virginia in 1981 jordan accepted a basketball scholarship to north carolina where he majored in cultural geography

as a freshman in coach dean smith's team @@ oriented system he was named acc freshman of the year after he averaged 13 @@ 4 points per game ( ppg ) on 53 @@ 4 shooting ( field goal percentage ) he made the game @@ winning jump shot in the 1982 ncaa championship game against georgetown which was led by future nba rival patrick ewing jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career during his three seasons at north carolina he averaged 17 @@ 7 ppg on 54 @@ 0 shooting and added 5 @@ 0 rebounds per game ( rpg ) he was selected by consensus to the ncaa all @@ american first team in both his sophomore ( 1983 ) and junior ( 1984 ) seasons after winning the naismith and the wooden college player of the year awards in 1984 jordan left north carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 nba draft the chicago bulls selected jordan with the third overall pick after hakeem olajuwon ( houston rockets ) and sam bowie ( portland trail blazers ) one of the primary reasons why jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center however the trail blazers general manager stu inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking sam bowie over jordan in part because portland already had a guard with similar skills to jordan clyde drexler espn citing bowie's injury @@ laden college career named the blazers' choice of bowie as the worst draft pick in north american professional sports history jordan returned to north carolina to complete his degree in 1986

during his first season in the nba jordan averaged 28 @@ 2 ppg on 51 @@ 5 shooting he quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas and appeared on the cover of sports illustrated with the heading a star is born just over a month into his professional career jordan was also voted in as an all @@ star starter by the fans in his rookie season controversy arose before the all @@ star game when word surfaced that several veteran players led by isiah thomas were upset by the amount of attention jordan was receiving this led to a so @@ called freeze @@ out on jordan where players refused to pass him the ball throughout the game the controversy left jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play and he would go on to be voted rookie of the year the bulls finished the season 38 44 and lost in the first round of the playoffs in four games to the milwaukee bucks

jordan's second season was cut short by a broken foot in the third game of the season which caused him to miss 64 games despite jordan's injury and a 30 52 record ( at the time it was fifth worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in nba history ) the bulls made the playoffs jordan recovered in time to participate in the playoffs and performed well upon his return against a 1985 86 boston celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in nba history jordan set the still @@ unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in game 2 the celtics however managed to sweep the series

jordan had recovered completely by the 1986 87 season and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in nba history he became the only player other than wilt chamberlain to score 3 @@ 000 points in a season averaging a league high 37 @@ 1 points on 48 @@ 2 shooting in addition jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess as he became the first player in nba history to record 200 steals and 100 blocks in a season despite jordan's success magic johnson won the league's most valuable player award the bulls reached 40 wins and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year however they were again swept by the celtics

jordan led the league in scoring again in the 1987 88 season averaging 35 @@ 0 ppg on 53 @@ 5 shooting and won his first league mvp award he was also named the defensive player of the year as he had averaged 1 @@ 6 blocks and a league high 3 @@ 16 steals per game the bulls finished 50 32 and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in jordan's career as they defeated the cleveland cavaliers in five games however the bulls then lost in five games to the more experienced detroit pistons who were led by isiah thomas and a group of physical players known as the bad boys

in the 1988 89 season jordan again led the league in scoring averaging 32 @@ 5 ppg on 53 @@ 8 shooting from the field along with 8 rpg and 8 assists per game ( apg ) the bulls finished with a 47 35 record and advanced to the eastern conference finals defeating the cavaliers and new york knicks along the way the cavaliers series included a career highlight for jordan when he hit the shot over craig at the buzzer in the fifth and final game of the series however the pistons again defeated the bulls this time in six games by utilizing their jordan rules method of guarding jordan which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball

the bulls entered the 1989 90 season as a team on the rise with their core group of jordan and young improving players like scottie pippen and horace grant and under the guidance of new coach phil jackson jordan averaged a league leading 33 @@ 6 ppg on 52 @@ 6 shooting to go with 6 @@ 9 rpg and 6 @@ 3 apg in leading the bulls to a 55 27 record they again advanced to the eastern conference finals beating the bucks and philadelphia 76ers however despite pushing the series to seven games the bulls lost to the pistons for the third consecutive season

in the 1990 91 season jordan won his second mvp award after averaging 31 @@ 5 ppg on 53 @@ 9 shooting 6 @@ 0 rpg and 5 @@ 5 apg for the regular season the bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in 16 years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season with scottie pippen developing into an all @@ star the bulls had elevated their play the bulls defeated the new york knicks and the philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs they advanced to the eastern conference finals where their rival the detroit pistons awaited them however this time the bulls beat the pistons in a four @@ game sweep in an unusual ending to the fourth and final game isiah thomas led his team off the court before the final seconds had concluded most of the pistons went directly to their locker room instead of shaking hands with the bulls

the bulls advanced to the nba finals for the first time in franchise history to face magic johnson and james worthy and beat the los angeles lakers four games to one compiling an outstanding 15 2 playoff record along the way perhaps the best known moment of the series came in game 2 when attempting a dunk jordan avoided a potential sam perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid @@ air to lay the shot in in his first finals appearance jordan posted per game averages of 31 @@ 2 points on 56 shooting from the field 11 @@ 4 assists 6 @@ 6 rebounds 2 @@ 8 steals and 1 @@ 4 blocks jordan won his first nba finals mvp award and he cried while holding the nba finals trophy

jordan and the bulls continued their dominance in the 1991 92 season establishing a 67 15 record topping their franchise record from 1990 to 91 jordan won his second consecutive mvp award with averages of 30 @@ 1 points 6 @@ 4 rebounds and 6 @@ 1 assists per game on 52 shooting after winning a physical 7 @@ game series over the new york knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the cleveland cavaliers in the conference finals in 6 games the bulls met clyde drexler and the portland trail blazers in the finals the media hoping to recreate a magic bird rivalry highlighted the similarities between air jordan and clyde the glide during the pre @@ finals hype in the first game jordan scored a finals @@ record 35 points in the first half including a record @@ setting six three @@ point field goals after the sixth three @@ pointer he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside marv albert who broadcast the game later stated that it was as if jordan was saying i can't believe i'm doing this the bulls went on to win game 1 and defeat the blazers in six games jordan was named finals mvp for the second year in a row and finished the series averaging 35 @@ 8 ppg 4 @@ 8 rpg and 6 @@ 5 apg while shooting 53 from the floor

in the 1992 93 season despite a 32 @@ 6 ppg 6 @@ 7 rpg and 5 @@ 5 apg campaign jordan's streak of consecutive mvp seasons ended as he lost the award to his friend charles barkley coincidentally jordan and the bulls met barkley and his phoenix suns in the 1993 nba finals the bulls won their third nba championship on a game @@ winning shot by john paxson and a last @@ second block by horace grant but jordan was once again chicago's leader he averaged a finals @@ record 41 @@ 0 ppg during the six @@ game series and became the first player in nba history to win three straight finals mvp awards he scored more than 30 points in every game of the series including 40 or more points in 4 consecutive games with his third finals triumph jordan capped off a seven @@ year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships but there were signs that jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non @@ basketball hassles in his life

during the bulls' playoff run in 1993 controversy arose when jordan was seen gambling in atlantic city new jersey the night before a game against the new york knicks in that same year he admitted to having to cover $ 57 @@ 000 in gambling losses and author richard wrote a book claiming he had won $ 1 @@ 25 million from jordan on the golf course in 2005 jordan talked to ed bradley of the cbs evening show 60 minutes about his gambling and admitted that he made some reckless decisions jordan stated yeah i've gotten myself into situations where i would not walk away and i've pushed the envelope is that compulsive yeah it depends on how you look at it if you're willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family then yeah when bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family jordan replied no

on october 6 1993 jordan announced his retirement citing a loss of desire to play the game jordan later stated that the murder of his father earlier in the year also shaped his decision jordan's father was murdered on july 23 1993 at a highway rest area in lumberton north carolina by two teenagers daniel green and larry martin the assailants were traced from calls they made on james jordan's cellular phone caught convicted and sentenced to life in prison jordan was close to his father as a child he had imitated his father's proclivity to stick out his tongue while absorbed in work he later adopted it as his own signature displaying it each time he drove to the basket in 1996 he founded a chicago area boys & girls club and dedicated it to his father

in his 1998 autobiography for the love of the game jordan wrote that he had been preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992 the added exhaustion due to the dream team run in the 1992 olympics solidified jordan's feelings about the game and his ever @@ growing celebrity status jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the nba and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world

jordan then further surprised the sports world by signing a minor league baseball contract with the chicago white sox on february 7 1994 he reported to spring training in sarasota florida and was assigned to the team's minor league system on march 31 1994 jordan has stated this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father who had always envisioned his son as a major league baseball player the white sox were another team owned by bulls owner jerry reinsdorf who continued to honor jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball

in 1994 jordan played for the birmingham barons a double @@ a minor league affiliate of the chicago white sox batting 202 with three home runs 51 runs batted in 30 stolen bases 114 strikeouts 51 base on balls and 11 errors he also appeared for the scottsdale scorpions in the 1994 arizona fall league batting 252 against the top prospects in baseball on november 1 1994 his number 23 was retired by the bulls in a ceremony that included the erection of a permanent sculpture known as the spirit outside the new united center

in the 1993 94 season the bulls without jordan achieved a 55 27 record and lost to the new york knicks in the second round of the playoffs but the 1994 95 bulls were a shell of the championship team of just two years earlier struggling at mid @@ season to ensure a spot in the playoffs chicago was 31 31 at one point in mid @@ march the team received help however when jordan decided to return to the nba for the bulls

in march 1995 jordan decided to quit baseball due to the ongoing major league baseball strike as he wanted to avoid becoming a potential replacement player on march 18 1995 jordan announced his return to the nba through a two @@ word press release i'm back the next day jordan wore jersey number 45 ( his number with the barons ) as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor following his first retirement he took to the court with the bulls to face the indiana pacers in indianapolis scoring 19 points the game had the highest nielsen rating of a regular season nba game since 1975

although he had not played an nba game in a year and a half jordan played well upon his return making a game @@ winning jump shot against atlanta in his fourth game back he then scored 55 points in the next game against the knicks at madison square garden on march 28 1995 boosted by jordan's comeback the bulls went 13 4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the eastern conference semifinals against the orlando magic at the end of game 1 orlando's nick anderson stripped jordan from behind leading to the game @@ winning basket for the magic he would later comment that jordan didn't look like the old michael jordan and that no 45 doesn't explode like no 23 used to jordan then returned to wearing his old number in the next game scoring 38 points in a bulls win the bulls were fined $ 30 @@ 000 for the game $ 25 @@ 000 for failing to report the impromptu number change to the nba and $ 5 @@ 000 for jordan wearing different shoes jordan averaged 31 points per game in the series but orlando won the series in 6 games

freshly motivated by the playoff defeat jordan trained aggressively for the 1995 96 season strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist dennis rodman the bulls dominated the league starting the season 41 3 and eventually finishing with the then @@ best regular season record in nba history ( later surpassed by the 2015 16 golden state warriors ) 72 10 jordan led the league in scoring with 30 @@ 4 ppg and won the league's regular season and all @@ star game mvp awards

in the playoffs the bulls lost only three games in four series ( miami heat 3 @@ 0 new york knicks 4 @@ 1 orlando magic 4 @@ 0 ) they defeated the seattle supersonics 4 @@ 2 in the nba finals to win their fourth championship jordan was named finals mvp for a record fourth time surpassing magic johnson's three finals mvp awards he also achieved only the second sweep of the mvp awards in the all @@ star game regular season and nba finals willis reed having achieved the first during the 1969 70 season because this was jordan's first championship since his father's murder and it was won on father's day jordan reacted very emotionally upon winning the title including a memorable scene of him crying on the locker room floor with the game ball

in the 1996 97 season the bulls started out 69 11 but missed out on a second consecutive 70 @@ win season by losing their final two games to finish 69 13 however this year jordan was beaten for the nba mvp award by karl malone the bulls again advanced to the finals where they faced malone and the utah jazz the series against the jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of jordan's career he won game 1 for the bulls with a buzzer @@ beating jump shot in game 5 with the series tied at 2 jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus in what is known as the flu game jordan scored 38 points including the game @@ deciding 3 @@ pointer with 25 seconds remaining the bulls won 90 88 and went on to win the series in six games for the fifth time in as many finals appearances jordan received the finals mvp award during the 1997 nba all @@ star game jordan posted the first triple double in all @@ star game history in a victorious effort however he did not receive the mvp award

jordan and the bulls compiled a 62 20 record in the 1997 98 season jordan led the league with 28 @@ 7 points per game securing his fifth regular @@ season mvp award plus honors for all @@ nba first team first defensive team and the all @@ star game mvp the bulls won the eastern conference championship for a third straight season including surviving a seven @@ game series with the indiana pacers in the eastern conference finals it was the first time jordan had played in a game 7 since the 1992 eastern conference semifinals with the knicks after winning they moved on for a rematch with the jazz in the finals

the bulls returned to the delta center for game 6 on june 14 1998 leading the series 3 2 jordan executed a series of plays considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in nba finals history with the bulls trailing 86 83 with 41 @@ 9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter phil jackson called a timeout when play resumed jordan received the inbound pass drove to the basket and hit a shot over several jazz defenders cutting the utah lead to 86 85 the jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to forward karl malone who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by rodman malone jostled with rodman and caught the pass but jordan cut behind him and took the ball out of his hands for a steal jordan then dribbled down the court and paused eyeing his defender jazz guard bryon russell with 10 seconds remaining jordan started to dribble right then crossed over to his left possibly pushing off russell although the officials did not call a foul with 5 @@ 2 seconds left jordan gave chicago an 87 86 lead with a game @@ winning jumper the climactic shot of his bulls career afterwards john stockton missed a game @@ winning three @@ pointer jordan and the bulls won their sixth nba championship and second three @@ peat once again jordan was voted the finals mvp having led all scorers averaging 33 @@ 5 points per game including 45 in the deciding game 6 jordan's six finals mvps is a record shaquille o'neal magic johnson lebron james and tim duncan are tied for second place with three apiece the 1998 finals holds the highest television rating of any finals series in history game 6 also holds the highest television rating of any game in nba history

with phil jackson's contract expiring the pending departures of scottie pippen and dennis rodman looming and being in the latter stages of an owner @@ induced lockout of nba players jordan retired for the second time on january 13 1999 on january 19 2000 jordan returned to the nba not as a player but as part owner and president of basketball operations for the washington wizards jordan's responsibilities with the wizards were comprehensive he controlled all aspects of the wizards' basketball operations and had the final say in all personnel matters opinions of jordan as a basketball executive were mixed he managed to purge the team of several highly paid unpopular players ( such as forward juwan howard and point guard rod strickland ) but used the first pick in the 2001 nba draft to select high schooler kwame brown who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons

despite his january 1999 claim that he was 99 @@ 9 certain that he would never play another nba game in the summer of 2001 jordan expressed interest in making another comeback this time with his new team inspired by the nhl comeback of his friend mario lemieux the previous winter jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training holding several invitation @@ only camps for nba players in chicago in addition jordan hired his old chicago bulls head coach doug collins as washington's coach for the upcoming season a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another jordan return

on september 25 2001 jordan announced his return to the nba to play for the washington wizards indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the september 11 2001 attacks in an injury @@ plagued 2001 02 season he led the team in scoring ( 22 @@ 9 ppg ) assists ( 5 @@ 2 apg ) and steals ( 1 @@ 42 ) however torn cartilage in his right knee ended jordan's season after only 60 games the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 1994 95 season jordan started 53 of his 60 games for the season averaging 24 @@ 3 points 5 @@ 4 assists and 6 @@ 0 rebounds and shooting 41 @@ 9 from the field in his 53 starts his last seven appearances were in a reserve role in which he averaged just over 20 minutes per game

playing in his 14th and final nba all @@ star game in 2003 jordan passed kareem abdul @@ jabbar as the all @@ time leading scorer in all @@ star game history ( a record since broken by kobe bryant ) that year jordan was the only washington player to play in all 82 games starting in 67 of them he averaged 20 @@ 0 points 6 @@ 1 rebounds 3 @@ 8 assists and 1 @@ 5 steals per game he also shot 45 from the field and 82 from the free throw line even though he turned 40 during the season he scored 20 or more points 42 times 30 or more points nine times and 40 or more points three times on february 21 2003 jordan became the first 40 @@ year @@ old to tally 43 points in an nba game during his stint with the wizards all of jordan's home games at the mci center were sold out and the wizards were the second most @@ watched team in the nba averaging 20 @@ 172 fans a game at home and 19 @@ 311 on the road however neither of jordan's final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the wizards and jordan was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him at several points he openly criticized his teammates to the media citing their lack of focus and intensity notably that of the number one draft pick in the 2001 nba draft kwame brown

with the recognition that 2002 03 would be jordan's final season tributes were paid to him throughout the nba in his final game at his old home court the united center in chicago jordan received a four @@ minute standing ovation the miami heat retired the number 23 jersey on april 11 2003 even though jordan never played for the team at the 2003 all @@ star game jordan was offered a starting spot from tracy mcgrady and allen iverson but refused both in the end he accepted the spot of vince carter who decided to give it up under great public pressure

jordan's final nba game was on april 16 2003 in philadelphia after scoring only 13 points in the game jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and with his team trailing the philadelphia 76ers 75 56 just after the start of the fourth quarter the first union center crowd began chanting we want mike after much encouragement from coach doug collins jordan finally rose from the bench and re @@ entered the game replacing larry hughes with 2 35 remaining at 1 45 jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers' eric snow and stepped to the line to make both free throws after the second foul shot the 76ers in @@ bounded the ball to rookie john salmons who in turn was intentionally fouled by bobby simmons one second later stopping time so that jordan could return to the bench jordan received a three @@ minute standing ovation from his teammates his opponents the officials and the crowd of 21 @@ 257 fans

jordan played on two olympic gold medal @@ winning american basketball teams as a college player he participated and won the gold in the 1984 summer olympics the team was coached by bob knight and featured players such as patrick ewing sam perkins chris mullin steve alford and wayman tisdale jordan led the team in scoring averaging 17 @@ 1 ppg for the tournament

in the 1992 summer olympics he was a member of the star @@ studded squad that included magic johnson larry bird and david robinson and was dubbed the dream team jordan was the only player to start all 8 games in the olympics playing limited minutes due to the frequent blowouts jordan averaged 14 @@ 9 ppg finishing second on the team in scoring jordan and fellow dream team members patrick ewing and chris mullin are the only american men's basketball players to win olympic gold as amateurs and professionals

after his third retirement jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position of director of basketball operations with the wizards however his previous tenure in the wizards' front office had produced the aforementioned mixed results and may have also influenced the trade of richard rip hamilton for jerry stackhouse ( although jordan was not technically director of basketball operations in 2002 ) on may 7 2003 wizards owner abe pollin fired jordan as washington's president of basketball operations jordan later stated that he felt betrayed and that if he knew he would be fired upon retiring he never would have come back to play for the wizards

jordan kept busy over the next few years by staying in shape playing golf in celebrity charity tournaments spending time with his family in chicago promoting his jordan brand clothing line and riding motorcycles since 2004 jordan has owned michael jordan motorsports a professional closed @@ course motorcycle road racing team that competed with two in the premier superbike championship sanctioned by the american motorcyclist association ( ama ) until the end of the 2013 season jordan and his then @@ wife juanita pledged $ 5 million to chicago's hales franciscan high school in 2006 and the jordan brand has made donations to habitat for humanity and a louisiana branch of the boys & girls clubs of america

on june 15 2006 jordan bought a minority stake in the charlotte bobcats becoming the team's second @@ largest shareholder behind majority owner robert l johnson as part of the deal jordan took full control over the basketball side of the operation with the title managing member of basketball operations despite jordan's previous success as an endorser he has made an effort not to be included in charlotte's marketing campaigns a decade earlier jordan had made a bid to become part @@ owner of charlotte's original nba team the charlotte hornets but talks collapsed when owner george shinn refused to give jordan complete control of basketball operations

in february 2010 it was reported that jordan was seeking majority ownership of the bobcats as february wore on it emerged that the leading contenders for the team were jordan and former houston rockets president george on february 27 the bobcats announced that johnson had reached an agreement with jordan and his group mj basketball holdings to buy the team pending nba approval on march 17 the nba board of governors unanimously approved jordan's purchase making him the first former player ever to become the majority owner of an nba team it also made him the league's only african @@ american majority owner

during the 2011 nba lockout the new york times wrote that jordan led a group of 10 to 14 hardline owners wanting to cap the players' share of basketball @@ related income at 50 percent and as low as 47 journalists observed that during the labor dispute in 1998 jordan had told washington wizards then @@ owner abe pollin if you can't make a profit you should sell your team jason whitlock of called jordan a sellout wanting current players to pay for his incompetence he cited jordan's executive decisions to draft disappointing players kwame brown and adam morrison

during the 2011 12 nba season which was shortened to 66 games the bobcats posted a 7 59 record their winning percentage was the worst in nba history i'm not real happy about the record book scenario last year it's very very frustrating jordan said later that year

on may 21 2013 jordan filed papers to change the bobcats' name to the hornets effective with the 2014 15 season the hornets name had become available when the original hornets who had moved to new orleans in 2002 changed their name to the new orleans pelicans for the 2013 14 season the nba approved the change on july 18 the name change became official on may 20 2014 on the same day the team announced that it had reclaimed the history and records of the original 1988 2002 hornets

jordan was a shooting guard who was also capable of playing as a small forward ( the position he would primarily play during his second return to professional basketball with the washington wizards ) and as a point guard jordan was known throughout his career for being a strong clutch performer with the bulls he decided 25 games with field goals or free throws in the last 30 seconds including two nba finals games and five other playoff contests his competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash @@ talk and well @@ known work ethic as the bulls organization built the franchise around jordan management had to trade away players who were not tough enough to compete with him in practice to help improve his defense he spent extra hours studying film of opponents on offense he relied more upon instinct and improvisation at game time noted as a durable player jordan did not miss four or more games while active for a full season from 1986 87 to 2001 02 when he injured his right knee he played all 82 games nine times jordan has frequently cited david thompson walter davis and jerry west as influences from the start of his career jordan was unique among nba players in that he had a special love of the game clause written into his contract which allowed him to play basketball against anyone at any time anywhere

jordan had a versatile offensive game he was capable of aggressively driving to the basket as well as drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate his 8 @@ 772 free throw attempts are the ninth @@ highest total of all time as his career progressed jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jump shot using his leaping ability to fade away from block attempts according to hubie brown this move alone made him nearly unstoppable despite media criticism as a selfish player early in his career jordan's 5 @@ 3 assists per game also indicate his willingness to defer to his teammates in later years the nba shortened its three @@ point line to 22 feet ( from 23 feet 9 inches ) which coupled with jordan's extended shooting range to make him a long @@ range threat as well his 3 @@ point stroke developed from a low 9 / 52 rate ( ) in his rookie year into a stellar 111 / 260 ( 427 ) shooter in the 1995 96 season for a guard jordan was also a good rebounder ( 6 @@ 2 per game )

in 1988 jordan was honored with the nba's defensive player of the year award and became the first nba player to win both the defensive player of the year and mvp awards in a career ( since equaled by hakeem olajuwon david robinson and kevin garnett olajuwon is the only player other than jordan to win both during the same season ) in addition he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard and combined this with his ball @@ thieving ability to become a standout defensive player he ranks third in nba history in total steals with 2 @@ 514 trailing john stockton and jason kidd jerry west often stated that he was more impressed with jordan's defensive contributions than his offensive ones he was also known to have strong eyesight broadcaster al michaels said that he was able to read baseball box scores on a 27 @@ inch television clearly from about 50 feet away

jordan's marked talent was clear from his rookie season in his first game in madison square garden against the new york knicks jordan received a prolonged standing ovation a rarity for an opposing player after jordan scored a playoff record 63 points against the boston celtics on april 20 1986 celtics star larry bird described him as god disguised as michael jordan

jordan led the nba in scoring in 10 seasons ( nba record ) and tied wilt chamberlain's record of seven consecutive scoring titles he was also a fixture on the nba all @@ defensive first team making the roster nine times ( nba record shared with gary payton kevin garnett and kobe bryant ) jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30 @@ 1 and 33 @@ 4 points per game respectively by 1998 the season of his finals @@ winning shot against the jazz he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer in the regular season jordan was the bulls' primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs jordan would always demand the ball at crunch time jordan's total of 5 @@ 987 points in the playoffs is the highest in nba history he retired with 32 @@ 292 points in regular season play placing him fourth on the nba's all @@ time scoring list behind kareem abdul @@ jabbar karl malone and kobe bryant

with five regular @@ season mvps ( tied for second place with bill russell only kareem abdul @@ jabbar has won more six ) six finals mvps ( nba record ) and three all @@ star mvps jordan is the most decorated player ever to play in the nba jordan finished among the top three in regular @@ season mvp voting a record 10 times and was named one of the 50 greatest players in nba history in 1996 he is one of only seven players in history to win an ncaa championship an nba championship and an olympic gold medal ( doing so twice with the 1984 and 1992 us men's basketball teams )

many of jordan's contemporaries say that jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time in 1999 an espn survey of journalists athletes and other sports figures ranked jordan the greatest north american athlete of the 20th century above such luminaries as babe ruth and muhammad ali jordan placed second to babe ruth in the associated press's december 1999 list of 20th century athletes in addition the associated press voted him as the basketball player of the 20th century jordan has also appeared on the front cover of sports illustrated a record 50 times in the september 1996 issue of sport which was the publication's 50th anniversary issue jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years

jordan's athletic leaping ability highlighted in his back @@ to @@ back slam dunk contest championships in 1987 and 1988 is credited by many with having influenced a generation of young players several current nba all @@ stars have stated that they considered jordan their role model while growing up including lebron james and dwyane wade in addition commentators have dubbed a number of next @@ generation players the next michael jordan upon their entry to the nba including penny hardaway grant hill allen iverson kobe bryant lebron james vince carter and dwyane wade although jordan was a well @@ rounded player his air jordan image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills defense and fundamentals of young players a fact jordan himself has lamented

i think it was the exposure of michael jordan the marketing of michael jordan everything was marketed towards the things that people wanted to see which was scoring and dunking that michael jordan still played defense and an all @@ around game but it was never really publicized

although jordan has done much to increase the status of the game some of his impact on the game's popularity in america appears to be fleeting television ratings in particular increased only during his time in the league and finals ratings have not returned to the level reached during his last championship @@ winning season

in august 2009 the basketball hall of fame in springfield massachusetts opened a michael jordan exhibit containing items from his college and nba careers as well as from the 1992 dream team the exhibit also has a batting glove to signify jordan's short career in baseball after jordan received word of his being accepted into the hall of fame he selected class of 1996 member david thompson to present him as jordan would later explain during his induction speech in september 2009 growing up in north carolina he was not a fan of the tar heels and greatly admired thompson who played at rival north carolina state he was inducted into the hall in september with several former bulls teammates in attendance including scottie pippen dennis rodman charles oakley ron harper steve kerr and toni kukoč former coaches of jordan's dean smith and doug collins were also among those present his emotional reaction during his speech when he began to cry was captured by associated press photographer stephan savoia and would later become widely shared on social media as the crying jordan internet meme

he married juanita in september 1989 and they have two sons jeffrey michael and marcus james and a daughter jasmine jordan and filed for divorce on january 4 2002 citing irreconcilable differences but reconciled shortly thereafter they again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on december 29 2006 commenting that the decision was made mutually and amicably it is reported that juanita received a $ 168 million settlement ( equivalent to $ 197 million in 2015 ) making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement in history at the time on public record

in 1991 jordan purchased a lot in highland park illinois to build a 56 @@ 000 square foot mansion which was completed four years later both of his sons attended loyola academy a private roman catholic high school located in wilmette illinois jeffrey graduated as a member of the 2007 graduating class and played his first collegiate basketball game on november 11 2007 for the university of illinois after two seasons jeffrey left the illinois basketball team in 2009 he later rejoined the team for a third season then received a release to transfer to the university of central florida where marcus was attending marcus transferred to whitney young high school after his sophomore year at loyola academy and graduated in 2009 he began attending ucf in the fall of 2009 and played three seasons of basketball for the school

on july 21 2006 a judge in cook county illinois determined that jordan did not owe his alleged former lover karla knafel $ 5 million in a breach of contract claim jordan had allegedly paid knafel $ 250 @@ 000 to keep their relationship a secret knafel claimed jordan promised her $ 5 million for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991 a dna test showed jordan was not the father of the child

he proposed to his longtime girlfriend cuban @@ american model yvette prieto on christmas eve 2011 and they were married on april 27 2013 at bethesda @@ by @@ the @@ sea episcopal church it was announced on november 30 2013 that the two were expecting their first child together jordan listed his highland park mansion for sale in 2012 on february 11 2014 prieto gave birth to identical twin daughters named victoria and ysabel

jordan's private jet features a stripe in carolina blue the air jordan logo on the tail and references to his career in the identification number

jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history he has been a major spokesman for such brands as nike coca @@ cola chevrolet gatorade mcdonald's ball park franks wheaties hanes and mci jordan has had a long relationship with gatorade appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991 including the be like mike commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like jordan

nike created a signature shoe for him called the air jordan one of jordan's more popular commercials for the shoe involved spike lee playing the part of mars blackmon in the commercials lee as blackmon attempted to find the source of jordan's abilities and became convinced that it's gotta be the shoes the hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of shoe @@ where people were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint subsequently nike spun off the jordan line into its own division named the jordan brand the company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as endorsers the brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of north carolina cal georgetown and marquette

jordan also has been associated with the looney tunes cartoon characters a nike commercial shown during 1992's super bowl xxvi featured jordan and bugs bunny playing basketball the super bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action / animated film space jam which starred jordan and bugs in a fictional story set during the former's first retirement from basketball they have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for mci jordan also made an appearance in the music video of michael jackson's jam ( 1992 )

jordan's yearly income from the endorsements is estimated to be over forty million dollars in addition when jordan's power at the ticket gates was at its highest point the bulls regularly sold out both their home and road games due to this jordan set records in player salary by signing annual contracts worth in excess of us $ 30 million per season an academic study found that jordan's first nba comeback resulted in an increase in the market capitalization of his client firms of more than $ 1 billion

most of jordan's endorsement deals including his first deal with nike were engineered by his agent david falk jordan has described falk as the best at what he does and that marketing @@ wise he's great he's the one who came up with the concept of' air jordan'

in june 2010 jordan was ranked by forbes magazine as the 20th @@ most powerful celebrity in the world with $ 55 million earned between june 2009 and june 2010 according to the forbes article jordan brand generates $ 1 billion in sales for nike in june 2014 jordan was named the first nba player to become a billionaire after he increased his stake in the charlotte hornets from 80 to 89 @@ 5 on january 20 2015 jordan was honored with the charlotte business journal's business person of the year for 2014 as of november 2015 his current net worth is estimated at $ 1 @@ 1 billion by forbes jordan is the second @@ richest african @@ american in the world as of 2015

polish culture during world war ii was suppressed by the occupying powers of nazi germany and the soviet union both of whom were hostile to poland's people and cultural heritage policies aimed at cultural genocide resulted in the deaths of thousands of scholars and artists and the theft and destruction of innumerable cultural artifacts the maltreatment of the poles was one of many ways in which the nazi and soviet regimes had grown to resemble one another wrote british historian niall ferguson

the occupiers looted and destroyed much of poland's cultural and historical heritage while persecuting and murdering members of the polish cultural elite most polish schools were closed and those that remained open saw their curricula altered significantly

nevertheless underground organizations and individuals in particular the polish underground state saved much of poland's most valuable cultural treasures and worked to salvage as many cultural institutions and artifacts as possible the catholic church and wealthy individuals contributed to the survival of some artists and their works despite severe retribution by the nazis and soviets polish underground cultural activities including publications concerts live theater education and academic research continued throughout the war

in 1795 poland ceased to exist as an sovereign nation and throughout the 19th century remained partitioned by degrees between prussian austrian and russian empires not until the end of world war i was independence restored and the nation reunited although the drawing of boundary lines was of necessity a contentious issue independent poland lasted for only 21 years before it was again attacked and divided among foreign powers

on 1 september 1939 germany invaded poland initiating world war ii in europe and on 17 september pursuant to the molotov @@ ribbentrop pact poland was invaded by the soviet union subsequently poland was partitioned again between these two powers and remained under occupation for most of the war by 1 october germany and the soviet union had completely overrun poland although the polish government never formally surrendered and the polish underground state subordinate to the polish government @@ in @@ exile was soon formed on 8 october nazi germany annexed the western areas of pre @@ war poland and in the remainder of the occupied area established the general government the soviet union had to temporarily give up the territorial gains it made in 1939 due to the german invasion of the soviet union but permanently re @@ annexed much of this territory after winning it back in mid @@ 1944 over the course of the war poland lost over 20 of its pre @@ war population amid an occupation that marked the end of the second polish republic

germany's policy toward the polish nation and its culture evolved during the course of the war many german officials and military officers were initially not given any clear guidelines on the treatment of polish cultural institutions but this quickly changed immediately following the invasion of poland in september 1939 the nazi german government implemented the first stages ( the small plan ) of generalplan ost the basic policy was outlined by the berlin office of racial policy in a document titled concerning the treatment of the inhabitants of the former polish territories from a racial @@ political standpoint slavic people living east of the pre @@ war german border were to be germanized enslaved or eradicated depending on whether they lived in the territories directly annexed into the german state or in the general government

much of the german policy on polish culture was formulated during a meeting between the governor of the general government hans frank and nazi minister of propaganda joseph goebbels at łódź on 31 october 1939 goebbels declared that the polish nation is not worthy to be called a cultured nation he and frank agreed that opportunities for the poles to experience their culture should be severely restricted no theaters cinemas or cabarets no access to radio or press and no education frank suggested that the poles should periodically be shown films highlighting the achievements of the third reich and should eventually be addressed only by megaphone during the following weeks polish schools beyond middle vocational levels were closed as were theaters and many other cultural institutions the only polish @@ language newspaper published in occupied poland was also closed and the arrests of polish intellectuals began

in march 1940 all cultural activities came under the control of the general government's department of people's education and propaganda ( abteilung für und propaganda ) whose name was changed a year later to the chief propaganda department ( propaganda ) further directives issued in the spring and early summer reflected policies that had been outlined by frank and goebbels during the previous autumn one of the department's earliest decrees prohibited the organization of all but the most primitive of cultural activities without the department's prior approval spectacles of low quality including those of an erotic or pornographic nature were however an exception those were to be popularized to appease the population and to show the world the real polish culture as well as to create the impression that germany was not preventing poles from expressing themselves german propaganda specialists invited critics from neutral countries to specially organized polish performances that were specifically designed to be boring or pornographic and presented them as typical polish cultural activities polish @@ german cooperation in cultural matters such as joint public performances was strictly prohibited meanwhile a compulsory registration scheme for writers and artists was introduced in august 1940 then in october the printing of new polish @@ language books was prohibited existing titles were censored and often confiscated and withdrawn

in 1941 german policy evolved further calling for the complete destruction of the polish people whom the nazis regarded as subhumans ( untermenschen ) within ten to twenty years the polish territories under german occupation were to be entirely cleared of ethnic poles and settled by german colonists the policy was relaxed somewhat in the final years of occupation ( 1943 44 ) in view of german military defeats and the approaching eastern front the germans hoped that a more lenient cultural policy would lessen unrest and weaken the polish resistance poles were allowed back into those museums that now supported german propaganda and indoctrination such as the newly created chopin museum which emphasized the composer's invented german roots restrictions on education theater and music performances were eased

given that the second polish republic was a multicultural state german policies and propaganda also sought to create and encourage conflicts between ethnic groups fueling tension between poles and jews and between poles and ukrainians in łódź the germans forced jews to help destroy a monument to a polish hero tadeusz kościuszko and filmed them committing the act soon afterward the germans set fire to a jewish synagogue and filmed polish bystanders portraying them in propaganda releases as a vengeful mob this divisive policy was reflected in the germans' decision to destroy polish education while at the same time showing relative tolerance toward the ukrainian school system as the high @@ ranking nazi official erich koch explained we must do everything possible so that when a pole meets a ukrainian he will be willing to kill the ukrainian and conversely the ukrainian will be willing to kill the pole

in 1939 as the occupation regime was being established the nazis confiscated polish state property and much private property countless art objects were looted and taken to germany in line with a plan that had been drawn up well in advance of the invasion the looting was supervised by experts of the ss @@ ahnenerbe einsatzgruppen units who were responsible for art and by experts of ost who were responsible for more mundane objects notable items plundered by the nazis included the altar of veit stoss and paintings by raphael rembrandt leonardo da vinci canaletto and bacciarelli most of the important art pieces had been secured by the nazis within six months of september 1939 by the end of 1942 german officials estimated that over 90 of the art previously in poland was in their possession some art was shipped to german museums such as the planned in linz while other art became the private property of nazi officials over 516 @@ 000 individual art pieces were taken including 2 @@ 800 paintings by european painters 11 @@ 000 works by polish painters 1 @@ 400 sculptures 75 @@ 000 manuscripts 25 @@ 000 maps and 90 @@ 000 books ( including over 20 @@ 000 printed before 1800 ) as well as hundreds of thousands of other objects of artistic and historic value even exotic animals were taken from the zoos

many places of learning and culture universities schools libraries museums theaters and cinemas were either closed or designated as nur für deutsche ( for germans only ) twenty @@ five museums and a host of other institutions were destroyed during the war according to one estimate by war's end 43 of the infrastructure of poland's educational and research institutions and 14 of its museums had been destroyed according to another only 105 of pre @@ war poland's 175 museums survived the war and just 33 of these institutions were able to reopen of pre @@ war poland's 603 scientific institutions about half were totally destroyed and only a few survived the war relatively intact

many university professors as well as teachers lawyers artists writers priests and other members of the polish intelligentsia were arrested and executed or transported to concentration camps during operations such as ab @@ aktion this particular campaign resulted in the infamous krakau and the massacre of lwów professors during world war ii poland lost 39 to 45 of its physicians and dentists 26 to 57 of its lawyers 15 to 30 of its teachers 30 to 40 of its scientists and university professors and 18 to 28 of its clergy the jewish intelligentsia was exterminated altogether the reasoning behind this policy was clearly articulated by a nazi in my district [ any pole who ] shows signs of intelligence will be shot

as part of their program to suppress polish culture the german nazis attempted to destroy christianity in poland with a particular emphasis on the roman catholic church in some parts of occupied poland poles were restricted or even forbidden from attending religious services at the same time church property was confiscated prohibitions were placed on using the polish language in religious services organizations affiliated with the catholic church were abolished and it was forbidden to perform certain religious songs or to read passages of the bible in public the worst conditions were found in the reichsgau wartheland which the nazis treated as a laboratory for their anti @@ religious policies polish clergy and religious leaders figured prominently among portions of the intelligentsia that were targeted for extermination

to forestall the rise of a new generation of educated poles german officials decreed that the schooling of polish children would be limited to a few years of elementary education reichsführer @@ ss heinrich himmler wrote in a memorandum of may 1940 the sole purpose of this schooling is to teach them simple arithmetic nothing above the number 500 how to write one's name and the doctrine that it is divine law to obey the germans i do not regard a knowledge of reading as desirable hans frank echoed him the poles do not need universities or secondary schools the polish lands are to be converted into an intellectual desert the situation was particularly dire in the former polish territories beyond the general government which had been annexed to the third reich the specific policy varied from territory to territory but in general there was no polish @@ language education at all german policy constituted a crash @@ germanization of the populace polish teachers were dismissed and some were invited to attend orientation meetings with the new administration where they were either summarily arrested or executed on the spot some polish schoolchildren were sent to german schools while others were sent to special schools where they spent most of their time as unpaid laborers usually on german @@ run farms speaking polish brought severe punishment it was expected that polish children would begin to work once they finished their primary education at age 12 to 15 in the eastern territories not included in the general government ( bezirk bialystok reichskommissariat ostland and reichskommissariat ukraine ) many primary schools were closed and most education was conducted in non @@ polish languages such as ukrainian belorussian and lithuanian in the bezirk bialystok region for example 86 of the schools that had existed before the war were closed down during the first two years of german occupation and by the end of the following year that figure had increased to 93

the state of polish primary schools was somewhat better in the general government though by the end of 1940 only 30 of prewar schools were operational and only 28 of prewar polish children attended them a german police memorandum of august 1943 described the situation as follows

pupils sit crammed together without necessary materials and often without skilled teaching staff moreover the polish schools are closed during at least five months out of the ten months of the school year due to lack of coal or other fuel of twenty @@ thirty spacious school buildings which kraków had before 1939 today the worst two buildings are used every day pupils have to study in several shifts under such circumstances the school day which normally lasts five hours is reduced to one hour

in the general government the remaining schools were subjugated to the german educational system and the number and competence of their polish staff was steadily scaled down all universities and most secondary schools were closed if not immediately after the invasion then by mid @@ 1940 by late 1940 no official polish educational institutions more advanced than a vocational school remained in operation and they offered nothing beyond the elementary trade and technical training required for the nazi economy primary schooling was to last for seven years but the classes in the final two years of the program were to be limited to meeting one day per week there was no money for heating of the schools in winter classes and schools were to be merged polish teachers dismissed and the resulting savings used to sponsor the creation of schools for children of the german minority or to create barracks for german troops no new polish teachers were to be trained the educational curriculum was censored subjects such as literature history and geography were removed old textbooks were confiscated and school libraries were closed the new educational aims for poles included convincing them that their national fate was hopeless and teaching them to be submissive and respectful to germans this was accomplished through deliberate tactics such as police raids on schools police inspections of student belongings mass arrests of students and teachers and the use of students as forced laborers often by transporting them to germany as seasonal workers

the germans were especially active in the destruction of jewish culture in poland nearly all of the wooden synagogues there were destroyed moreover the sale of jewish literature was banned throughout poland

polish literature faced a similar fate in territories annexed by germany where the sale of polish books was forbidden the public destruction of polish books was not limited to those seized from libraries but also included those books that were confiscated from private homes the last polish book titles not already proscribed were withdrawn in 1943 even polish prayer books were confiscated soon after the occupation began most libraries were closed in kraków about 80 of the libraries were closed immediately while the remainder saw their collections decimated by censors the occupying powers destroyed polish book collections including the sejm and senate library the estate library the zamoyski estate library the central military library and the rapperswil collection in 1941 the last remaining polish public library in the german @@ occupied territories was closed in warsaw during the war warsaw libraries lost about a million volumes or 30 of their collections more than 80 of these losses were the direct result of purges rather than wartime conflict overall it is estimated that about 10 million volumes from state @@ owned libraries and institutions perished during the war

polish flags and other symbols were confiscated the war on the polish language included the tearing down of signs in polish and the banning of polish speech in public places persons who spoke polish in the streets were often insulted and even physically assaulted the germanization of place names prevailed many treasures of polish culture including memorials plaques and monuments to national heroes ( eg kraków's adam mickiewicz monument ) were destroyed in toruń all polish monuments and plaques were torn down dozens of monuments were destroyed throughout poland the nazis planned to level entire cities

the germans prohibited publication of any regular polish @@ language book literary study or scholarly paper in 1940 several german @@ controlled printing houses began operating in occupied poland publishing items such as polish @@ german dictionaries and antisemitic and anticommunist novels