Poland urges ECB to use full name of Marie Skłodowska-Curie on Euro note

31 comments

1. Sounds fair tbh.

2. I think it’s also important to note that it has not yet been decided whether people will be depicted at all. There is also a second series of motifs with flora and fauna to choose from. Personally, I hope that the people will not be chosen, as this will always be a point of contention due to the limited number.

3. Wait, there will be new EURO banknotes with people on them? I am hearing this for the first time.

   Definitely use her full name then, not using it would be a pointless provocation.

4. Since when do euro notes have peoples faces on them?

5. Of course her full name should be written on the 20€ note

6. My first instinct would be to use whatever her legal name was at the end of her life.

   But it also seems that she herself usually used Maria Skłodowska-Curie throughout her life in France (with or without the hyphen), so it feels like that’s a good compromise. We should respect people’s names.

   The monstrosity the ECB proposed (“Marie Curie (born Skłodowska)”) is just stupid.

7. I’m strongly against putting anyone on the banknotes.

   It’s impossible to choose just 6 people without excluding countless worthy individuals. Any choice would be controversial and would only lead to further infighting, which we already have enough of.

   It also further proliferates the notion that history is made by great people, which is flawed at best.

8. This is exactly why Euro notes don’t have people on them currently. There are 27 member states and 6 euro notes currently in circulation, that’s not gonna maths good. Every little detail will devolve into squabbling.

   In this case at least, iirc Curie did use both surnames after her marriage so it does make sense to use both. But this is one aspect of one note, it’s gonna be a nightmare.

9. Well, that was her name. Cutting it off would be extremely fucking stupid

10. Don’t we have imaginary bridges and architecture on the bank notes specifically to avoid this type of discussion?

11. if it was just for Poland then go to hell, but she herself used the full two-part surname. This shoudl be respected

12. Putting a limited amount of people on Euro banknotes is a bad idea unless each country gets to circulate their own little runs with their historic figures, similar to how there are local versions of coinage. Otherwise most countries outside Germany, France Italy and Greece will feel left out

13. I think people should be referenced with the name they preferred whenever possible. In her case, we know the preference, so use of the full name seems appropriate.

    I think Euro shouldn’t depict people, though. You can get 10 amazing people, 12, 20, you’ll miss countless others. Not every nation will get the amount of recognition they want. The portrayal won’t be ideal, etc. There are many other ways in which people can be honoured. I think Euro banknotes should depict unifying symbols, not individuals.

14. I am puzzled. She should be on the highest value banknote. But the 20€ is also the most commonly used and it is good that everybody sees her face…

15. And I thought not using actual names or places in Europe was a good idea. It directly prevents fights over who is on it and things like which name to use …

16. She named one of her discovered elements after Poland, not after France, so i guess her polish surname shouldn’t be neglected.

    And wouldn’t it be better to include both polish and french surnames, so she could be portrayed as a testimony of both countries and would symbolize the European scientific progress, not solely french.

17. Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie was her full and real name.

18. Whoever came up with this stupid idea to put people on the euro banknotes should be fired.

19. No people on our banknotes please.

20. Just stick to architecture instead of people. Europe is way too big to pick 6 people to represent us all, you’ll always have conflict

21. I know this is slightly controversial but I love the new proposed design with people on it, we are lucky to have some of the most important and recognisable people itw and it will be a pleasure to have them

    Also the back will rock

22. Depicting people that achieved something may inspire other young people to explore the bio and maybe follow their footsteps. As a Polish national I’d love to see both names. This is a great opportunity to show that European bonds were always strong and the principles of EU’s founding father’s were alive way before the Union started.

23. Let’s stick to fictional bridges and gates to avoid these discussions.

24. The EU uses the full name just fine (and it’s been like that for years) its research funding schemes : https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/funding

    Well, we all just say MSCA because no one manages to say sklodowska, but anyway.

25. Valid request imo.

26. The French just can’t stop colonizing huh. She was Polish.

27. I can understand why Maria Curie-Skłodowska was chosen. She was a woman, an outstanding scientist, an exceptional personality, a progressive figure who embodies the ideas of the EU. However, I do not understand why her Polish surname was omitted (the excuse that it is difficult to pronounce is weak). If she is to symbolise common European values, why omit her Polish origins?

28. I actually think the first two series of the Euro managed almost the impossible: representing 21 (so far) different countries, cultures, languages, 3 different alphabets, without excluding anyone. The fictional buildings of architecture motifs and the mythology figure of Europa managed that without going into nationalistic turfs and debates. Europa is the only woman I want to see on our banknotes.
    I hope they don’t throw all this care in the next series.

    PS: The EU already pays huge tribute to Marie Curie through the MSCA programmes.

29. Next will be Nicola Tesla of USA, and watch Balkan-Eu relations crumble!

30. This sort of stuff was the reason that the euro notes only had buildings and bridges to begin with. Why did we have to change that?

31. Putting people on Euro banknotes is a terrible idea. If the people will choose the “European culture” proposal over “birds and rivers” (which is already a bad enough choice as it is, again caused by stupid people voting) then they will only show how badly European integration and education has failed.

    The EU and the Euro are international projects with the aim of fundamentally changing the history of the European continent: a history made of millennia of fighting, tribalism, death, betrayals and horrible mistrust among neighbours and brothers.

    The only outcome of putting people on Euro banknotes would be to fan the flames of nationalism.

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