Leopold Tyrmand: an original writer and master of self-aggrandizement
The 100th anniversary of Leopold Tyrmand's birthday

Leopold Tyrmand was one of the most interesting figures of post-war Poland’s artistic milieu. Despite the oppression of the communist regime, he had his own way of opposing the system.   Tyrmand’s biographers aptly point out that he opposed communism not only ideologically, but also aesthetically. He wanted to maintain the continuity of Polish culture...

1935 in Poland
An interview with Professor Czesław Brzoza

“The Sanation political movement was never uniform, it was bound by the person of Józef Piłsudski – his authority, and his will. When he was absent, differences became more pronounced. Each of the groups was striving to play a dominant role in the country, and be seen as the one most obviously and faithfully continuing...

Wadowice - the hometown of John Paul II and a poor, idyllic town
the 100th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's birthday

A city of 10,000 inhabitants on the Skawa River, Wadowice seems a poor, idyllic place, far away from the hustle and bustle of the world. This is where Karol Wojtyła was born one hundred years ago. by Wojciech Stanisławski Cities and towns have their own destinies. For decades, Wadowice has played the role of the...

The end of the Second World War? A Polish perspective on 8 May 1945
the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War

The question of whether the Second World War ended in May 1945 may seem rhetorical or even absurd. However, if we look at the then-reality from a Polish perspective, the matter ceases to be so obvious. by Łukasz Kamiński Do you know what General Leopold Okulicki, the last commander of the Home Army, one of...

Jan Sehn. Poland’s forgotten Nazi hunter
An interview with Dr. Filip Gańczak, author of the book Jan Sehn. Tropiciel nazistów (Jan Sehn – Tracking the Nazis)

Jan Sehn (1909-1965) was a Polish lawyer and professor at the Jagiellonian University. Shortly after the war, he conducted research at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and also participated in preparing accusations against several dozen German war criminals who had worked at the camp. Additionally, he published a number of scientific papers on the functioning...

Welcome: this is where international meetings take place
An interview with Director Robert Kostro of the Polish History Museum

The idea of creating the web portal polishhistory has been part of the Polish History Museum and was established to create a broader view of the museum. Why is a website like polishhistory so needed? Robert Kostro: I believe that we are participating today – and this is a global phenomenon – in many important...

He did not return on a white horse. General Władysław Anders
76th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino

He was compared to Moses taking his people out of captivity. He commanded the Polish armed forces during the most renowned attack they mounted and after the war he was supposed to return to Poland on a white horse. He was wounded on seven occasions. Deprived of Polish citizenship by communists, he became one of...
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Jan Długosz: father of Polish historiography

The 540th anniversary of Jan Długosz’s death

Historian, chronicler, heraldry expert, geographer, diplomat and educator of Polish kings, Jan Długosz was undoubtedly one of the greatest historiographers of the Middle Ages. This author of the monumental 12 volume Annals or Chronicles of the Famous Kingdom of Poland died on 19 May 1480 in Kraków. Długosz was born in 1415 in Brzeźnica in...
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1935 in Poland

An interview with Professor Czesław Brzoza

“The Sanation political movement was never uniform, it was bound by the person of Józef Piłsudski – his authority, and his will. When he was absent, differences became more pronounced. Each of the groups was striving to play a dominant role in the country, and be seen as the one most obviously and faithfully continuing...
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'We Demand the Truth about Katyn!'

the Katyn Massacre as a Subject Taken up by the Opposition in Post-War Communist-Ruled Poland

Recalling the Katyn Massacre was an important aspect of the activities of the democratic opposition in the Polish People’s Republic (PRL), one of the reasons being the subject’s high importance for society back then. This is best exemplified by the fact that a booklet by Ryszard Zieliński entitled ‘Katyń’ was the most-published material outside of...
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The “Polish Months” Communist-ruled Poland in Crisis

review of the book by Jerzy Eisler

Was Poland in a state of permanent crisis under the Communist regime? Or, rather, could this undoubtedly bad system have been at the same time completely stable, with only periodical social revolts and political crises affecting the status quo? by Piotr Abryszeński The “Polish Months” Communist-ruled Poland in Crisis, released in Polish in 2008, gives...

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The Second World War and its Consequences from the Perspective of 75 Years since its End. Panel 3

8 May 2020
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The Second World War and its Consequences from the Perspective of 75 Years since its End. Panel 3
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Polishhistory is an online project of the Polish History Museum in Warsaw. It is primarily addressed to all those interested in Polish and Central European history. Our aim is to build a community consisting of those professionally involved in research and of those interested in the outcomes of research, essentially, all lovers of history. The...
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