The Establishment of the Bar Confederation
An interview with Dorota Dukwicz

Ewa Zientara: Why was the Bar Confederation formed? Dorota Dukwicz: This question is only seemingly easy. In 1767 the Radom Confederates hoped that Russia would help them depose the hated King Stanisław II Augustus and move away the spectre of the demands made by the non-Catholic nobility, that is, dissenters, or dissidents, as they were...

Kazimierz Funk and vitamins
Biochemistry and the concept of "vital amines"

Polish biochemist Kazimierz Funk was the first to discover and name vitamins. He proved that – apart from carbohydrates, proteins, fats and mineral salts – they are chemical compounds necessary for the proper functioning of the living organism. by Piotr Bejrowski   Born on 23 February 1884 in Warsaw, Kazimierz Funk was a son of...

The Katyn Massacre: Its Chronology, Scale, Victims and Unpunished Perpetrators
The World’s Day of Remembrance for Victims of Katyn Massacre

The ordeal of Polish Army officers, policemen, prison and forest guards, intelligence and counter-intelligence agents as well as Polish administrative staff in the Easter Borderlands began on 17 September 1939. It was then that the Red Army invaded Poland, belatedly implementing the arrangements of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 23 August 1939. Soviet captivity awaited around...

Górski's Team
Probably the best Polish football manager of all time

On December 1, 1970, Kazimierz Górski became the national football team coach. Górski, born on March 2, 1921, in Lwów, led the Polish team to its greatest successes; they won two Olympic medals (1972, 1976) and achieved third place at the world championships (1974). Before his coaching career, he was a striker for several Lwów...

Antoni Patek and the most expensive watches in the world
Creator of one of the most famous watchmaker companies

The 19th century Polish insurgent and immigrant Antoni Patek was a pioneer in the industrial production of watches. Patek, the company he founded and which has been in the hands of another family for years, has been producing some of the best and most expensive watches in the world for almost two centuries. by Piotr...

Zdzisław Najder (1930–2021): conclusions from reading Conrad
In memoriam of Professor Zdzisław Najder

Philologists are relatively rarely sentenced to death in absentia. Nor do they always (although somewhat more often) become Chevaliers of the Legion of Honour. This alone shows how remarkable was the fate of Zdzisław Najder, who died on 15 February 2021. by Wojciech Stanisławski   In the mid-20th century, it seemed that – comparing with...

John III Sobieski and Marysieńka
Love letters of the Polish King to his beloved wife

King John III Sobieski is remembered as the commander of the victorious armies on the battlefield at Vienna. Yet this brave and talented commander was also a man of deep feelings, as evidenced by his love letters to his wife, Marie-Casimire de la Grange d’Arquien (Marysieńka). by Piotr Abryszeński   Marie-Casimire came from the old...

Gdynia: Poland’s window to the sea
100th anniversary of granting city rights to Gdynia

When the First World War ended, the independent Polish state was born. However, although the state was formally established, its borders were still far from being determined. This was not an easy process, as there were various political, ethnic, historical and economic arguments that needed to be taken into consideration. At certain points, some of...

Witold Lutosławski: likely the most outstanding Polish composer after Chopin and Szymanowski
(25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994)

There are actually few composers active in the 20th century who can be referred to as ‘contemporary classics’. Witold Lutosławski certainly belongs to this narrow group. An artist who, confronting the key issues of the 20th-century art of composition, created pieces that impress with their balance of intellect and emotion, and are simultaneously extremely open...

Grażyna Bacewicz: “The First Lady of Polish Music”
(5 February 1909 – 17 January 1969)

When Grażyna Bacewicz’s compositions were performed outside Poland, she occasionally received letters addressed to  “Dear Mister Bacewicz” or “Cher Monsieur Grażyna Bacewicz.” Even in the latter half of the 20th century, some found it hard to believe that a woman could be a true creator, assuming that gender played a significant role in artistic talent....

Mikołaj Rej: the father of Polish literature
(4 February 1505 – between 8 September/5 October 1569)

Although the Polish literary language began to develop much earlier, it is Mikołaj Rej who is considered ‘Poland’s Dante’ as the father of national literature and the creator of an original Polish style. Mikołaj Rej, the Renaissance writer, poet, and translator, was born in Żurawno in Red Ruthenia [eastern Galicia] on 4 February 1505. by...

Hugo Kołłątaj: the dominant ideologue of the Polish Enlightenment
A prominent Polish constitutional reformer and educationalist

Hugo Kołłątaj was a towering figure of the Polish Enlightenment: a statesman, political writer and philosopher, as well as a promoter of science and education. He was a spokesman for socio-economic and political changes and a co-creator of the Constitution of 3rd May 1791. He was born in Derkały Wielkie in Volhynia on 1 April...
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Górski's Team

Probably the best Polish football manager of all time

On December 1, 1970, Kazimierz Górski became the national football team coach. Górski, born on March 2, 1921, in Lwów, led the Polish team to its greatest successes; they won two Olympic medals (1972, 1976) and achieved third place at the world championships (1974). Before his coaching career, he was a striker for several Lwów...
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The Establishment of the Bar Confederation

An interview with Dorota Dukwicz

Ewa Zientara: Why was the Bar Confederation formed? Dorota Dukwicz: This question is only seemingly easy. In 1767 the Radom Confederates hoped that Russia would help them depose the hated King Stanisław II Augustus and move away the spectre of the demands made by the non-Catholic nobility, that is, dissenters, or dissidents, as they were...
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The Katyn Massacre: Its Chronology, Scale, Victims and Unpunished Perpetrators

The World’s Day of Remembrance for Victims of Katyn Massacre

The ordeal of Polish Army officers, policemen, prison and forest guards, intelligence and counter-intelligence agents as well as Polish administrative staff in the Easter Borderlands began on 17 September 1939. It was then that the Red Army invaded Poland, belatedly implementing the arrangements of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 23 August 1939. Soviet captivity awaited around...
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The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733–1795: Light and Flame

Review of the book by Richard Butterwick

The 18th century was a time of enormous cultural, political and societal upheaval for the West. In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it was a period of decline that was completed by the partitions. However, reducing the 18th-century history of the Polish-Lithuanian state to a mere falling into political non-existence would be a simplified and thus false...

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The Battle of Warsaw 1920-2020

17 August 2020
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The Battle of Warsaw 1920-2020
The Second World War and its Consequences from the Perspective of 75 Years since its End. Panel 2
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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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