Totalitarian and 20th Century Studies Vol. 4, praca zbiorowa | joint publication - Journal “Totalitarian and 20 th Century Studies”

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Totalitarian and 20th Century Studies Vol. 4

praca zbiorowa | joint publication

The subject matter of the present batch of articles is focused along a number of topical axes. As regards the period immediately preceding the German and Soviet invasion of Poland, Wojciech Łysek discusses the question of the Polish Promethean struggle in the east of Europe in correlation with the fall of the Second Polish Republic. The next author, Marek Rodzik, presents the genesis of the British guarantees for Poland of March 1939, opining that the main reason for their granting was Adolf Hitler’s violation of the Munich Agreement. British-Polish co-operation – despite the non-provision of any tangible assistance to Poland once it was attacked by Germany – was continued in successive years, also in the field of special operations, and this has been described in detail by Anna Zapalec and Jacek Preface 307 Preface Tebinka. The aggression of the Third Reich against Poland was characterized by exceptional brutality, while the crimes committed by the Germans clearly showed that territorial conquest was not their primary objective, as Roger Moorhouse convincingly argues. Tomasz Ceran has conducted an analysis of one such crime, duly placing it in the context of genocide, while Mikołaj Getka-Kenig reconstructs the process of destruction of the historical architecture of Kraków under the German occupation. Our next author, Marcin Marcinko, explains that the “voluntarism” which characterized the crimes and atrocities of the occupier did not fit into international legal standards, while Stephan Lehnstaedt outlines the problem of the German historical memory of crimes committed during the invasion of Poland. When discussing the multifarious aspects of the effects of war, we cannot forget the military defeat of the Polish Army, which necessitated its reconstruction abroad. The fates of Polish soldiers were varied. Some even found themselves in South Africa, and Paulina Stanik describes how this distant country was perceived by contemporary Poles. Obviously, the Second World War was a total conflict that left hardly any geographical area unscathed. Tunisia was no exception; initially taken over by the Vichy régime, which actively collaborated with the Third Reich, it was subsequently occupied by German and Italian forces. Mohsen Hamli analyzes how the country’s Jewish newspapers viewed the anti-Semitism propagated by the Third Reich and its allies, and how this ideology impacted the situation of Jews in Tunisia itself, whereas Habiba Boumlik touches upon the memory of anti-Jewish repressions in Tunisia. The next author, Ákos Bartha, has elaborated a broad presentation of anti-Nazi policy in Hungary – a country that was officially an ally of the Third Reich. The final research article, written by Maciej Zakrzewski, concerns the discussions which took place in the Weimar Republic on the issue of coupling technological advances with the masses. The yearbook is rounded off with Agnieszka Konik’s miscellany text, which constitutes a summary of the research project conducted by the Institute. Using the context of post-memory, she discusses the data provided in questionnaires completed by members of the families of persons commemorated under the “Called by Name” project.

SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL:

Grzegorz Berendt, Paweł Kaczorowski, Marek Kornat, Hanna Kuczyńska, Stephan Lehnstaedt, Piotr Madajczyk, Joanna Nowakowska-Małusecka, Tadeusz Panecki, Alexandra Richie, Paweł Skibiński

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

Wojciech Kozłowski

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Mateusz Fałkowski, Marcin Panecki, Jerzy Rohoziński, Martyna Rusiniak-Karwat, Witold Stankowski, Bartłomiej Kapica, Joanna Adamczyk

REVIEWERS:

dr hab. Grzegorz Bębnik, dr John Cornell, prof. UAM dr hab. Łukasz Donaj, prof. UŁ dr hab. Andrzej Dubicki, dr hab. Tomasz Gajownik, dr Maciej Herbut, dr Aleksandra Kmak-Pamirska, dr Hubert Mielnik, dr Joanna Nikel, prof. UAM dr hab. Piotr Okulewicz, dr Monika Polit, dr Michał Przeperski, prof. dr hab. Waldemar Rezmer, dr Konrad Rokicki, prof. dr hab. Krystyna Romaniszyn, dr hab. Marek Romaniuk, dr Bogumił Rudawski, dr hab. Tadeusz Paweł Rutkowski, prof. dr hab. Jan Henryk Sienkiewicz, prof. dr hab. Józef Smoliński, prof. UJ Joanna Sondel-Cedarmas, dr Piotr Stanek, prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Tarka, prof. dr hab. Jakub Tyszkiewicz, dr hab. Jakub Wojtkowiak, prof. dr hab. Wiesław Jan Wysocki, prof. dr hab. Janusz Zuziak

PUBLISHER:

The Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor

ISSN:

2545-241X

PUBLICATION DATE:

2020


Table of Contents

Wojciech Kozłowski, Bartłomiej Kapica
Preface
Wojciech Łysek
The Dusk of Prometheanism (1935–1940)
Marek Rodzik
The Origins of the British Guarantee to Poland of 31 March 1939
Jacek Tebinka, Anna Zapalec
British-Polish Political Co-operation and the Beginning of Special Operations, 1939–1940
Roger Moorhouse
Prelude to Race War: The Ideological Drivers behind German Atrocities Committed against POWs and Civilian Populations during the September Campaign of 1939
Tomasz Ceran
The Pomeranian Crime of 1939 as the Onset of Genocide during the Second World War
Mikołaj Getka-Kenig
Historic Architecture Losses in Kraków during the Second World War (1939–1945)
Marcin Marcinko
Selected Violations of the Occupation Law in the Polish Territories in 1939–1940
Stephan Lehnstaedt
“Polenfeldzug”: Nazi Crimes during the War against Poland in 1939 and their Place in German Memory
Paulina Stanik
Impressions: Polish Soldiers’ Brief Experience of South Africa during the Second World War
Mohsen Hamli
The Impact of Nazi and Fascist anti-Semitism on the Jewish Press in Tunisia in the Years 1938–1940
Habiba Boumlik
The Memory of War and the Historical Memory of Vichy Work Camps in Tunisia through Albert Memmi’s "The Pillar of Salt"
Ákos Bartha
Anti-Nazi Politics in Hungary during the Second World War
Maciej Zakrzewski
Technology and Total Mobilization in Weimar-era Tensions
NOTES ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Agnieszka Konik
“Called by Name” – Family Histories. A Contribution to Research on (Post)memory
Jakub Kumoch
In the Captivity of One’s Own Beliefs, or Who is Inconvenienced by Our New Knowledge Regarding the Ładoś Passports. A Polemic with the Article "Paszporty złudzeń. Sprawa paszportów południowoamerykańskich widziana z Będzina" [Passports of Delusion. The Case of the Latin American Passports as Seen from Będzin] by Michał Sobelman (“Zagłada Żydów. Studia i Materiały” 2020, vol. 16, pp. 700–717)
Mikołaj Getka-Kenig
Jadwiga Gwizdałówna, "Architektura Wawelu w czasie okupacji niemieckiej 1939–1945" [Architecture of the Wawel Royal Castle during the German Occupation 1939–1945]
Michał Przeperski
Jarosław Tomasiewicz "W kierunku nacjokracji. Tendencje autorytarne, totalistyczne i profaszystowskie w polskiej myśli politycznej (1933–1939): narodowcy – narodowi radykałowie – narodowi socjaliści" [Towards Natiocracy: Authoritarian, Totalistic, and Pro-Fascist Currents in Polish Political Thought (1933–1939) – Nationalists, National Radicals, National Socialists]