Regarding Word War II
During the month of June, the Polish Music Center received several books related to Poland’s history. Dr. Jarosław Rabiński, director of the Centrum Badań nad Historią Polskiego Państwa na Uchodźstwie [Center for historical studies of the Polish Government-in-Exile] at the John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin sent us a large shipment of fascinating publications centering on Poland’s history during the years of World War II.
In every sense, the heftiest publication in this shipment is undoubtedly Dziennik czynności Naczelnego Wodza gen. Władysława Sikorskiego, Vol. IV. It is an annotated diary of Gen. Sikorski, who led Poland’s Government-in-Exile during the first years of World War II. It covers the period from 1 August 1942 until 5 July 1943, that is until one day after Sikorski’s tragic death in an air crash at Gibraltar. An annex, covering the period 6-16 July with the agendas of meetings by various officials of the Polish Government in London, follows the General’s diary. There are also summaries in English, French, German and Russian as well as an extensive index that makes this publication a very useful resource.
Three other hardbacks also included in this shipment are:
- Protokoły posiedzień Rady Ministrów Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Na uchodźstwie) 1945-1990 [Minutes of the Polish Republic’s ministerial meetings], Vol. I, covering the period September 1945 through July 1946 and edited by Jarosław Rabiński
- Rada Narodowa Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej—Posiedzenia plenarne [Polish Republic’s National Council meetings—plenary sessions] Vol. I, covering the period January-June 1940 and edited by Jarosław Rabiński and Bartosz Czajka
- Słownik biograficzny Polskiego Państwa na Uchodźstwie [Biographical dictionary of the Polish Government-in-Exile] Vol. II, edited by Jarosław Rabiński and Michał Dworski.
Furthermore, two trade paperback publications were also included in this gift from Dr. Rabiński at the Catholic University in Lublin. They are:
- Polskie Państwo na Uchodźstwie 1939-1991 [Polish Government-in-Exile], edited by Jarosław Rabiński and Michał Dworski
- The Exile History Review—2/2023, an English language periodical with several fascinating articles by various international authors covering topics of refugees, exiles, political emigration, etc.
Poland Across History
Nina Dąbrowa, a dedicated long-time friend and ardent supporter of the Polish Music Center, has worked on pruning her late husband’s home library. She has recently donated to us Ilustrowana Kronika Polaków, authored by Mateusz Siuchniński and Szymon Kobyliński, and published by Książka i Wiedza in Warsaw in 1967. Originally published in installments by the Express wieczorny newspaper, it was collected for this richly illustrated compendium on Poland’s history directed to the popular and school-aged audience.
This album begins on prehistoric Slavic culture and continues chronologically through the many milestones in Poland’s long and twisting tale of independence and greatness to the loss of national status throughout the 19th century that was followed by independence after World War I. Since it was published in the mid-1960, well into the communist-governed years, some of the summaries of Poland’s history since 1918 are rather tendentious and ideologically driven. But as such, in today’s world that, too, is filled with propaganda and misinformation, perusing this publication might be instructive for many a curious reader.
An Historical Novel
Another book tangentially connected to Polish history that reached us this month came from Irene Sturm, a Polish writer living in southern California since the early 1990s. Published in Warsaw in 2023, the action of her novel, Malachitowy bursztyn [The Malachite Amber], takes place in the late 1700s and early 1800s and is a story of Austrian government bureaucrats who move to the Polish province of Galicia that, since 1795, had fallen under Austrian administration. This story of romance and marital adventures mixes fiction and history with a strong dose of age-old wisdom and bon mots on its pages. As such it certainly will be appreciated by anyone keen on light reading in Polish. Ms. Sturm’s other literary efforts include such novels as Na przekór losu [Against Fate] (2010), Przypadek zrządził [Made by Accident] (2015), and Niebieski bluszcz [Blue Ivy] (2019) as well as a collection of short stories, Na chwilę zamyślenia… [For a Moment of Reflection] (2022).
As always—to all our donors—Dziękujemy! Thank you!