Leadership

Dr. Włodzimierz Batóg was the 2018-2019 Senior Research Fellow in Polish Studies and is a Professor of American History at Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. His past publications include monographs, articles, and book chapters on the Communist Party of the USA, Students for a Democratic Society, and the 1960s campus unrest. During his fellowship, he conducted archival research for a book about Communist Party infiltration and influence among the Polish diaspora of Chicago and Detroit during the 1930s and 1940s. He edited Towards Freedom: Roads to Eastern European Independence, a volume of essays originating from the Foundation’s annual conference in Polish Studies which is currently in the process of being published by Peter Lang Publishing in its Studies in Central European Culture series. It is anticipated to be released in Spring 2022.

In May 2019, the Poland Studies Program in close cooperation with Dr. Włodzimierz Batóg convened a conference at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, IL. The conference was attended by participants from leading American and Polish institutions, including Harvard University and the Polish Academy of Sciences as well as other Polish Studies Program Fellows and VOC Staff. More information on the conference is available below.

Poland & the US in Defense of Freedom: From Defeating Communism to Preserving National Sovereignty

Throughout the duration of the fellowship, Dr. Batóg visited the National Archives and the Library of Congress on a regular basis and was able to gather substantial information on the Communist Party infiltration and influence among the Polish diaspora of Chicago and Detroit during the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to his primary program deliverables, he established a system for in-depth research on his research question and was able to present it with VOC’s class of interns as a value-added contribution to VOC’s efforts to educate the young Americans about communism and its legacy from the Polish perspective. Dr. Batóg participated in the annual VOC Teacher Seminar and delivered a lecture focused on specifics of communism in Poland in comparison to communist regimes in other Central and Eastern European countries to shed light on peculiarities of the communist regime in 1970s and 1980s. VOC is anticipating a release of Dr. Batóg’s edited book Towards Freedom: Roads to Eastern European Independence and is interested in re-engaging him as a Polish Studies Program Alumni and mentor for the incoming classes of fellows as well as a potential participant in future relevant VOC events and activities. Dr. Batóg is also eager to continue collaboration with the VOC, particularly, in developing virtual sessions with the young Americans, who are interested in gaining first-hand knowledge about the history and nature of the communist system in Poland and beyond.