Overview
In partnership with the Polish National Foundation, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation established a Polish Studies program consisting of two 10-month, residential research fellowships to support publications and events aimed at understanding Polish history. The 20th and 21st century history of Poland can be seen as a microcosm of Western history: it is the story of freedom’s suppression by the forces of Nazism and Communism and liberty’s eventual rebirth. Understanding how these totalitarian systems oppressed the Polish people and how free government was reestablished in their wake better ensures our present and future endeavors to defend liberty against the ideas and forces of tyranny.
Publications
How Poland Challenged Communism in 1956 At 6:00 in the morning on June 28, 1956, workers walked out of the Cegielski engineering plant in Poznań, Poland, ignoring the sirens that signaled the start of the day. Under excessive quotas, poor…
Captain Witold Pilecki was an intelligence officer, a cavalry officer, a gentleman, farmer, a community activist, a talented artist, a loving husband, and a doting father. Oxford’s M. R. D. Foot, a British historian and military intelligence officer, called him…
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that Monika Jablonska, Senior Fellow in Polish Studies, has published a groundbreaking book on the enduring legacy of Saint John Paul II. Released under Angelico Press, A Pope for All…
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Monika Jablonska as the 2022 VOC Senior Fellow in Polish Studies. Jablonska joins other VOC Scholars as part of our growing Polish Studies Program, created in…
Who was John Paul II? John Paul II is greatly remembered for his spiritual and political role in the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. The impact that his words and courage brought to Poland during his 1979…
Executive Summary The monograph Witold Pilecki – The Unsung Hero of Polish WWII Intelligence discusses the heroic life and achievements of a formidable Polish intelligence operator, Captain Witold Pilecki. He was the man who volunteered for Auschwitz to gather intelligence…
These articles were written by Monika Brzozowska-Pasieka, Ph.D., 2020-2021 VOC Senior Research Fellow in Poland Studies. The Secret Soviet Genocide of WWII In the spring of 1940, at least 21,787 Polish people (mostly the Polish intelligentsia and high-ranking Polish soldiers,…
On November 19, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation hosted its 2021 Polish Studies Conference, “The End(s) of Communism: Paths to De-Communization in the Former Eastern Bloc.” The event brought together scholars, international affairs experts, and supporters from across the globe to discuss the peaceful collapse…
Book summary: “This volume examines to what extent the positive atmosphere created by the Helsinki Accords contributed to the change in political circumstances seen in the countries of Central Europe under Soviet domination. It focuses in particular on-firstly-a consequent a…
