Z dziejów kłamstwa katyńskiego: o zasługach Wiktora Sukiennickiego (1901–1983) w odkrywaniu prawdy i paru niepewnych wynikach badań. (Z badań archiwalnych w Instytucie Hoovera Uniwersytetu Stanforda w Kalifornii)

Author(s): Olga Kotulska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2018

The aim of the present article is to present the history of the lie of Katyń and the pioneering role that Wiktor Sukiennicki (an unknown Polish sovietologist, a law philosopher and Professor at the University of Stanford and University of Vilnius) played by writing the memorial of the Katyń massacre. The preparation of the memorial was commissioned by the Polish government in London and its text was so pregnant in meaning and unquestionable about whom the culprit was that, despite the pressure from the Soviet side, Katyń was not added to the indictment against the Hitler war criminals during the Nuremberg trials. All of the materials collected in the present article are the outcome of the thorough research done by the author of the article at the Hoover Institute of the Stanford University in California, where the Sukiennicki’s archives collection is situated, as well at the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.

Stach from Warta Szukalski and the Tribe of the Horned Heart: though this be madness, yet is there method in it

Author(s): Agnieszka Gajda / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2012

Wielka eksploatacja małych gruntów. Ingerencje władz niemieckich w postępowania działowe gospodarstw rolnych prowadzone przez sądy polskie (nieniemieckie) w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie w latach 1939–1945

Author(s): Hubert Mielnik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2022

The article aims to indicate how the German authorities, administrative and judicial, interfered in the proceedings before the Polish (non-German) courts in the General Government, the subject of which were farm divisions. The thesis of the article assumes that the German authorities interfered with the functioning of Polish (non-German) courts in the area in question due to the necessity to achieve certain political goals in the GG (effective exploitation of agricultural resources). The basic research material used in the article is archival sources and sources of law. By analyzing the preserved archival files and the practice of the functioning of the judiciary in the GG, one can see ways to reduce the phenomenon of fragmentation of farms.

Notes bibliographiques

Author(s): Jan Heřman,Bedřich Nosek,Jiřina Šedinová,Anita Franková,Anna Hyndráková / Language(s): English,French,German Issue: 1/1970

Reviews of: 1. Charles Wengrov: Haggadah and Woodcut. An Introduction to the Passover Haggadah Completed by Gershom Cohen in Prague. Sunday, 26th Teveth 5287 / December 30, 1528. Schulsinger Brothers, New York 1967. Passover Haggadah, Shmuel Mohr, Bene-Beraq, 1988. 2. Shammai Waks: Grief is My Song (Ma trojer lid) Los Angeles, 1966, 104 pages. 3. Růžena Bubeníčkovi, Ludmila Kubátová, Irena Malá: Tábory utrpení a smrti. - The Camps of Suffering and Death, Svoboda, Prague, 1969, 490 pages. 4. Arnold Pauckert: Der jüdische Abwehrkampf gegen Antisemitismus und Nationalsozialismus in den letzten fahren der Weimarer Republik. Hamburg, Leibniz-Verlag, 1988, 311 S.

Rreth bisedimeve shqiptaro-italiane për zbatimin e Traktatit të Paqes me Italinë – 1947 (Rregullimi i çështjeve me karakter ekonomik dhe financiar që rridhnin nga Traktati i Paqes me Italinë)

Author(s): Ksenofon Krisafi / Language(s): Albanian Issue: 1/2012

The Peace Treaty with Italy, signed in Paris on February 10th, 1947, ended the state of war between Italy and the other States, former member of Anti-Fascist Coalition during the WWII, among which Albania was included. In the preamble of the Treaty and in a number of his articles has been said and proved the Italy’s responsibility for the war and during the war. The Peace Treaty defined explicitly the status of Albania and its juridical position in relation to Italy and in general with the system created by the Peace Treaty. It was précised that every member of the United Nations, at war with Italy and who has not signed this treaty, as well as Albania, may accede to the Treaty, being considered immediately after accession, as Associate State in the implementation of the Treaty. This article gives Albania the opportunity, even though he had not signed the Treaty, to be a part of its general provisions. Treaty of Peace with Italy provided the final arrangement between the two countries in all matters, of economic and financial natures, arising from the provisions of the Treaty of Peace, and settled that the exact reparations and delivery of goods, items, equipment, etc., will be realized after a special agreement that will signed between concerned countries and Italy. On this basis, the Albanian government started the demarches with the Italian government to precise the next necessary measures needed to perform its implementation. After nearly 10 years of the persistent efforts was achieved in the end of negotiations between two countries and was signed in Rome on June 22, 1957, an Agreement which regulate all the matters arising from the Treaty of Peace signed in Paris on February 10, 1947, between the Allied and Associated Powers and Italy

Latviešu karagūstekņi Zedelgemā: vēsture, atmiņa, konflikts

Author(s): Mārtiņš Kaprāns,Jānis Tomaševskis / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 53/2023

After the World War II, approximately 11,700 Latvians were held in the prisoners-of-war (POW) camp near Zedelgem, Belgium. In 2018, a monument was unveiled in Zedelgem, commemorating both Latvian POWs and freedom in all its manifestations. However, a few years later the monument was caught in a crossfire of conflicting political interests and social memories. This article intends to explain the issues with the Zedelgem camp by looking at the structure and biographical details of the Latvian POWs and exploring how the tension around the Zedelgem monument were created. The composition of the Latvian soldiers imprisoned in the Zedelgem camp suggests that a very small part of these POWs could be associated with German-organized war crimes in Latvia and other territories. The article explains why the advocates of the monument – the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia and local history enthusiasts of Zedelgem – failed to reframe the history of Latvian POWs. In this controversy, the accusing memory activists outnumbered and outperformed the advocates, thus quickly creating an international resonance around the monument. This “memory war”, among other things, sends a clear message to Latvian diplomats that the history of World War II in Europe has not disappeared from international relations.

REFLECȚII PE MARGINEA CĂRȚII LUI CYRIL HOVORUN: ORTODOXII POLITICE. EREZIILE UNEI BISERICI ASERVITE

Author(s): George Enache / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 22/2023

The study starts from Cyril Hovorun's book: Political Orthodoxies: The Unorthodoxies of the Church Coerced and analyzes several concepts present in the book: "Political Orthodoxies", "Unorthodoxies", "Heresies", "Church Coerced", "civil religion", "political religion", "ideology", "conservatism", "fundamentalism", etc.Once these concepts are clarified, it is shown that Hovorun does not define some concepts well, in many situations it is confusing, and the work presents many shortcomings from the point of view of historical documentation. The situation is even more complicated in the case of the Romanian translation, which subtly tries to criticize the Orthodox Church from a Protestant perspective, by manipulating some concepts.At the end, the study proposes a new grid for understanding the relations between Orthodoxy, ideology and political power in the contemporary era.

Reconstruction of Fateful Events

Author(s): Nikolay Poppetrov / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2024

Komiks z nacistického vězení: unikátní svědectví Antonína Mádla z Pečkárny, Pankráce a Gollnowa

Author(s): Magda Veselská / Language(s): Czech Issue: 01/2024

Antonín Mádl's comic, titled **"Cesta křížová"**, vividly depicts his arrest by the Prague Gestapo in August 1940 and the brutal interrogations at the infamous Petschek Palace. The comic captures the violence and psychological pressure faced by Mádl and other detainees, highlighting the harsh conditions and resilience required to endure such ordeals. Mádl's narrative intertwines his personal experiences with broader historical events, offering a unique visual testimony of life in Nazi prisons. His work also reflects his commitment to the Czech resistance movement, particularly through his involvement with the illegal magazine "V boj". Despite severe beatings and torture, Mádl managed to withhold critical information, demonstrating remarkable courage. His comic serves as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by those who fought against oppression during World War II.

Odbojáři, nebo gangsteři? Příběh ilegální skupiny Pátá kolona

Author(s): Jiří Plachý / Language(s): Czech Issue: 01/2024

The article discusses the controversial history of the Czech resistance group "Pátá kolona" during World War II. Initially formed by Václav Engelmüller and other students in 1939, the group aimed to fight against the Nazi occupation. However, their activities often resembled those of gangsters rather than freedom fighters. They engaged in various criminal acts, including theft and murder, to fund their resistance efforts. The group's moral decline is highlighted by the murder of Jaroslav Sinkule, a member suspected of being a Gestapo informant. Despite their initial resistance efforts, the group's actions eventually drew the attention of the Gestapo, leading to arrests and the group's dissolution. The article also touches on the post-war lives of the surviving members, who faced various fates, including collaboration with the Gestapo to save their lives.

Proti Židům pravdou a činy! Příběh antisemitského týdeníku Arijský boj

Author(s): Tadeáš Hlavinka / Language(s): Czech Issue: 01/2024

The article discusses the history and impact of the antisemitic weekly magazine Arijský boj during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Launched in May 1940 by Jan Vladimír Břetenář, the magazine was filled with aggressive antisemitic articles and caricatures, promoting Nazi racial policies. It targeted Jews and their supposed allies, calling for their exclusion from public life. The magazine also attacked "white Jews," non-Jews who opposed antisemitism or were indifferent to Nazi ideology. Contributors included notable figures like Bohumír Lain and the Innemann couple, who wrote antisemitic articles and serialized novels. The magazine's content was monitored by the Gestapo and influenced the lives of many individuals. Despite its limited circulation, Arijský boj played a significant role in spreading Nazi propaganda in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Nušviesti ar užtamsinti? Žiniasklaidos vaidmuo nacių ir jų talkininkų teismuose

Author(s): Tomas Vaiseta / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 53/2024

Review of: Ruth Leiserowitz, Gintarė Malinauskaitė, Hektoras Vitkus (eds.), Making Justice Visible: War Crimes Trials, Media and Memory after World War II, Osnabrück: fibre Verlag, 2022.

Urzędnicy przed sądem – ekstradycja nazistowskich zbrodniarzy z Niemiec i ich procesy w Polsce

Author(s): Markus Roth / Language(s): Polish Issue: 19/2023

Even during the war and the German occupation, laws to regulate the preservation of evidence were established in Central and Eastern European countries so that Nazi crimes committed there could be prosecuted in the long term. As part of the preparatory activities, evidence was systematically collected. After the war, a total of over 1,800 Nazi criminals were extradited to Poland to be brought to justice. Among them were many members of the German civilian administrative apparatus, including town and county governors, who bore considerable responsibility for German occupation policy at the lowest level of the administration. The article describes, based on representative examples, the process of administering punishment for their crimes and offenses. The beginning of this process was the systematic collection and securing of evidence. The next stage, i.e. the tracking down of the perpetrators in post-war Germany, their internment, and then the attempts to bring them to Poland. The reasons for the dismissal of extradition requests are discussed, as well as the reactions and concerns of the Nazi criminals. A larger number of typical examples made it possible to examine the judicial proceedings in Poland and answer further questions: under what general legal conditions did they take place? What were the difficulties in carrying out the trials? How did public opinion respond? The article concludes with a closer look at the fate of the tried Nazis after their release from prison.

„Euthanasie“-Verbrechen im besetzten Europa. Zur Dimension des nationalsozialistischen Massenmords

Author(s): Lutz Kaelber / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2024

Review of: „Euthanasie“-Verbrechen im besetzten Europa. Zur Dimension des nationalsozialistischen Massenmords, Hrsg. von Jörg Osterloh, Jan Erik Schulte und Sybille Steinbacher. (Studien zur Geschichte und Wirkung des Holocaust, Bd. 6.) Wallstein. Göttingen 2022. 391 S. ISBN 978-3-8353-5076-2. (€ 38,–.)

СВЕТСКИ РАТ(ОВИ) КАО ПРОИЗВОД(И) ИМПЕРИЈАЛИЗМА

Author(s): Nemanja Božović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 190/2024

Review of: Richard Overy, Blood and Ruins. The Great Imperial War 1931–1945, Penguin Books, London, 2023, pp. 1040

Provocările revoluției digitale pentru arhivele istorice din România

Author(s): Florin Abraham / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1-2/2024

In the editorial, the author analyses the issue of digitization of historical archives, starting from the experience gained in the USA, Germany, United Kingdom and France. The article investigates the causes of the poor digitization of historical archives in Romania: the lack of government interest, limited financial resources, a weak mobilization of researchers to request the acceleration of the integration of new information technologies. The author believes that important institutional changes are needed, and the National Archives of Romania must become a distinct institution, integrated into the Ministry of Culture, for example. The author argues the need for new legislation in the field of archives, which encourages both the digitization of classic archives and the preservation of documents created exclusively digitally, such as the content of social media (e.g., Facebook, Youtube).

Необикновената съдба на българистката Шара Кариг (1914-1999)

Author(s): Dzheni Madzharov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

The life of the Hungarian Sara Karig (1914 - 1999) is а complex tangle of curiosity, hard work, honesty, courage and fateful clash with the ideological perversity of the time it lives in. She is the most successful promoter of Bulgarian fiction in Hungary, being а translator, editor and compiler of 32 books bу Bulgarian authors. This is а well-read and broad-minded intellectual. But Sara Karig is also an extraordinary person, because of her bold and self-reliant human behaviour. She was involved in saving the lives of several thousand people. In the years of fascism in Hungary (1944 - 1945), she was not afraid to sacrifice her life and save thousands of Jewish children, refugees and English prisoners ofwar, along with the Swedish anti-Nazis - Asta Nilsson, Waldemar Langlet and Raoul Wallenberg. For this honest and straightforward woman in the liberated bу fascism, Hungary, there are new, severe trials. Because she dared to reveal electoral fraud, she was sent for six years to the GULag Soviet camps. There she barely came to life to return to Hungary and to start her life again for the third time. With hard labour, very dedication and endless vitality she builds friendship bridges, wins friends, works devotedly to her homeland. However, from the years spent in the camps, she also keeps а gentle memory. These are her sensual white poems, decades hidden on the bottom of the drawer. Only at the end of her life Sara Karig dares to reveal this wonderful side of her nature to the reader's audience.

Българските партизанки в сблъсък с патриархалните нрави (1941–1944)

Author(s): Vladimir Stanev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2024

Between 1941 and 1944, a partisan movement developed in Bulgaria, spearheaded by the Bulgarian Workers‘ Party and largely dominated by communists. Evaluations of this movement vary widely, from highly positive to entirely negative, depending on political perspectives. Despite the movement‘s aims and methods, it is important to note the participation of many women partisans. These women faced deeply rooted stereotypes within Bulgarian society, including among their comrades. Their struggle against these stereotypes marked a crucial phase in the long process of women‘s fight for equality in Bulgaria. In some instances, however, the women themselves, either consciously or unconsciously, reinforced existing clichés.

KONTINUITET ZAPADNONEMAČKOG PRAVOSUĐA S TREĆIM RAJHOM

Author(s): Slobodan Vuković / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 2/2024

With the adoption of the Basic Law on May 24, 1949 in the Bundestag, West Germany was formed from the three western occupation zones. After the initial denazification in early 1948, the US military government ordered its swift end and limited its own jurisdiction. In parallel with that, a campaign for the release of convicted criminals and the step-by-step takeover of the Nazi functional elite is launched. In the mid-1950s, only twenty percent of the leading positions in the „new“ state were held by opponents of the Nazi regime. It was similar in the Ministry of Justice. Prosecutors, judges and lawyers returned to their previous positions. Between 1952 and 1962, between 68 and 77 percent of Germany’s judicial staff were Nazi judges. More than 6,656 verdicts were handed down in Allied and German courts, of which 30% were sentenced to six months, 60% to less than one year and 90% to less than five years. Only 15% of all charges and 17% of convictions were for murder (between 17 and 20 million civilians). There is no data on the distribution of the sentence served. Since the beginning of the Cold War, amnesties and individual and mass releases have alternated on a conveyor belt.

Amir Obhođaš, GLAVA ZA ZUB: TALIJANSKO-ČETNIČKA SURADNJA U NDH

Author(s): Bojan B. Dimitrijević / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 2/2024

Review of: Amir Obhođaš, GLAVA ZA ZUB: TALIJANSKO-ČETNIČKA SURADNJA U NDH, Zagreb, Hrvatski državni arhiv, 2023, 284.