Research and Reports

Six death camps, Chełmno, Bełżec, Sobibór, Treblinka, Majdanek, and Auschwitz-Birkenau, were established for the systematic mass murder of Jews as part of the Final Solution, first in gas vans and then in gas chambers. Chełmno was the first extermination center established by the Germans in occupied Poland. It operated from Continue Reading

Postwar Memory, Reconstruction, and the Legacy of War in Central and Eastern Europe. While the first and second parts of Petr Khodakiewicz’s research focus on the preconditions for war, its outbreak, and mass repression, the third part concentrates on the postwar period: the reconstruction of societies, the struggle for memory, Continue Reading

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. To justify the attack, German propagandists accused Poland of persecuting ethnic Germans living in the country. They also spread false claims that Poland and its allies, Great Britain and France, were planning to surround and divide Germany. The SS and the German military Continue Reading

On June 22, 1941, German troops invaded the territory of the Soviet Union. The Great Patriotic War began. Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, and Italy joined Germany in its war against the USSR, and in August, Norway joined them. On July 12, 1941, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Continue Reading

World War II, which lasted from September 1, 1939, to September 2, 1945, was started by Nazi Germany, Italy, and militaristic Japan. Sixty-one countries with a population of 1.7 billion people were drawn into the war, with military operations conducted on the territory of 40 countries, as well as in Continue Reading

Mass Repression and Tragedy in Central and Eastern Europe While the first part of Petr Khodakiewicz’s research examined the socio-political preconditions of the war and its initial stages, the second part focuses on mass repression, deportations, and the destruction of populations, as well as the mechanisms through which these events Continue Reading

Yakov Wasserman (Krakow – Proszowice – Israel) Yakov was the eldest of three sons in a religious Jewish family living in Krakow. His father traded in flour, and every summer the family spent time at his grandfather’s farm near Proszowice. His grandfather owned a small flour mill, and Yakov’s childhood Continue Reading

During World War II, Germany took over most of Europe using a new tactic called “blitzkrieg” (lightning war). Blitzkrieg involved a massive attack using planes, tanks, and artillery. These units were supposed to break through enemy defenses in a narrow section of the front. Air support prevented the enemy from Continue Reading

Central and Eastern Europe played a special role in the history of World War II. Empires, ideologies, and national interests collided in these territories, and the consequences of the conflict were felt for decades to come. The research of Polish historian Piotr Khodakiewicz offers a unique perspective on this period, Continue Reading