Subtitle:

Polska 1944/45-1989 : studia i materiały 11 (2013)

Contributor:

Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Publisher:

Instytut Historii PAN

Place of publishing:

Warszawa

Description:

p. 185-191 ; Eng. summary

Type of object:

Journal/Article

Abstract:

When, half a century ago, Tadeusz Szturm de Sztrem from the Polish Scientific Publishers PWN approached Zbigniew Landau and Jerzy Tomaszewski with a proposal to edit for publication ‘The Chronicle of the Years of War and Occupation’ by Ludwik Landau, they were aware both of historical significance of that work and of difficulties they would face. Today, they are still convinced not only that it was unprecedented in Polish and European memoirist and chronicle literature but also that it is the most important chronicle document written in Polish, and probably in other languages, pertaining to World War II. The editors do not disparage chronicles by other authors that were written in Poland and survived all ravages of time. In their opinion, however, Ludwik Landau’s ‘Chronicle’ is distinguished by its particular features, since the author departed from the method of describing personal experiences. His ‘Chronicle’ attempts to present the war not through the prism of the author’s personal participation in events but in an impersonal, objective manner, trying to create a general picture, resulting from the experiences of the whole nation rather than an individual.The author of the ‘Chronicle’, Ludwik Landau, was a scholar, sociologist and economist, who had learned how to critically confront various sources, starting from the German press, to underground press (which had access to the Radio news and information from the network of Polish underground intelligence); he also gathered news from individuals through his personal contacts with Warsaw inhabitants, by various ways. An important source was German legislations, critically confronted with the articles and information from the German press. All that material was analysed by the author, and his commentaries and conclusions are of great importance for contemporary historians.Of special value are information from his own observations and personal contacts. On this basis he was able to conclude about the moods of Warsaw inhabitants, occasionally also about the relations in the countryside. A contemporary historian can confront this abundant material with the knowledge from documentation rendered available after the war, sometimes many years later, gained from other sources.

Relation:

Polska 1944/45-1989 : studia i materiały

Volume:

11

Start page:

185

End page:

191

Detailed Resource Type:

Article : original article

Format:

application/pdf

Resource Identifier:

oai:rcin.org.pl:59727 ; 2450-8357

Source:

IH PAN, sygn. B.155/11 Podr. ; IH PAN, sygn. B.156/11 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

pol

Language of abstract:

eng

Rights:

Rights Reserved - Restricted Access

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. Access only for persons authorised by the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences. ; Copyright-protected material. Access only on terminals at the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences, may be used within the limits of statutory user freedoms.

Digitizing institution:

Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Institute of History PAS

Access:

Closed