Best publications on history of Poland and history of Polish diplomacy awarded

msz.gov.pl

Professor Robert Frost and Professor Andrzej Nowak won the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Historical Competition.

It was organised by the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Historical Diplomacy Council for the first time. Awards and special mentions for publications that appeared in 2015-2016 were handed in two categories: best foreign language publication promoting Poland and best Polish language publication on the history of Polish diplomacy.

“It is significant that as many publications as possible appear that speak about our history in a way that is attractive for foreign readers,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Dziedziczak during the award ceremony. “One of the priorities of the MFA is promotion of Poland’s history abroad,” he added.

Professor Robert Frost from the University of Aberdeen won the main prize in the best foreign language publication category for his work The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania. Volume I: The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, 1385-1569, published in 2015 in Oxford. The main prize for the best Polish language publication on the history of Polish diplomacy went to Professor Andrzej Nowak from the Jagiellonian University and the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of History for his work Pierwsza zdrada Zachodu. 1920 – zapomniany appeasement (The West’s First Betrayal. 1920 – Forgotten Appeasement), published in 2016 in Krakow.

The following authors were honoured with special mentions:

- In the best foreign language publication promoting Poland’s history category:

- Dr Daniel Brewing from University of Aachen for his work Im Schatten von Auschwitz, Deutsche Massaker an polnischen Zivilisten 1939 – 1945 (In the shadow of Auschwitz, German massacres of Polish civilians 1939 – 1945), published in 2016 in Darmstadt;

- Professor Patryk Babiracki from University of Texas-Arlington for his publication Soviet Soft Power in Poland. Culture and Making of Stalin’s New Empire, 1943-1957, published in 2015 in Chapel Hill;

- In the best Polish language publication on the history of Polish diplomacy:

- Professor Andrzej Maciej Brzeziński from University of Lodz for his publication Oskar Halecki a Liga Narodów. Poglądy i działalność (Oskar Halecki and the League of Nations. Views and Activity), published in 2016 in Lodz;

- ARCANA Publishing House – President Zuzanna Dawidowicz and Professor Zofia Zielińska for edition of sources: Correspondance de Stanislas-Auguste avec Catherine II (Stanislaw August’s Correspondence with Catherine the Great), published in 2015 in Krakow.

The prize awarding ceremony was followed by a conference on public diplomacy and promotion of Poland’s history abroad, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw.

“Public diplomacy should reach out directly to opinion makers abroad with a message that promotes the national interest. We can do it most effectively by communicating with foreigners in an attractive and clear way,” said the MFA’s Deputy Minister Jan Dziedziczak launching the conference.

The conference was attended by the competition award winners, and Polish and foreign historians.

MFA Press Office