Wladyslaw Konopczynski
Encyclopedia
Władysław Konopczyński was a leading Polish historian and publisher of primary-source materials.
. He became a professor at Kraków
's Jagiellonian University
(1917) and a member of the Warsaw Scientific Society
(Towarzystwo Naukowe Warszawskie) and the Polish Academy of Learning
(Polska Akademia Umiejętności, 1922).
Konopczyński's chief interests were Polish parliamentary history, 17th- and 18th-century Polish politics and political thought, and the Bar Confederation
. He wrote histories of Poland and of the modern world.
In 1931 he founded Polski słownik biograficzny
(The Polish Biographical Dictionary) and served as its first editor, seeing seven volumes through press, 1935–49, before being forced by Poland's postwar communist government to resign his editorship.
During World War II
, Konoczyński survived German imprisonment at Sachsenhausen concentration camp
.
After the war, he was removed from all his academic and scholarly posts by Poland's communist government.
Konopczyński was a recipient of the French
Légion d'honneur
.
Life
Konopczyński was a student of Polish historian Szymon AskenazySzymon Askenazy
Szymon Askenazy was a Polish historian, diplomat and politician, founder of the Askenazy school....
. He became a professor at Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
's Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
(1917) and a member of the Warsaw Scientific Society
Warsaw Scientific Society
Warsaw Scientific Society is a Polish scientific society based in Warsaw. It was established in 1907 as a continuation of the Society of Friends of Science to advance the sciences and arts and to publish scientific papers....
(Towarzystwo Naukowe Warszawskie) and the Polish Academy of Learning
Polish Academy of Learning
The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning , headquartered in Kraków, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences....
(Polska Akademia Umiejętności, 1922).
Konopczyński's chief interests were Polish parliamentary history, 17th- and 18th-century Polish politics and political thought, and the Bar Confederation
Bar Confederation
The Bar Confederation was an association of Polish nobles formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence and against King Stanisław August Poniatowski and Polish reformers who were...
. He wrote histories of Poland and of the modern world.
In 1931 he founded Polski słownik biograficzny
Polish Biographical Dictionary
Polski słownik biograficzny is a Polish-language biographical dictionary, comprising an alphabetically arranged compilation of authoritative biographies of some 25,000 notable Poles and of foreigners who have been active in Poland – famous as well as less well-known persons, from Popiel, Piast...
(The Polish Biographical Dictionary) and served as its first editor, seeing seven volumes through press, 1935–49, before being forced by Poland's postwar communist government to resign his editorship.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Konoczyński survived German imprisonment at Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
.
After the war, he was removed from all his academic and scholarly posts by Poland's communist government.
Konopczyński was a recipient of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Works
His chief works included:- Polska w dobie wojny siedmioletniej (Poland during the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, 1909–11); - Liberum vetoLiberum vetoThe liberum veto was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It allowed any member of the Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting Nie pozwalam! .From the mid-16th to the late 18th...
(1918); - Dzieje Polski nowożytnej (History of Modern Poland, 2 vols., 1936);
- Konfederacja barska (The Bar ConfederationBar ConfederationThe Bar Confederation was an association of Polish nobles formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence and against King Stanisław August Poniatowski and Polish reformers who were...
, 1936–38); - Kwestia bałtycka do XIX wieku (The Baltic Question to the 19th Century, 1947).