Jerzy Stanisław Holzer (24 August 1930,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

- 14 January 2015) was a Polish historian. He specialized in the Polish history, German history, and the

Polish-German relations German Polish or Polish German may refer to: * German–Polish relations *German minority in Poland *Polish minority in Germany Poles in Germany are the second largest Polish diaspora (''Polonia'') in the world and the biggest in Europe. Estimate ...

. In 1950-1954 he studied history at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

. From 1954 to 2000 he worked at the Institute of History of the university. In October 1990 he gained the title of professor. Holzer worked at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and at

Collegium Civitas Collegium Civitas is a private university for the social sciences located in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It is open to new inventions in higher education: interdisciplinary approaches, closer lecturer-student relations, study abroad programs, i ...

, he was a member of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

. He lectured at the universities in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. In 1965 Holzer briefly collaborated with the communist secret service. He was writing reports about Germans responsible for contacts with communist Poland. He announced this fact publicly in 2005. From 1948 to 1979 he was a member of the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

. Since 1978 he cooperated with the

Workers' Defence Committee The Workers' Defense Committee ( pl, Komitet Obrony Robotników , KOR) was a Polish civil society group that was established to give aid to prisoners and their families after the June 1976 protests and ensuing government crackdown. KOR was an examp ...

and helped to publish several illegal magazines. In 1980-1981 Holzer helped to organize the

Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

movement at the University of Warsaw. On 13 December 1981 communist authorities interned him for four months. In 1983 he illegally published the first monography dealing with the Solidarity - ''"Solidarność" 1980-1981. Geneza i historia'' (Solidarity 1980-1981. Genesis and History), which had been republished several times since then. Many of his books were published in German. Holzer died on 14 January 2015 and was buried at

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Powązkowski), also known as Stare Powązki ( en, Old Powązki), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of t ...

in Warsaw. Six days later,

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who served as President of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski served as Minister of Defence from 2000 to 2001. As Marshal of the Sejm, Komorowski exercised ...

awarded him the Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

.Jerzy Holzer pośmiertnie uhonorowany Krzyżem Oficerskim OOP
at Prezydent.pl, 20 January 2015.

Works

* ''Polska Partia Socjalistyczna w latach 1917-1919'' (Polish Socialist Party in 1917-1919) (1962) * ''Polska w pierwszej wojnie światowej'' (together with Jan Molenda, 1963, 1967, 1973) * ''Kryzys polityczny w Niemczech 1928-1930. Partie i masy'' (Political Crisis in Germany 1928-1930. Parties and Masses) (1970) * ''Mozaika polityczna Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej'' (Political Mosaic of the Second Republic) (1974) * '' PPS: Szkic dziejów'' (PPS: Overview of History) (1977) * ''Solidarność 1980-1981. Geneza i historia'' (Solidarity 1980-1981. Genesis and History) (1983, 1984, 1986, 1990) * ''Solidarność w podziemiu'' (together with Krzysztof Leski, 1989) * ''Komunizm w Europie'' (Communism in Europe) (2000) * ''Komunizm XX wieku'' (Communism of the 20th Century) (2001) * ''Dwa stulecia Polski i Europy'' (Two Centuries of Poland and Europe) (2004) * ''Europejska tragedia XX wieku. II wojna światowa'' (European Tragedy of the 20th Century. Second World War) (2005) * ''Europa wojen 1914-1945'' (Europe of Wars 1914-1945) (2008) * ''Polska i Europa: "W Polsce czyli nigdzie?"'' (2008)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holzer, Jerzy 1930 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Historians of Poland University of Warsaw alumni Writers from Warsaw Polish United Workers' Party members Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Burials at Powązki Cemetery Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Members of the Workers' Defence Committee