Wiktoria Śliwowska (1931–2021) was a Polish historian, author and employee of the Institute of History 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 ...

, specializing in the Polish-Russian relations. She published books on Russian Literature and history, as well as

Polish history The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from medieval tribes, Christianization and monarchy; through Poland's Golden Age, expansionism and becoming one of the largest European powers; to its collapse and partitions, two world wars, ...

Biography

Śliwowska was born in a Jewish family, the daughter of Józef Lewin-Łaski (known after World War II as Wacław Zawadzki) and Sara née Fryszman. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

she was imprisoned in the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...

in which Sara died. From 1949 to 1953, Śliwowska studied at the Polish Pedagogical Institute of Alexander Hercena in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where she met her future husband René Śliwowski. In 1953 she started working at the Institute of History in Poland, where in 1960 she defended her doctoral thesis, and in 1971 she was habilitated. In 1994 Śliwowska received the title professor of humanities. Śliwowska is the author and editor of many works on the history of Russia, including the era of Nicholas I and the history of Polish deportees in Russia. Together with Rene, she published books on

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were c ...

. She participated on the team which, under Stefan Kieniewicz, prepared for printing a multi-volume edition of documents on the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

. In 2008, she and Rene published M''emories of Russia - Our love''. In 2003 Śliwowska was awarded 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 ...

. In 1999 and 2005, she received the Klio Award, in 2000, the Special Review of the Eastern Review, in 2001, Śliwowska was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

, and in 2019, the same distinction of the

Jan Kochanowski University Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce ''( pl, Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach)'', formerly the Holy Cross Academy ''( pl, Akademia Świętokrzyska)'' and the Jan Kochanowski University of Humanities and Sciences ''( pl, Uniwersytet Huma ...

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...

References

External links

Homepage at PAN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sliwowska, Wiktoria 1931 births 20th-century Polish historians Academic staff of the Polish Academy of Sciences Living people Polish women historians