Władysław Pobóg-Malinowski (1899–1962) was a Polish soldier, historian and journalist. An officer of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

, he is best known as a historian and author of numerous books on modern

history of Poland The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from Lechites, medieval tribes, Christianization of Poland, Christianization and Kingdom of Poland, monarchy; through Polish Golden Age, Poland's Golden Age, Polonization, expansionism and be ...

. His most notable work is the ''Modern Political History of Poland'' published in 1956 in London. Although blacklisted by the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

in Communist-controlled Poland, the book was clandestinely published and re-edited in Poland several times. Władysław Pobóg-Malinowski was born on 23 November 1899 in

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

, to a family of

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

descent ( Pobóg being the name of his family's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, traditionally attached to one's surname in Poland). During the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he reached Poland and joined the

soon after it had been formed in 1918, following Poland's restoration of independence. He took part in the Polish-Bolshevist War of 1920. After the war he remained in the army and served in the 21st Field Artillery Regiment (

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, 1923), the headquarters of the Kraków-based 5th Corps District Command (1924) and the 12th Field Artillery Regiment (1928,

Złoczów Zolochiv (, ; ; ; ) is a small List of cities in Ukraine, city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine, and the administrative center of Zolochiv Raion. It hosts the administration of Zolochiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The city is lo ...

). During his military service he also graduated from the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

(faculties of

Polish studies Polish studies, Polish philology or Polonistics (, or ''polonistyka'') is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates the Polish language and Polish literature in both historic and present-day forms. The history of Polish ...

and political science). In 1929 he was attached to the Warsaw-based Military Historical Bureau. Among the best-known works he co-authored and edited was a 10-volume edition of selected works of

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

, Poland's chief of state and military leader. Pobóg-Malinowski retired from the army in 1931 (officially discharged with honours on 1 October 1932) and started working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he settled in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1944 he once again became a Polish diplomat and was posted to Paris. During his stay there he briefly headed the Polish-language section of the Radiodiffusion française. After the war he remained in exile. He continued his work on books on modern history of Poland, from the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

to the post-war period. Apart from the highly popular ''Political history of Poland'', he also authored a monograph on Polish National Democrats in the period between 1887 and 1918, a monograph on the Bezdany raid, as well as started a monumental 6-volume biography of Józef Piłsudski (only two volumes were published). He died on 21 November 1962 in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. After 1989 a yearly prize for "best historical debut work" was set up in his honour by the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, 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 distinguished scholars a ...

and the

Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pobog-Malinowski, Wladyslaw 1899 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Polish exiles Jagiellonian University alumni Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish Army officers Historians of Poland People associated with Kultura (magazine)