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

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

, 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 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 ...

. 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 governments ...

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 (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

in Imperial Russia, to a family of szlachta descent ( Pobóg being the name of his family's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

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

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

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

Złoczów Zolochiv ( uk, Золочів, pl, Złoczów, german: Solotschiw, yi, זלאָטשאָוו, ''Zlotshov'') is a small city of district significance in Lviv Oblast of Ukraine, the administrative center of Zolochiv Raion. It hosts the administrat ...

). During his military service he also graduated from the Jagiellonian University (faculties of

Polish studies Polish studies, or Polonistics ( pl, filologia polska, 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. In the United State ...

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 Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

, 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, 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 opposing ...

he settled in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. 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 Radiodiffusion Française (RDF) was a French public institution responsible for public service broadcasting. Created in 1944 as a state monopoly (replacing Radiodiffusion Nationale), RDF worked to rebuild its extensive network, destroyed during t ...

. After the war he remained in exile. He continued his work on books on modern history of Poland, from the partitions of Poland 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 , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. 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 ( 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 o ...

and the

Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation ( pl, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state resea ...

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 the magazine "Kultura"