Paul Polansky (February 17, 1942 – March 26, 2021) was an American writer and Romani activist. Paul Polansky held a degree in journalism, history and rhetoric from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

. In the early 1990s, he founded the Czech Historical Research Center in the United States and participated in several American and European scientific conferences on human rights in Eastern Europe. In the 1990s, he discovered 40,000 documents in the Czech archives on the Gypsy extermination camp in Lety, run by the Czechs during World War II. After making this discovery, he moved to the Czech Republic to continue his research. He also began organizing conferences devoted to them at the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...

. In 1999, Polansky began working for the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

to serve as an advisor for Roma (Gypsy) refugees in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. He headed the Kosovo Roma Refugee Foundation (KRRF), an NGO working for the suffering residents of the Romany camps in Mitrovica. From July 1999 to September 2009, he was the head of the mission of the Association for Endangered Nations in Kosovo and Serbia. On December 10, 2004, the Weimar City Council awarded Polansky with the Human Rights Award. Polansky died in 2021 due to an illness.

Publications

* Otaker Dvorak and Paul J. Polansky, ''Antonin Dvorak, My Father'', Czech Historical Research Ctr, 1993, . * ''Living Through It Twice: Poems Of The Romany Holocaust'', G PLUS G, 1998, . * ''Black Silence: The Lety Survivors Speak'', G PLUS G, 1998, . * ''Not a Refugee; The Plight of the Kosovo Roma (Gypsies) After the 1999 War'', Voice of Roma, 2000. * ''The River Killed My Brother'', Norton Coker, 2001, . * ''The Blackbirds of Kosovo'', Left Curve Publications, 2001. * ''Bus Ride in Jerusalem'', Roma Refugee Fund, 2003. * ''To UNHCR, with Love'', Divus, 2003, . * ''Kosovo Blood'', KRRF, 2004. * ''Sarah’s People: Nish Cemetery Poems & Photos'', KRRF, 2005. * ''UN-leaded Blood'', published by KRRF (2005), . * ''Safari Angola'', wyd. nakładem własnym, 2006. * ''Gypsy Taxi'', wyd. nakładem własnym, 2007. * ''One blood, one flame: the oral histories of the Yugoslav gypsies before, during and after WWII'', Kosovo Roma Refugee Foundation, 2008, * ''Undefeated'', Multimedia Edizioni, 2009. * ''Deadly Neglect'', wyd. nakładem własnym, 2010. * ''Boxing Poems'', Volo Press edizioni, 2010. * ''Poesie, Damocle Edizioni'', 2011. * ''The Storm'', CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011, . * ''Black Silence'', CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011, 978–1466295742. * ''La mia vita con gli zingari'', Datanews, 2011, . * Paul Polanksy, Roberto Malini, ''The silence of the violins'' – ''Il silenzio dei violini'', Il Foglio Letterario, 2012. * Paul Polanksy, Roberto Nassi, ''The hand of God'' – ''La mano di Dio'', Il Foglio Letterario, 2012. * ''Cry, Gypsy, poems of Germany’s Forced Deportations of Kosovo'', Volo Press edizioni, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polansky, Paul American writers Romani activists Marquette University alumni 1942 births 2021 deaths