Jerzy Stanisław Holzer (24 August 1930,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

- 14 January 2015) was a Polish historian. He specialized in the Polish history, German history, and the Polish-German relations. In 1950-1954 he studied history at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

. 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 Civitas University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Civitas'') is one of Poland's leading non-public higher education institutions. It is a member of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP) and the Conference of Rectors of Non-Pub ...

, he was a member of 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 ...

. He lectured at the universities in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. 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 (, ), 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 legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...

. Since 1978 he cooperated with the

Workers' Defence Committee The Workers' Defense Committee ( , 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. It was a precursor and inspiration for efforts ...

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

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

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 (; ), also known as Stare 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 the oldest, having been established in 179 ...

in Warsaw. Six days later,

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who was the fifth president of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski previously served as Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence ...

awarded him the Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) 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 alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

.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 PPS commonly refers to: * Post-postscript, an afterthought, usually in a document. PPS may also refer to: Aviation * Puerto Princesa International Airport, Palawan, Philippines (by IATA code) * Priority Passenger Service, in Singapore Airlines#Fre ...

: 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