Marceli Handelsman (1882–1945) was a Polish historian, a

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw (, ) is a 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 as 100 specializat ...

professor,

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, modern historian, and historical

methodologist In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...

Life

Marceli Handelsman was born on 8 July 1882, in

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 ...

, to a family of distant Jewish ancestry. After graduating in law from the Russian-language Imperial Warsaw University, he moved to

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 ...

, where he began studies in the history department of Unter den Linden University. In 1906, however, he was dismissed from the school because of his involvement in

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

organizations. Afterwards Handelsman continued his studies at various European universities including

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

(where he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1908),

Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and finally

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 ...

. During

World War I 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 ...

, in 1915, he returned to

and joined

as a professor of

modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

. He was also appointed a member of the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning (, PAU), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences (the other being the Po ...

. One of the most prominent historians of the age, between 1918 and 1939 he was also the editor-in-chief of the ''Historical Review'' and the head of a Commission for the Atlas of History of Polish Lands (1920–35). He was also a member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences in

and the

-based

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Initially a medievalist, in the

Interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

Handelsman devoted much study to 19th-century Polish political history, including the works of Prince

Adam Jerzy Czartoryski Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (14 January 1770 – 15 July 1861), also known as Adam George Czartoryski, was a Polish szlachta, nobleman, statesman, diplomat and author who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian SFSR, Chairman of ...

and the

Hôtel Lambert The Hôtel Lambert () is an ''hôtel particulier,'' a grand mansion townhouse, built between 1640 and 1644 on the Quai Anjou on the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. In the 19th century, the name ''Hôtel La ...

circle. After 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 ...

Marceli Handelsman hid from the Germans because of his

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish roots. Nevertheless, he took an active part in

underground education in Poland during World War II During World War II in Poland, education often took place underground. Secretly conducted education prepared scholars and workers for the postwar reconstruction of Poland and countered German and Soviet threats to eradicate Polish culture. Back ...

and served as a professor in the underground Warsaw University. After 1942, under the ''

noms de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In ''ancien régime'' France it would be adopted by each new recruit (or assigned to them by ...

'' "Maciej Romański" and "Maciej Targowski," he worked with the

Bureau of Information and Propaganda The Bureau of Information and Propaganda of the Headquarters of Związek Walki Zbrojnej, later of Armia Krajowa ( - in short: ''BIP''), a conspiracy department created in spring 1940 during the German occupation of Poland, inside the Związek Wa ...

of the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

. Arrested by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

in 1944, he was sent to

Gross-Rosen concentration camp Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, di ...

. Subsequently transferred to

Mittelbau-Dora Mittelbau-Dora (also Dora-Mittelbau and Nordhausen-Dora) was a Nazi concentration camp located near Nordhausen in Thuringia, Germany. It was established in late summer 1943 as a subcamp of Buchenwald concentration camp, supplying slave labour f ...

concentration camp, he was murdered on 20 March 1945.

Students

Among his students were many figures such as

Stanisław Arnold Stanisław Arnold (20 December 1895 – 3 November 1973) was a Polish historian, professor of the University of Warsaw. He was a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and chief of the Marxist Association of Historians.Bohdan Urbankowski: Czerwon ...

Artur Eisenbach Artur Eisenbach (born 7 April 1906 in Nowy Sącz, died 30 October 1992 in Tel Aviv) was a Polish-Jewish historian; an expert on the history of Jews in Poland, member of Polish Academy of Sciences and the head of the Jewish Historical Institute in ...

Aleksander Gieysztor Aleksander Gieysztor (17 July 1916 – 9 February 1999) was a Polish medievalist historian. Life Aleksander Gieysztor was born to a Polish family in Moscow, Russia, where his father worked as a railwayman. In 1921, the family relocated to Poland ...

Stefan Kieniewicz Stefan Kieniewicz (20 September 1907, in Dereszewicze – 2 May 1992, in Konstancin-Jeziorna, Konstancin) was a Polish historian and university professor, notable for his works on the 19th-century history of Poland. During his work at various uni ...

Tadeusz Manteuffel Tadeusz Manteuffel or Tadeusz Manteuffel-Szoege (1902–1970) was a Polish historian, specializing in the medieval history of Europe. Manteuffel was born in Rēzekne, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire (now Latvia). His brothers were Leon ...

Emanuel Ringelblum Emanuel Ringelblum (November 21, 1900 – March 10 (most likely), 1944) was a Polish-Jewish historian, politician and social worker, known for his ''Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto'', ''Notes on the Refugees in Zbąszyn'' chronicling the deportat ...

, and Mieczysław Żywczyński.P. Węcowski, ''Marceli Handelsman (1882-1945)'', In: M. Handelsman, ''Historyka'', oprac. P. Węcowski, Warszawa 2010, p. 343, 344; M. Wierzbicka, ''Marceli Handelsman'', In: ''Słownik Historyków Polskich'', ed. M. Prosińska-Jackl, Warszawa 1994, p. 175-177.

Notes

References

*"Handelsman, Marceli," ''

Encyklopedia Polski This is a list of encyclopedias by language. Albanian Encyclopedias written in Albanian. * '' Albanian Encyclopedic Dictionary'' (): published by Academy of Sciences of Albania; ** First Edition (1985; ''FESH'') ** New Edition (2008/09; ''Botim ...

'', p. 213. * 1882 births 1945 deaths Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers People who died in Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp Polish civilians killed in World War II Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Writers from Warsaw Polish people executed in Nazi concentration camps Executed people from Masovian Voivodeship Jewish Polish writers University of Warsaw alumni Polish medievalists Academic staff of the University of Warsaw Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary Officers of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Legion of Honour Burials at Powązki Cemetery Jewish resistance members during the Holocaust Home Army members {{Poland-historian-stub

Life

Students

See also

Notes

References