Piotr Stefan Wandycz (September 20, 1923 – July 29, 2017) was a Polish-American historian. He was also the President of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America, and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, specializing in Eastern and Central

European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500–1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early Eu ...

Life

He was born in

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 ...

in 1923 during the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

to Damian and Stefania (Dunikowska) Wandycz and raised in Lwow."Wandycz, Piotr Stefan," in ''Who's Who in Polish America''. Ed. Bolesław Wierzbiański. New York: Bicentennial Publishing Corp., 1996, 484-485. Wandycz left the country during

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 ...

on September 17, 1939, when the Soviet army invaded eastern Poland. He and his family crossed into Romania, and in 1940 went to France. Graduating from the Polish Lycee in Villard de Lans, he studied at the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

(1941–42). In late 1942 he reached the United Kingdom where he served in 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 ...

until 1945 as a second lieutenant. After the war he studied at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

where he received B.A. and M.A. and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(Ph.D. 1951). Later he moved to the United States, where he taught at Indiana University before coming to

in 1966 as an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

. He was promoted to a full professorship in 1968 and was named Bradford Durfee Professor in 1989. At Yale, he served as director of graduate studies in Russian and East European studies and in history, the chair of the Council on Russian and East European Studies, and the director of the Language and Area Center. He authored 18 books and over 400 articles and book reviews. Piotr S. Wandycz 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 ...

, the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America, the Polish Academy of Learning, and an honorary member of the Polish Historical Association. His many other honors included the Commander'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 ...

and

honorary degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from the

University of Wrocław The University of Wrocław (, UWr; ) is a public research university in Wrocław, Poland. It is the largest institution of higher learning in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, with over 100,000 graduates since 1945, including some 1,900 researcher ...

, the Sorbonne, 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 ...

, and the Catholic University of Lublin. He died on July 29, 2017.

Works

Piotr Wandycz was a noted authority on Eastern and Central

. His many books include ''France and Her Eastern Allies, 1919-1925'', which won the 1962

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

's George Louis Beer Prize; ''The Twilight of French Eastern Alliances, 1926-1936'', which received the Wayne S. Vucinich Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies; and ''The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present'', which was a 1992 History Book Club selection.

References

External links

Piotr S. Wandycz homepage at Yale

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wandycz, Piotr S. 1923 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Polish emigrants to the United States Alumni of the London School of Economics Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Alumni of the University of Cambridge Grenoble Alpes University alumni Historians of Polish Americans Polish expatriates in France Polish expatriates in the United Kingdom People associated with Kultura (magazine) Writers from Kraków

Life

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links