The “Poland First to Fight” conference is designed to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II by gathering international scholars, historians, writers, journalists, filmmakers, and museum curators with expertise in specific areas of history to analyze the current state of knowledge and to expand the conversation in academia, the media, and the arts.
The conference program aims to broaden the World War II narrative by promoting and examining certain aspects of the war against Poland, and crimes committed by Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, generally unknown or ignored in the West. Although Poland was a loyal and active wartime ally, the country was betrayed and handed over to Stalin through the Yalta agreement. For decades afterward, Poland remained behind the iron curtain and the history of war crimes committed in occupied Poland remained unknown to the outside world. The conference will address the gaps and the persistent falsehoods that developed during the Cold War.
- Providing the medium and opportunity to exchange ideas, share knowledge, and foster academic research on Poland during World War Two
- Overcoming false stereotypes about Poland and Poles in the US, primarily in the context of World War II and its aftermath
- Creating a network of people and institutions from the world of politics, media, and science interested in Poland’s newest history
- Encouraging museums to organize exhibitions about Poland
- Publication and distribution of a conference book on the history of Poland, with corrections of the most prevalent and striking falsehoods
The conference will last 3 days and will consist of several thematic panels, including:
- Poland between Munich and September 1, 1939
- Poland between September 1, 1939 and the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941
- Poland under German occupation 1942-1945
- War from the perspective of filmmakers
- Poland in the Allies Coalition – Poland’s contribution to the victory of the Allied Forces over the Third Reich
- Polish intelligence and its contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany
- Propaganda and war
A detailed program will be published soon on iPoland.org website.
iPoland.org invited many distinguished speakers from all over the world, only to mention:
- Marek Kornat, Professor - director of the Department of History of the 20th Century and the Section for History of Diplomacy and Totalitarian Systems of the Polish Academy of Sciences
- Stacey Fitzgerald, Producer/Director - independent filmmaker and producer of the feature-length documentary “Saving the Rabbits of Ravensbrück”
- Tadeusz Wolsza, Professor - Polish historian and social scientist, professor at the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN)
- Sean McMeekin, Professor - Francis Flournoy Professor of European History at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
- Mieczyslaw B. Biskupski - Professor of History Stanislaus A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in Polish American Studies Coordinator, Polish Studies Program at the Central Connecticut State University
- Norman Domeier - Professor of Modern European History at the University of Stuttgart, Germany
- Bruno Wasser, Dr. Ing. - architect from the German city of Cologne, a city planner, and a researcher of Second World War history
You can follow all the speakers' profiles on our website to find out more about their research focus and their presentation during the conference.
The conference will take place at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C. The Club is a professional organization and social community for journalists and communications professionals Where News Happens.
Download and share with the others “Witold’s Report From Auschwitz”.
The real story of one of the greatest wartime heroes who volunteered for a Polish resistance operation that involved being imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp in order to gather intelligence.
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