Witold’s Report from Auschwitz
You are cordially invited to the
The 12th Annual Kościuszko Chair Conference
Saturday, November 23, 2019
1:00 – 6:05 PM
The Institute of World Politics
1521 16th Street NW
Washington, D.C.
Parking
1:00 PM – 1:10 PM
Introduction
1:10 PM – 1:55 PM
“Disinformation” by Natalie Grant Wraga
Dr. Jack Dziak, The Institute of World Politics Adjunct Professor and a Former Senior Intelligence Officer
The Trust: the premier Soviet domestic and foreign disinformation operation and the model for future provocations (a book preview).
1:55 PM – 2:40 PM
The Miracle Man on the Vistula
Mr. Nicholas Siekierski, Ph.D. candidate, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
This year is the 100th anniversary of Herbert Hoover’s visit to Poland as head of the American Relief Administration: he went in Woodrow Wilson’s stead. The significance of the relief is still little-known in the Polish public consciousness, even among historians. It may have been one of the finest episodes in U.S.-Polish relations and is worthy of more recognition.
2:40 PM – 3:25 PM
The town of Pinsk, the gubernya of Minsk: On the Eve of the Great War
Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz, The Institute of World Politics Professor and the Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies
Dr. Chodakiewicz will discuss the political, economic, social, and cultural situation in Pinsk and its environs.
3:25 PM – 3:50 PM
Hors d’oeuvres
3:50 PM – 4:35 PM
Polish lands 1939-1956: Civilians’ Survival Strategies During the War, Occupation, and Liberation
Dr. Jakub Isański, Professor of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
The Polish population suffered huge losses during WWII. Millions of soldiers and civilians were wounded and killed. Those who survived developed various ways to cope with the extreme situation they had to face during the war. These methods proved to be very useful in the first years after Soviet liberation in 1945, in the era of mass migrations and resettlements, but also in the times of Stalinist lawlessness and repression. These times will be presented on the basis of information contained in the diaries sent to three competitions for settlers in western Poland. The vast majority of these materials have not been published so far.
4:35 PM – 5:20 PM
Witold Pilecki: an ordinary man turned volunteer for Auschwitz?
Maria Juczewska, Associate Director, Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies
Rotamaster Witold Pilecki, a Polish intelligence operator who volunteered for Auschwitz, is presented by non-Polish authors as an ordinary man who was capable of a heroic deed in times of war. Mrs. Maria Juczewska will examine the validity of that narration in view of evidence provided by scholarly research, archival material, and accounts of his close and kin.
5:20 PM – 6:05 PM
Deja vu on the Vistula: Russian Active Measures against Polish-American Military Cooperation
Boleslaw Piasecki, Lecturer at War Studies University (Warsaw) and Security Expert in the financial sector.
Previously worked at the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland. Holds a Ph.D. degree in national security from the University of Warsaw and Certificate of Graduate Study in Counterintelligence from the Institute of World Politics, Washington D.C. In his research, he focuses on intelligence, deception and information warfare as well as the impact of new technologies on modern society.
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