Cechą FACES of WAR jest interdyscyplinarne ujęcie problematyki poruszanej na łamach czasopisma. Dlatego do druku przyjmujemy prace z dziedziny nauk humanistycznych, ale też takich dyscyplin naukowych jak: stosunki międzynarodowe, prawo, nauki o bezpieczeństwie, architektura i urbanistyka. FACES of WAR jest czasopismem, w którym publikowane są oryginalne teksty, prezentujące różne punkty widzenia, inspirując do przemyśleń i dyskusji.
Półrocznik wydawany jest przez Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego i afiliowany przy Wydziale Filozoficzno-Historycznym UŁ.
Zespół Redakcyjny przyjmuje teksty w języku angielskim.
AKTUALNY NUMER
Where Could Prince Izyaslav Volodymyrovych Escape from Terebovlia in September 1210/1211?
Myroslav Voloshchuk
This paper is an attempt to identify one of the witnesses of executing in 1212 a diploma by the Prince of Kalisz Władysław Odonic for the Prussian bishop Christian with the subsequent granting of the village of Ceków to the bishop. The diploma mentions a certain Isizlaus among alii nobiles. As we cautiously suggest, that was the son of the former Galician Prince Volodymyr Igorevych – Izyaslav, the Prince of Terebovlia, in the years 1209/1210–1210/1211. After a victorious campaign in August – September 1210/1211 against the Igorids brothers, settled in the Halych land, the Hungarian troops led by Palatine Poth, reinforced by the Kraków, Sandomierz, and Volhynian troops, captured Svyatoslav and Roman Igorids and sold them to the Galician boyars, after which the brothers were hanged together with their families. Unlike the Igorids, Prince Volodymyr and his son Izyaslav managed to escape. While sources do not report anything about Izyaslav for the next few decades, the appearance of the person named Isizlaus at the court of Władysław Odonic in 1212 may not be coincidental. We assume that this may have been Prince Izyaslav Volodymyrovych, since Prince Władysław was his uncle ‘on the distaff side’ according to the genealogical relations with the Galician Rostislavovids.
The Mongol Invasion of Hungary in 1241–1242. New Perspective
Ferenc Sebők
The Mongols invaded Hungary in the spring of 1241 and occupied it until the middle of 1242. Recent research has unearthed new data in connection with Hungarian resistance against the Mongols and on the basis of these new observations of historians and archaeologists we can conclude that local resistance was substantially stronger than had been concluded earlier. The Mongols faced serious difficulty in expanding their occupation in Hungary. New light has also been shed on the history of the battle of Muhi, which was the decisive turning point in the Mongolian campaign. Hungarian troops, especially warriors of the military orders (Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller) caused serious damage to the Mongols, who later regarded this battle as the most difficult one that had been fought against European foes. Western and eastern parts of the country alike put up serious resistance during the months following the battle of Muhi. The Mongols were reluctant to cross the Danube River because formidable Hungarian forces were gathering in Transdanubia (the western part of the country), and when they finally did cross the river in January 1242, they laid waste only to the vicinity of the main roads in those parts of the country. Although the extent of devastation was staggering, the country was able to recover from it in a few years, and would have been ready to face a second Mongol invasion if it had materialised.
Changing Craft in the Early Renaissance. Florentine Citizens and the Profession of Arms (1427–1430)
Simone Picchianti
Between the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century, the Republic of Florence was almost constantly engaged in war. As a result, public debt in a short time increased from 1 million to 3 million florins. The most difficult time for the Republic occurred between the years 1425 and 1433. In this phase, authorities experimented with new forms of taxation to cope with the growing expenses, including the cadaster (Catasto) created in 1427, pursuant to which Florentine citizens were forced to list all their assets in addition to other personal information.
Based on the information provided by this document, it has been possible to identify all Florentine citizens who were soldiers at the time. Furthermore, thanks to the data extracted from the accounting records of the Florentine government of 1430, it has been possible to evaluate an interesting change in society: several artisans, of various ages, abandoned their professions to become soldiers. According to the documents, such a choice was seen as a chance to one’s economic condition thanks to the considerable wages and good working conditions offered by the Republic compared to those associated with work as artisans.
Military Engineers and Artillery Production in Milan Under the Sforza (1450–1535). Institutions, Professionalism, Techniques
Matteo Ronchi
The late 15th-century Milanese army boasted an impressive artillery park of several heavy bombards and a multitude of light field artillery pieces. Such war machines were manufactured and operated by the specialised personnel of the ‘ducal munitions and public works office’, i.e., engineers recruited among both Lombards and foreigners, supervised by a general commissar. Unfortunately, the study of Milanese firearms production and its political and diplomatic implications remain practically uninvestigated among contemporary historians, except for a few important studies from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Thanks to the epistolary documentation contained in the archival series Ingegneri e architetti, conserved in the State Archive of Milan, this contribution will focus on providing an overview of the activities of the ammunition office, the professional backgrounds of its engineers and their skill sets, as well as gunmaking processes, production sites, and techniques. Finally, this contribution will stress the impact of artillery production on the Italian and broader European political culture of the time: even in times of peace, the art of gunmaking and its products shaped the diplomatic and economic relations between Italian and other European states, via the constant exchange of specialised gunsmiths and the diffusion of innovative military technology.
Military Migration as a Social Consequence of War. On the Example of the Hvizdets-Obertyn Campaign of 1531
Aleksander Bołdyrew, Karol Łopatecki
Since the end of the Middle Ages, most of the wars fought by the Jagiellons were fought by enlisted soldiers, while every year they served in the permanent defence system (Polish: obrona potoczna) in the Ruthenian lands. As a result, several thousands, tens of thousands, and sometimes even tens of thousands of men left their place of residence and moved to another area, sometimes hundreds of kilometres away. As their destination was most often the Ruthenian lands, and the largest percentage of recruits with a known territorial affiliation came from Lesser Poland, it can be assumed that the distance oscillated, on average, around 290 km (in a straight line from Kraków to Lviv) and another 225–250 km from Lviv (the traditional place of concentration of troops) to the region of Kamianets-Podilskyi or Medzhybizh, i.e. to the area of fairly frequent military operations.
Thus, the question arises, to what extent the phenomenon of the migration of soldiers (permanent or temporary) is perceptible in the source material? Having the treasury and military registers, it is possible to compile data directly concerning individual soldiers with knowledge about their territorial origin and activity in a specific territory during the war expedition. Given the bulk of the preserved source material, certain exclusions have to be made in this study. The entirety of the surviving archives requires thorough and lengthy research. Thus, this paper is a test survey, based on sources related to Hetman Jan Tarnowski’s Moldavian expedition of 1531. At that time, Tarnowski commanded around six thousand soldiers, which seems to be a sufficiently large research sample. We aim to show the sheer regularity of soldier movements/migrations, especially as this issue is essentially absent from Polish military-historical literature.
The Social Consequences of the Deportation of Polish Citizens Deep into the USSR in 1940–1941
Albin Głowacki
As a result of four mass deportations carried out by the NKVD officers in 1940–1941, over 320,000 Polish citizens were deported into the USSR from the eastern territories of the Republic of Poland annexed by Moscow (according to NKVD sources). They were considered to be the most dangerous to the communist regime. At that time, families of military men, foresters, those arrested or held in prisoner-of-war camps, and war refugees (mainly Jews) who refused to accept USSR citizenship, as well as the families of participants in the ‘counter-revolutionary Ukrainian and Polish nationalist organisations’ were resettled in cattle railway cars.
The journey to exile lasted 2–4 weeks. People were settled in the northern regions of the European part of Russia, in the Urals, Siberia, and Kazakhstan. There, they performed very hard physical work in the logging of forests, in mines, agriculture, and construction – in a harsh climate, without training, without knowledge of the local language, without the right tools, without holidays, and without proper medical care and medicine. They commonly lacked food, workwear, shoes, and hygiene products. They lived in primitive barracks, in ruined farm buildings, in pit-houses, or rented mediocre accommodations from the locals. The constant struggle for survival taught them cunning, theft, and accelerated their acquisition of various professional qualifications. They had to adjust to life in extreme poverty, knowing that they could not break down or give in to doubt. The living conditions encouraged the development of various diseases and resulted in accelerated mortality. The exiles rarely decided to marry or expand their families, which increased demographic losses. The most common and lasting effects of the stay in exile concern the mental and physical condition of the victims of deportation. Their psyches were dominated by anxiety, fear, inferiority complex, and hostility. They feared war, hunger, inhumane living conditions, terror, and violence. Frequently, only religion gave them some consolation and helped them survive. Yet, the dramatic fate of living in exile cemented family ties, and mothers became the main characters. The children grew up prematurely and hardened themselves,mastering the rigid rules of life early. Since they did not have the opportunity to learn at school, their academic development was limited, if any, and they did not pursue its amendment even when they returned to their homeland. After the war, not all exiles returned to Poland – many lie in nameless graves in Siberia and Central Asia. Some Polish citizens (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, Lithuanians) were denied the right to repatriation in 1945. In many cases, those who left the USSR in 1942 with General W. Anders’s Polish Army chose life in the free world of the West. From the depths of the USSR, people returned physically and mentally exhausted, sometimes as invalids. In the material sense, they had nothing, as their pre-war property was lost to the Soviets. In exile, they strengthened their love for their homeland and appreciated its existence. At the same time, they learned the realities of the socialist system, which they not only hated but also strongly rejected.
Reconstruction of Kharkiv in 1943–1945
Olena Diakova, Daniil Topchiі
The events of the Second World War brought immense suffering and devastation to countries around the world, and the USSR, including Ukraine, was no exception. Almost 80 years ago, the liberation of Ukrainian territories from German invaders began, including the liberation of Kharkiv on August 23, 1943. From that day on, a complex and necessary process of rebuilding the city commenced, not only by its residents but also with the support of other republics of the USSR. Today, in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine, Kharkiv once again finds itself under the threat of destruction. This paper examines similar events that occurred in the 20th century and the study of how the city was rebuilt during the war, with the aim of not only quickly restoring industries and institutions but also providing proper living conditions for its residents.
This article aims to identify the priority areas for the reconstruction of Kharkiv during the war years (August 1943–May 1945). It can be argued that two primary objectives existed: rebuilding industry and addressing social issues. Providing housing, adequate nutrition, and medical care were crucial not only for improving people’s daily lives but also for increasing labour productivity. The local leadership utilised the joy of liberation and the belief in victory over Nazism to mobilise the city’s residents for unpaid work during their free time, compelling them to address most of their household needs independently. However, those involved in the reconstruction of Kharkiv did not bear grudges against the city authorities for these measures; they understood the necessity of quickly restoring normal life and considered the inconveniences to be temporary.
The article emphasises the importance of defining priorities for reconstruction of the economy and improving the living conditions of the population. To achieve these goals, organised leadership, community participation, and individual citizen participation were necessary.
Population Losses in the Wola Area During the Warsaw Uprising 1944. A Review of Research and an Attempt at Balance
Kazimierz Przeszowski
This article reviews the research of Stanisław Płoski and Ewa Śliwińska, Adam Borkiewicz, Hanns von Krannhals, Maria Turlejska, Antoni Przygoński, Joanna Hanson, Maja Motyl and Stanisław Rutkowski, Piotr Gursztyn, Norbert Bączyk and Grzegorz Jasiński and Hubert Kuberski, which indicates that there were between 10,000 and 57,600 victims of the Wola massacre. A comparative analysis of mass executions in Rumbula near Riga, Babyn Yar near Kyiv, and executions carried out as part of the ‘Ertnefest’ operation has shown that the German forces in Wola were sufficient to exterminate even up to approximately 60,000 people. It was also demonstrated that the Wola district covered the area west of Towarowa and Okopowa streets, composed of 14 statistical districts belonging to 7 police districts. The estimated population of Wola in the summer of 1944 was approximately 100,000 people – potential victims of mass executions. The above findings indicate the need to develop a new methodological proposal and conduct further research on the number of population losses in Wola in 1944.
A Symbolic Message About the War in the Photos of Red Army Photo Correspondent Emmanuil Evzerikhin from 1945
Tomasz Gliniecki
War photography is rarely treated by researchers of the past as a separate historical source. It rarely becomes a subject of in-depth research or separate academic studies. Even if its documentary value is noted, it is considered in the convention of image carriers rather than separate material for analysis. Meanwhile, the source knowledge about the war contained in the photographs allows military historians specialising in decoding it to use it broadly for cognitive purposes. In this paper, the author presents and discusses the symbolic narrative elements contained in the photographs taken in the final stages of World War II by Red Army photo correspondent, Captain Emmanuil Noevich Evzerikhin (Эммануил Ноевич Евзерихин). At the same time, the paper shows that the photographer’s individual work was harnessed to execute tasks of the military propaganda services.
The Beginnings of the Organisation of Polish Historical Science in Great Britain after World War II
Janusz Zuziak
After the defeat of September 1939, a large number of Polish historians found themselves, together with the army, scattered abroad. They lost their previous academic research base, aids and equipment, book collections, notes, etc. As early as the autumn of 1939, the first attempts to organise representatives of this group were made in allied France. The fall of France and the necessity to evacuate to Great Britain meant that a new stage of wartime activity began here for the Polish civilian and military leadership, the organisation of the army and the organisation of the community of Polish historians. The first institutions were established soon after arrival in the United Kingdom. After the end of the war, a number of Polish historians decided to remain abroad and the process of establishing academic institutions began, giving rise to Polish historical science in the UK. The General Sikorski Historical Institute was the first institution to be established, and other institutions soon followed, including the Piłsudski Institute in London, the Polish Underground Movement Study Trust, the Polish Historical Society in Great Britain, the Polish University Abroad, and the Polish Library.
Social Political Differentiation of Electoral Moods of the Population of the Ukrainian SSR after World War II
Oleksandra Stasiuk
In this paper, the main manifestations of the electoral moods of the population of the Ukrainian SSR during the elections to the Supreme Soviets of the USSR, the Ukrainian SSR and local authorities in 1946–1947 are considered. The generally low level of interest of the population in political actions, such as election campaigns, is emphasised due to the difficult social political and economic situation in the state. The factors that determine the electoral behaviour of voters and the causes of social deviations are analysed. The paper presents the stratification of citizens’ electoral moods according to socio-political indicators and in the regional dimension, describing in detail the attitude to the elections of such social groups as workers, peasants, petty bourgeois, intelligentsia, women, etc. It is noted that the geography of critical statements proves the similarity of the electoral moods of the population in different regions of the Republic. However, the motivation for the protests and their public manifestation by the residents of ‘Great Ukraine’ (i.e., eastern and central Ukraine, which was under the rule of the Russian Empire and the USSR) and the western region are radically different. If, in most of the territory of the Ukrainian SSR, citizens accepted the demands of the authorities and were included in the electoral process, Western Ukrainians massively boycotted them. The boycott of the elections by the Western Ukrainian population was caused by a protest against the repeated forced Sovietisation of the region, the predatory economic policy of the authorities, as well as repressions against participants in the national liberation movement. Equally, Western Ukrainians protested primarily for ideological reasons, not accepting the values of the Soviet power and considering it an occupational force, while for the inhabitants of Great Ukraine, the everyday, material aspect turned out to be the most critical issue.