2026/03/24 by Hubert Kowalski, Wojciech J. Zabłocki
Arts and Humanities · Environmental Science · #Environmental and Biological Research in Conflict Zones #History of Science and Natural History #Polish-Jewish Holocaust Memory Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/03058034.2026.2633876
openalex publication_date 2026/03/24 · openalex created_date 2026/03/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The German occupation of 1939–1945 left a huge mark on the capital of Poland. After the end of hostilities, Warsaw—ruined and looted—came back to life. For the State Zoological Museum, one of the ways to rebuild scientific life was to send employees on foreign internships. The Archives of the Museum and Zoological Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences contain a report by the entomologist Stanisław Adamczewski, who between October 1946 and October 1947 undertook an internship at the Natural History Museum in London. This several-page document is a description of the activities of the London museum that also reveals the situation in the country and the Polish reality. It is also a description of the enormous support provided by the British Council and English scientists to Polish researchers operating in extremely difficult conditions. The document, which has been translated in full here for the first time, also demonstrates the significance of international scientific contacts, especially in the aftermath of the war.