Jerzy Holzer


Prof. dr hab. Jerzy Stanisław Holzer was a Polish historian. He specialized in the Polish history, German history, and the Polish-German relations.
In 1950-1954 he studied history at the University of Warsaw. From 1954 to 2000 he worked at the Institute of History of the university. In October 1990 he gained the title of professor. Holzer worked at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and at Collegium Civitas, he was a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He lectured at the universities in Mainz, Freiburg and Berlin.
In 1965 Holzer briefly collaborated with the communist secret service. He was writing reports about Germans responsible for contacts with communist Poland. He announced this fact publicly in 2005. From 1948 to 1979 he was a member of the Polish United Workers' Party. Since 1978 he cooperated with the Workers' Defence Committee and helped to publish several illegal magazines.
In 1980-1981 Holzer helped to organize the Solidarity movement at the University of Warsaw. On 13 December 1981 communist authorities interned him for four months. In 1983 he illegally published the first monography dealing with the Solidarity - "Solidarność" 1980-1981. Geneza i historia, which had been republished several times since then. Many of his books were published in German.
Holzer died on 14 January 2015 and was buried at Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw. Six days later, President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski awarded him the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Works