Józef Garliński | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1913-10-14)14 October 1913 Kiev, Russian Empire (now Kyiv, Ukraine) |
| Died | 29 November 2005(2005-11-29) (aged 92) London, England |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | International London School of Economics and Political Science |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Polish history in WWII and its aftermath |
Józef Garliński (14 October 1913 - 29 November 2005) was a Polish historian andprose writer. He was a survivor ofAuschwitz concentration camp and wrote books on the history of World War II, some of which were translated into English. In particular, his bookFighting Auschwitz, translated into English in 1975, became a best-seller.[1]
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Garliński was born to LTC of the Polish Army and victim of theKatyn Massacre,Jarosław Garliński, and Wanda Garlińska née Szymańska[2] in Kiev on 14 October 1913.[3]
He studied at the Jesuit schoolZakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie. Garliński fought in thePolish Army during theInvasion of Poland of 1939 and subsequently joined Polish resistance becoming a member of theArmia Krajowa. He was arrested in April 1943 by theGermans and imprisoned inPawiak prison, and later transferred toAuschwitz and then toNeuengammeconcentration camps. Garliński arrived at the Auschwitz camp on 13 May 1943, and was given prisoner number 121421.[4][5][6][7]
After the war Garliński settled inGreat Britain. For a time he worked as an estate agent and an insurance salesman while researching and writing a number of books, many of them about Polish World War II history, such asPoland, SOE and the Allies (1969), particularly after his retirement when he completed doctoral studies in history at theInternational London School of Economics and Political Science. One of his best-known works wasFighting Auschwitz, first published in Polish in 1974 and translated into English in 1975. His other works includeHitler's Last Weapons (1978) about the GermanV-weapons,Intercept (1979) on the wartime intelligence services,The Swiss Corridor (1981) about espionage in wartime Switzerland, and the more general history,Poland in the Second World War (1985). In 1991 he published his wartime autobiography,The Triumph of Love.[1][4][5][6][7]
He died in London on 29 November 2005.[4][1][7]
Most of his works were not allowed to be published in communist Poland, and until the fall of communism, their Polish-language editions were published either abroad or in the Polish underground press.[4][1]
Partial list of his works includes:[8]
In 2018 the American publisherAquila Polonica announced a plan to publish many of Garliński's works in English.[10]
