Richmond Academics present at University of Edinburgh
Author: Richmond American University London
On 9th May Lucia Morawska and Catherine Dille, Associate Professors teaching history at Richmond, went to the University of Edinburgh to present their joint research relating to their project uncovering the stories of Polish Jewish Soldiers during the Second World War.
Based on research into recently opened and previously unexamined archives, they set out their findings to the network of Second World War historians at an academic conference hosted by the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with the HCA 1945 network which spotlighted underrepresented wartime narratives.
Their contributions form part of a collaborative research project, Margins of Identity: Jewish Soldiers in the Polish Army in Britain – Prejudice, Belonging, and the Struggle for Recognition, which explores the experiences of Jewish soldiers serving in the Polish Armed Forces in Exile during the Second World War.
Dr Morawska’s presentation, Art in Exile, examined the intersection of Jewish identity, military service, and artistic expression, highlighting the role of artist-soldiers in navigating trauma and displacement through creative practice. Dr Dille’s paper, From the Ghetto to 91 Gower Street, focused on the group of over 200 Jewish-Polish soldiers who challenged entrenched anti-Semitism and risked court martial by leaving the Polish Forces to seek transfer into the British Army towards the end of the Second World War.
Ahead of the conference, Drs Dille and Morawska carried out archival work at the Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre and Archives in Glasgow, where they examined uncatalogued collections which promise new insights into the wartime lives of the Jewish-Polish soldiers they are investigating.
Dr Morawska explains, ‘our work feeds directly into the values and mission of Richmond promoting intercultural understanding, historical inquiry and social justice.’ The project exemplifies the kind of globally relevant scholarship that can develop from Richmond’s collaborative academic environment.
Lucia Morawska and Catherine Dille extend their thanks to the Research Development Committee and Associate Dean of Research, Dr Theano Lianidou, for continued support of their work.
