The Witold Pilecki International Book Award | an official statement - Instytut Pileckiego

The statement of the Jury of the Witold Pilecki International Book Award and the Pilecki Institute.

The Jury of the Witold Pilecki International Book Award selected as its prizewinner in the "Academic history book" category the book by Eliyana Adler "Survival on the Margins: Polish Jewish Refugees in the Wartime Soviet Union". With sadness and regret we have learned of Eliyana Adler's decision to decline the prize.

Eliyana Adler informed the jury and the Pilecki Institute about her decision on November 4, 2021. The book was submitted for the award by the publisher, Harvard University Press, on June 17, 2021. Eliyana Adler had expressed her gratitude after receiving the nomination, and initially after being offered the prize. Declining this honor is therefore unexpected.

The Witold Pilecki International Book Award jury acknowledges the excellence of Eliyana Adler's book and stands firmly by its decision. As previously planned, the verdict will be made public at the award gala on November 17, 2021, in Warsaw. Given the decision of the prizewinner, the award in the "Academic history book" category will not be presented in this year’s competition.

The Witold Pilecki International Book Award was established in 2021 by the Pilecki Institute in partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and with the consent of Witold Pilecki’s family to recognize the best works of academic writing and reportage on Polish twentieth-century history. In honor of its namesake, it also offers an award for war reporting that draws attention to conflicts and atrocities around the world. The Pilecki Institute was established in 2016 to facilitate the international and interdisciplinary study of the Nazi and Soviet totalitarian regimes and the global consequences of their actions.

THE WITOLD PILECKI INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD JURY

Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski

Marek Cichocki

Piotr Cywiński – chair

Jack Fairweather

Patrycja Grzebyk

Marek Kornat

Krzysztof Kosior

Wojciech Stanisławski

Claudia Weber

Tomasz Stefanek – secretary, Pilecki Institute

Wojciech Kozłowski

Director of the Pilecki Institute

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