Apply by July 31 | The Witold Pilecki International Book Award. Fifth edition (2025) - Instytut Pileckiego

The closing date for submissions for the fifth edition of the Witold Pilecki International Book Award is 31 August 2025.

In connection with the 77th anniversary of the death of Cavalry Captain Witold Pilecki (25 May), the Pilecki Institute – in partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim – has opened submissions for the fifth edition of the Witold Pilecki International Book Award.

THE IDEA

As a soldier, resistance fighter, true hero and a man of action, Witold Pilecki may not seem like an obvious choice for a patron of a literary prize. His famous reports, however, are more than a source of invaluable information on the functioning of Auschwitz-Birkenau: through his expressive style, Pilecki also offers an in-depth analysis of the situation in the camp and a broader humanist perspective. While providing information about specific events – the atrocities committed by the Germans in occupied Poland during the Second World War – the reports also serve as a testimony to the whole era.

By awarding the Witold Pilecki International Book Award we aim to recognize the significance of the universal message stemming from the experience of the 20th-century totalitarianisms. We wish to acknowledge texts which promote the fundamental values of human dignity, striving for the truth, willingness to sacrifice, and solidarity with the persecuted. We honor original academic works and excellent reportages. We wish to celebrate books which explore the subject extensively, bringing it to wide audiences.

The prize is awarded internationally. In previous years, eligible for nomination in each category were books written in Polish or English, but from now on, we encourage submission of books published also in German or French – this is an absolute novelty and a unique feature of the Pilecki Award!

PARTNER

The partner of the award is the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim.

FIFTH EDITION OF THE PILECKI AWARD (2025)

In connection with the 77th anniversary of the death of Cavalry Captain Witold Pilecki (25 May), the Pilecki Institute – in partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim – has opened submissions for the fifth edition of the Witold Pilecki International Book Award.

The prize will be awarded to authors of the best academic and journalistic books published in 2024 and devoted to the experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe of confronting totalitarianism in the 20th century, with a particular emphasis on Poland.

CATEGORIES

a) Academic history book – the best monograph or synthesis on the experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe of confronting totalitarianism in the 20th century, with a particular emphasis on Poland. When evaluating books submitted in this category, good documentation, original interpretations and attractive messaging are particularly appreciated. Items submitted in this category should be published in Polish, English, German or French in the year preceding a given edition of the Competition, and be provided with a scholarly apparatus. Books may be entered whose translations into Polish, English, German or French were published in the two calendar years preceding an edition of the Competition, as long as their first edition in the original language was published no earlier than in 2018. Submissions of collective publications that have appeared as edited volumes will not be considered. As regards other multi-author books, it is permissible to submit a title having a maximum of two co-authors.

b) Historical reportage – a book that offers the reader an engaging story about the experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe of confronting totalitarianism in the 20th century, with a particular emphasis on Poland. In addition to classic historical reportages, biographies, memoirs and accounts of witnesses to history may also be submitted in this category. When evaluating books in this category, a respect for sources, good composition and narrative credibility are especially appreciated. As regards multi-author books, it is permissible to submit a title having a maximum of two co-authors. Works submitted in this category should have been published in Polish, English, German or French in the year preceding a given edition of the Competition. Books may be entered whose translations into Polish, English, German or French were published in the two calendar years preceding an edition of the Competition, as long as their first edition in the original language was published no earlier than in 2018.

c) Special prize – a book that bears testimony to the criminal actions of contemporary totalitarian and authoritarian systems, describes the tragic fate of populations affected by wars and armed conflicts (war reportage), and condemns deliberate and persistent violation of human rights. The recent events, especially in Ukraine – our eastern neighbor – make us realize that despite the efforts of many people and organizations to develop civic awareness and international law after the Second World War, crimes against civilians, as well as violations of international criminal law and the customs of war are not a thing of the past. The Russian aggression of 2014 and the full-scale invasion of 2022 prove that Witold Pilecki’s mission to document acts of evil has lost none of its relevance, and that it is essential to write about it and publically condemn the perpetrators. When evaluating books in this category, sensitivity to injustice for others combined with the courage to describe it, integrity and reliability, as well as giving voice to the victims are particularly appreciated. As regards multi-author books, it is permissible to submit a title having a maximum of two co-authors. Works submitted in this category should have been published in Polish, English, German or French in the year preceding a given edition of the Competition. Books may be entered whose translations into Polish, English, German or French were published in the two calendar years preceding an edition of the Competition, as long as their first edition in the original language was published no earlier than in 2018.

In this edition, the awarding of the special prize is possible thanks to financial support from a private donor.

ENTRIES

Submissions can be made by authors, publishers or private/natural persons, legal persons or organizational entities devoid of legal personality by sending an electronic version of the book (in PDF format; if the book was published in e-book form, please send the files in EPUB and MOBI formats) to the following e-mail address:

nagroda@instytutpileckiego.pl.

If the submission is made by an entity other than the author of the publication, please enclose the written consent of the author to participate in the Competition. Please indicate the category in which the book is entered.

NOTE: Due to the reinstatement of the third category, the deadline for submissions has been extended to 31 August 2025.
 

The Awards Committee of the Witold Pilecki International Book Award

Dr. Piotr Cywiński – Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the partner of the Competition for the Witold Pilecki International Book Award. Historian, PhD in humanities, social activist, co-founder and president of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. A participant in the Polish-Jewish and Christian-Jewish dialogue. Co-founder and chairman of the Council of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Institute, chief expert at the Center for Research on the Economics of Memorial Sites at the SWPS University, co-founder and president of the Society for the Management of Memorial Sites. Member of the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites (2010–2016), member of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk (2012–2017), chairman of the Program Board of the Emmanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw (2017–2021), chairman of the KL Plaszów Museum Council and member of the Pilecki Family Museum Council. Author of numerous publications, including: Epitafium… i inne spisane niepokoje (2012); Zagłada w pamięci więźniów Sonderkommando (2015); Marsz śmierci w pamięci ewakuowanych więźniów Auschwitz (2016); Rampa w pamięci Żydów deportowanych do Auschwitz (2016); Auschwitz Monografia Człowieka (2021).

Prof. Padraic Kenney – American historian, researcher of contemporary history of Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland. A Professor and an Associate Dean for Social and Historical Sciences and Graduate Education in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University. In the years 2018–2020, he served as director of the Collins Living-Learning Center. Previously, he was Professor of History at the University of Colorado Boulder. President of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES). A frequent contributor to the Polish “Kultura Liberalna” weekly. His essays were published in “The New York Times”, “The Boston Globe”, and “The Denver Post”. Author of numerous publications, including: Rebuilding Poland: Workers and Communists, 1945–1950 (1997); A Carnival of Revolution: Central Europe, 1989 (2002); Transnational Moments of Change: Europe 1945, 1968, 1989 (2004); The Burdens of Freedom: Eastern Europe Since 1989 (2006); Dance in Chains: Political Imprisonment in the Modern World (2017).

Krzysztof Kosior – representative of the patron’s family, great-grandson of Witold Pilecki. Participant of numerous social and educational projects, especially those aimed at young people.

Associate Professor Damian Markowski – plenipotentiary of the Director of the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor for Research, representative of the organizer of the Competition for the Witold Pilecki International Book Award. Historian and Sovietologist. Doctor of the Humanities in the field of History at the Faculty of History of the University of Warsaw; he received the academic degree of Doctor Habilitatus in the Humanities, field of History, from the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He has worked at the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the Institute of National Remembrance, among others. In 2022, he was employed at the Jan Karski Institute for War Losses. In the years 2014–2017, he was the substantive manager of a project concerned with uncovering the graves of Polish soldiers killed in 1939 near Lviv, titled “Guardians of National Memory”. His research interests include the history of the former Eastern Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic, with a particular focus on the first half of the 20th century and political and economic issues, the history of Russia and the Soviet Union, the process of Sovietization of Eastern Europe during the reign of Joseph Stalin, the politics of memory of European states, and Polish-Ukrainian relations. Author of numerous scientific and popular science publications, which have appeared also in German and English, including: W cieniu Wołynia. „Antypolska akcja” OUN i UPA w Galicji Wschodniej 1943–1945 (2023), Zwei Aufstände. Die Schlacht um Lemberg 1918 (2021) and Lwów or L’viv? Two Uprisings in 1918 (2021). In 2024, he joined the Pilecki Institute’s Center for Totalitarian Studies.

Aneta Prymaka-Oniszk – journalist and publicist, she wrote among others for “Gazeta Wyborcza”, “Polityka”, “National Geographic” and the “Karta” quarterly. Author of numerous publications, including: Bieżeństwo 1915. Zapomniani uchodźcy (2016); Wędrująca księga (2023); Kamienie musiały polecieć. Wymazywana przeszłość Podlasia (2024). Her books focus on the issues of memory, identity and the borderlands. She has received numerous accolades for her writing: the Wiesław Kazanecki Literary Award of the Białystok City Mayor, the Warsaw Literary Premiere Award and the Readers’ Award of the Grand Press Award for the Reportage Book of the Year. She was also nominated for the Literary Award of the Capital City of Warsaw, “Polityka’s” History Award and the Ryszard Kapuściński Prize for Literary Reportage (twice).

Prof. Pierre-Frédéric Weber – historian, PhD in German Studies (New Sorbonne University Paris III), habilitated doctor of humanities in history. From 2007 to 2017, he was a visiting professor and later an assistant professor at the Faculty of Philology, University of Szczecin, and is currently an associate professor and since 2021 vice director at the Institute of History of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Szczecin. Member of the Council of the “Krzyżowa” Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe and the Copernicus Group of German-Polish experts. His research interests include relations between Germany and Central European countries after 1945, Polish-French relations, French-German-Polish relations from 1945 to 1989/1990 and today; East-West normalization processes; emotions in international relations; international relations in the Baltic Sea region. Author of numerous publications, including: Le triangle RFA-RDA-Pologne (1961–1975). Guerre froide et normalisation des rapports germano-polonais (2007); Timor Teutonorum. Angst vor Deutschland seit 1945: eine europäische Emotion im Wandel (2015); Border Fears in the Baltic Sea Region since 1918 (2025).

Dr Kazimierz Wóycicki – publicist, historian, political scientist and philosopher. He worked for the “Więź” monthly (1974–1980), as well as cooperated with and wrote for underground publishing houses. He was interned during the martial law. A journalist with the BBC in the years 1986–1987, editor-in-chief of the “Życie Warszawy” daily newspaper in the years 1990–1993. He served as the director of the Polish Institute Düsseldorf (1996–1999), the Polish Institute Leipzig (2000–2004) and the Szczecin Branch of the Institute of National Remembrance (2004–2008). He was also the advisor of Minister Janusz Krupski at the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression (2008–2011) and head of the team of advisors to the Polish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee (2009–2011). A lecturer, currently at the the Center for East European Studies at the University of Warsaw. Chairman of the Association of Friends of the Polish History Museum, member of the Polish PEN-Club and director of the European Academy of the “Krzyżowa” Foundation.

Download the detailed regulations of the competition and information clause on personal data processing (attachments below).

In each category, five entries will first be shortlisted by the Awards Committee.

THE WINNERS

The authors of the winning books in the first two categories will receive a prize of PLN 46,850 gross, and in the third category – of PLN 45,000 gross, as well as a commemorative statuette. In each of the three categories, authors can receive an honorary mention and a prize of PLN 5,000 gross. The awards will be presented during a gala in November 2025.

In the previous editions, the Pilecki Award went to Grzegorz Hryciuk, Kalina Błażejowska and Christopher Miller.

Meet the Prizewinners

Gala ceremony in 2024.
Gala ceremony in 2023.
Gala ceremony in 2022.
Gala ceremony in 2021.

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