Call for Papers

Information about issue 49 of the journal “Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość”

“The shadow of war in Poland and other Central-Eastern European countries (1945–1990)”

(article submission deadline: 15 January 2027)

The focus of issue 49 of “Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość” is the post‑war situation in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe which, as a result of the war and the new balance of power, found themselves within the Soviet sphere of influence. We are particularly interested in how the experiences of World War II and its consequences (pervasive violence, destruction, shifts in borders and populations, ethnic conflicts, social and cultural transformations) shaped the lives of societies in the region from the end of the war until the collapse of the communist system. We also aim to examine the role of war memory in shaping new political orders and in the process of installing and consolidating communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe.

Possible topics include:

• the impact of wartime experiences on the social and cultural life of Central-Eastern European countries
• wartime trauma and its social consequences
• the brutalisation of social life
• material destruction and economic crisis
• the return of soldiers, prisoners, and refugees
• demobilisation and the post‑war fate of former soldiers
• crimes committed by the Red Army and their consequences
• population resettlements resulting from border changes
• the organisation and development of territories acquired as a result of the war
• the transformation of wartime displacement into political emigration
• the prosecution of German crimes in the “people’s democracies”
• the use of wartime experience by communist authorities
• commemorations of World War II victims
• the place of the war in school curricula
• representations of World War II in culture and propaganda
• memory of World War II: official, private, and forbidden

The editorial board accepts only previously unpublished texts that present a new and original approach to the subject.

We publish articles in Polish and English. The maximum length of submissions is 50,000 characters (for articles and source materials, including bibliography, abstract, and keywords) and 30,000 characters (for reviews and reports).

Submitted articles should include:

• ORCID number
• author’s biographical note
• bibliography
• keywords
• abstract

Detailed information, including the editorial guidelines and a description of the peer‑review process, is available on the journal’s website.

The managing editor of issue 49 of the semi-annual journal “Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość” is Dr Rafał Opulski.

Send your submissions to: redakcja.pis@ipn.gov.pl