Fellow Dr. Jan Grabowski

Dr. Jan Grabowski is currently Professor of History at the University of Ottawa (Canada).  He holds a PhD from the Université de Montréal (Canada) and an MA in History from Warsaw University (Poland). As the Ina Levine Invitational Scholar, Dr. Grabowski will conduct research for his project entitled “Polish ‘Blue’ Police, Bystanders, and the Holocaust in Occupied Poland, 1939-1945”.

Dr. Grabowski is fluent in French, English, German, Polish, and Russian.

Dr. Grabowski is a prolific author who has produced over 14 monographs and more than 60 articles in various languages. His most recent book, Hunt for the Jews: Betrayal and Murder in German-Occupied Poland (2014), was the Yad Vashem International Book Prize winner for the same year. Other monographs include Criminalizing the Jews in Occupied Warsaw, 1939-1942 (2010) [with Barbara Engelking] and Rescue for Money: ‘Paid Helpers’ in Poland, 1939-1945 (2008), which was published in the Yad Vashem Search and Research Series. His most recent article is titled “The Role of ‘Bystanders’ in the Implementation of the ‘Final Solution’ in Occupied Poland” in Yad Vashem Studies 43:1 (2015).

While in residence at the Mandel Center, Dr. Grabowski will be researching the so-called “Blue” Polish Police, which was established under German Occupation, played a significant part in the persecution of Polish Jews, and engaged bystanders in actions against Jews. He will use the museums various collections, including the “August Files,” as well as testimonies.

Dr. Grabowski will be in residence through December 31, 2016, and can be contacted at his museum email jgrabowski@ushmm.org.