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Richard C. Lukas

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American historian (born 1937)

Richard C. Lukas
Lukas in 2014
Born (1937-08-29) August 29, 1937 (age 87)
Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S.
Known forThe Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation, 1939-1944
Academic background
Alma materFlorida State University
Academic work
DisciplinePolish history
InstitutionsWright State University
Websitewww.richardclukas.com

Richard Conrad Lukas (born August 29, 1937) is an American historian and author of books and articles on military, diplomatic, Polish, and Polish-American history. He specializes in the history of Poland during World War II.

Before retiring from active teaching in 1995, he taught and did research at Tennessee Technological University, Wright State University, and the University of South Florida.

Lukas is best known for The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation, 1939–1944 (1986), a study of the wartime experience of the Polish people.

Early life and education

Lukas was born on August 29, 1937, in Lynn, Massachusetts, to a Polish-American family of Pelagia Lukaszewski (née Kapuscinski) and her husband, Franciszek Lukaszewski. After receiving a BA in 1957, he worked as a research consultant, from 1957 to 1958, at the United States Air Force Historical Archives. He was awarded an MA in 1960 and a PhD from Florida State University in 1963, for a thesis entitled "Air Force Aspects of American Aid to the Soviet Union: The Crucial Years 1941–1942".

Career

Lukas worked at Tennessee Technological University for 26 years from 1963, first as an assistant professor until 1966, then associate professor until 1969, and professor from then until 1989. He moved from Tennessee that year to Wright State University, teaching at its Lake campus until 1992. After this he worked as an adjunct professor of history at the Fort Myers campus of the University of South Florida until retiring in 1995.

Publication history

As a graduate student, Lukas was a contributor to the project that resulted in the publication of Air Force Combat Units of World War II (1961).

Eagles East

Main article: Eagles East: The Army Air Forces and the Soviet Union, 1941-1945

Lukas's first book, Eagles East: The Army Air Forces and the Soviet Union, 1941-1945 (1970), a military-diplomatic study based on his doctoral dissertation, earned him the national history award of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

R. S. Hughes writing for the Military Affairs commended the book for its "extensive and detailed coverage of Allied-Soviet relations during World War II", and noted that it is particularly helpful for its discussion of the Lend-Lease program. Raymond L. Garthoff reviewing the book for the Slavic Review wrote that it is a "useful study" and "recommended reading" for those interested in the political-military history of USA-USSR relations during World War II with regard to interactions between the U.S. Army Air Forces and the USSR.

James J. Hudson in The American Historical Review called the book "an excellent example of military-diplomatic history". Sam Frank, in his review for The Journal of American History, wrote that the book "reflects extensive research and effective writing. An excellent balance has been achieved between factual presentation and interpretation."

The Strange Allies and Bitter Legacy

Main articles: The Strange Allies: Poland and the United States, 1941-1945 and Bitter Legacy: Polish-American Relations in the Wake of World War II

Lukas wrote two scholarly books on Allied wartime and postwar relations with Poland. His book, The Strange Allies: Poland and the United States, 1941-1945 (1978) concerned the relationship between the United States and the Polish government-in-exile and highlighted the impact of American Polonia in United States-Polish relations. The sequel to The Strange Allies was Bitter Legacy: Polish-American Relations in the Wake of World War II (1982), which dealt with postwar Polish history and Polish-American relations, as well as the aid that was extended to Poland after World War II. George J. Lerski reviewing the book for The American Historical Review called it an "important and well-documented study" featuring "impeccable research in primary and secondary sources".

The Forgotten Holocaust

Main article: The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation, 1939-1944

The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation, 1939-1944 (1986) is Lukas's most famous work and has been re-published in two subsequent editions (1997 and 2012, with a foreword by historian Norman Davies). It focuses on the sufferings of ethnic Poles in German- and Soviet-occupied Poland from 1939 to 1945.

Reviewers had differing views of the book. Donald E. Pienkos published a review in the Slavic Review (1986) that he later described as "generally praising the book"; it was followed by a critical review by David Engel in the same venue describing Lukas's book as a one-sided rebuke of "Jewish historians" and detailing "distortion, misrepresentation, and inaccuracy" in the book. An extensive correspondence followed among Lukas, Engel, and others in Slavic Review. Michael R. Marrus wrote in The Washington Post that "Lukas tells this story with an outrage properly contained within the framework of a scholarly narrative" but criticized what he felt was an unjustified "sustained polemic against Jewish historians". George Sanford noted in International Affairs that in tackling the subject of the suffering of ethnic Poles, Lukas's work is "strictly objective and academic in tone, presentation and content. But the underlying purpose is inevitably a polemical one, as he has to rake over the smouldering ashes of numerous sensitive controversies."

Out of the Inferno

Out of the Inferno: Poles Remember the Holocaust (1989) is a volume edited by Lukas dealing with memoirs of Poles concerning the Holocaust. John Klier noted in his review in The Slavonic and East European Review that the book is "a useful contribution" to the literature about The Holocaust in Poland. Jerzy Jan Lerski writing for The Polish Review called the book "timely", but noted it is the weakest of Lukas's books up to date, criticizing it as "uneven, poorly organized and focus". The book was also reviewed in German by Dieter Pohl for Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas [de].

Did the Children Cry?

Main article: Did the Children Cry?: Hitler's War Against Jewish and Polish Children, 1939–45

Lukas' next book, Did the Children Cry?: Hitler's War Against Jewish and Polish Children, 1939–45 (1994), deals with the topic of Nazi crimes against children. Karl A. Schleunes in his review of the book for The American Historical Review noted that it deals with an under-researched topic, and is a valuable contribution to studies of Germanization and the Holocaust. Schleunes writes that "Lukas makes it a point... to stress 'the commonality of suffering of Jewish and Polish children', an effort in which he largely succeeds." Barbara Tepa Lupack, in The Polish Review, wrote that "Lukas in the current volume provides a gripping portrait of the Nazis' systematic genocide plan for all of Poland as well as an excellent analysis of the relationship between Poland's Jewish and gentile communities".

The book received the Janusz Korczak Literary Award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The prize was withdrawn by ADL executives, then reinstated, leading to a controversy.

Forgotten Survivors

Lukas's continuing interest in the Polish tragedy during World War II culminated in his final volume, the Forgotten Survivors: Polish Christians Remember the Nazi Occupation (2004). Isabel Wollaston in her review of the book for The Slavonic and East European Review noted that "if approached as a memorial volume and/or a collection of oral histories, this is a fascinating book", but due to methodological issues and containing mostly primary accounts, "it should be handled with care and needs to be supplemented and contextualized from other sources if it is to be used for scholarly purposes".

The Torpedo Season

In 2021 Lukas published The Torpedo Season: Growing Up during World War II, a memoir of his experiences as a Polish-American child growing up during World War II. A review by John M. Grondelski for the Studia Polonijne [Wikidata] stated that the book has insights on "sociological impact of the War on American life" and "the challenges of growing up a Polish-American boy in the United States", and concludes it is a useful work for understanding the American Polonia.

Bibliography

Books

  • Air Force Combat Units of World War II (contributing author), USGPO, 1961; Franklin Watts, 1963.
  • Eagles East: The Army Air Forces and the Soviet Union, 1941-1945, Florida State University Press, 1970, ISBN 0-8130-0428-4.
  • From Metternich to the Beatles, Mentor, 1973, ISBN 0-451-61191-8.
  • The Strange Allies: the United States and Poland, 1941-1945, University of Tennessee Press, 1978, ISBN 0-87049-229-2.
  • Bitter Legacy: Polish-American Relations in the Wake of World War II, University Press of Kentucky, 1982, ISBN 0-8131-1460-8.
  • Out of the Inferno: Poles Remember the Holocaust, University Press of Kentucky, 1989, ISBN 0-8131-1692-9.
  • The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation, 1939-1944, University of Kentucky Press, 1986; Hippocrene Books, 1990; second revised edition, 1997; third revised edition, 2012, ISBN 0-7818-0901-0.
  • Did the Children Cry: Hitler's War Against Jewish and Polish Children, 1939-1945, Hippocrene Books, 1994, ISBN 0-7818-0870-7; second edition, 2016.
  • Forgotten Survivors: Polish Christians Remember the Nazi Occupation, University Press of Kansas, 2004, ISBN 0-7006-1350-1.

Articles

Awards

He has received awards for his work:

Notes

  1. ^ Grondelski, John M. (November 21, 2023). "Richard C. Lukas, The Torpedo Season: Growing Up During World War II, Las Vegas, NV, 2021". Studia Polonijne (in Polish). 44: 389–392. doi:10.18290/sp2344.21. ISSN 2544-526X.
  2. ^ Wierzbiański, Bolesław (1996). Who's who in Polish America: 1996-1997. Bicentennial Publishing Corporation. p. 270. ISBN 9780781800105.
  3. ^ Clarke, Frances M. (2002). "Mining the Measures of the Valley of the Shadow". Perspectives: Newsletter of the American Historical Association. Volume 40, p. 13.
  4. ^ Writers Directory 1980-1982. The Macmillian Press Limited. 1979. p. 771. ISBN 978-1-349-03650-9.
  5. Lukas, Richard C. (1964). "Air Force aspects of American aid to the Soviet Union: the crucial years, 1941–1942". Ann Arbor: University microfilms. OCLC 1016419368
  6. Julian, Thomas A., Lieutenant Colonel (September–October 1970). "Lend-Lease and Soviet-American Relations". Air University Review. Volume 21, p. 73, n. 8.
  7. "About the Author". "Forgotten Survivors". University Press of Kansas.
  8. Air University Review. 1965. p. 2.
  9. Hughes, R. H.; Lukas, Richard C. (February 1972). "Eagles East". Military Affairs. 36 (1): 36. doi:10.2307/1983912. JSTOR 1983912.
  10. Garthoff, Raymond L. (December 1971). "Eagles East: The Army Air Forces and the Soviet Union, 1941-1945. By Richard C. Lukas. Tallahassee: Florida State University Press, 1970. ix, 256 pp. $10.00". Slavic Review. 30 (4): 895–896. doi:10.2307/2493873. ISSN 0037-6779. JSTOR 2493873. S2CID 164613462.
  11. Hudson, James J.; Sims, Edward H.; Lukas, Richard C. (April 1973). "Fighter Tactics and Strategy, 1914-1970". The American Historical Review. 78 (2): 407. doi:10.2307/1861180. JSTOR 1861180.
  12. Frank, Sam H.; Lukas, Richard C. (December 1971). "Eagles East: The Army Air Forces and the Soviet Union, 1941-1945". The Journal of American History. 58 (3): 800. doi:10.2307/1893804. JSTOR 1893804.
  13. Bromke, Adam (December 1979). "The Strange Allies: The United States and Poland, 1941- 1945. By Richard C. Lukas. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1978. x, 230 pp. $12.50". Slavic Review. 38 (4): 700–701. doi:10.2307/2496606. ISSN 0037-6779. JSTOR 2496606. S2CID 164588038.
  14. Mason, David S. (1983). "Bitter Legacy: Polish-American Relations in the Wake of World War II. By Richard C. Lukas. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1982. vii, 191 pp. $16.00". Slavic Review. 42 (4): 708–709. doi:10.2307/2497400. ISSN 0037-6779. JSTOR 2497400. S2CID 165043903.
  15. Lerski, George J. (October 1, 1983). "Richard C. Lukas. Bitter Legacy: Polish-American Relations in the Wake of World War II. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. 1982. Pp. 191. $16.00". The American Historical Review. 88 (4): 1103–1104. doi:10.1086/ahr/88.4.1103. ISSN 0002-8762.
  16. ^ Madanay, Farrah (2014). "The Forgotten Holocaust The Poles under German Occupation 1939-1944". The Sarmatian Review. XXXIV (3): 1867–1869. ISSN 1059-5872. Alt URL
  17. ^ "Historian Receives Slotkowski Award | Perspectives on History | AHA". www.historians.org. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  18. ^ "Richard C. Lukas: World War II Historian". richardclukas.com. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  19. ^ Hetnal, Adam A. (1986). "The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation 1939-1944". Slavic Review. 45 (3): 579–580. doi:10.2307/2499086. ISSN 0037-6779. JSTOR 2499086. S2CID 164308089.
  20. ^ Engel, David (1987). "Poles, Jews, and Historical Objectivity". Slavic Review. 46(3-4): 568–580. JSTOR 2498105Lukas, Richard C. (1987). ": A Response". Slavic Review. 46(3-4): 581–590. JSTOR 2498106
  21. ^ Marrus, Michael R. (March 30, 1986). "Poland Under the Jackboot". The Washington Post.
  22. ^ Sanford, George (January 1, 1986). "The forgotten holocaust: the Poles under German occupation 1939–1944". International Affairs. 63 (1): 125. doi:10.2307/2620272. ISSN 0020-5850. JSTOR 2620272.
  23. Sanford, George (January 1, 1986). "The forgotten holocaust: the Poles under German occupation 1939–1944". International Affairs. 63 (1): 125. doi:10.2307/2620272. ISSN 0020-5850. JSTOR 2620272.
  24. Sword, Keith (1988). "Review of Forgotten Holocaust. The Poles under German Occupation, 1939-1944". The Slavonic and East European Review. 66 (2): 316–318. ISSN 0037-6795. JSTOR 4209789.
  25. Wynot, Edward D.; Lukas, Richard C. (February 1987). "The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles under German Occupation, 1939-1944". The American Historical Review. 92 (1): 172. doi:10.2307/1862884. JSTOR 1862884.
  26. Thompson, Ewa M. (1998). "Reflections on Richard Lukas' The Forgotten Holocaust". The Sarmatian Review. XVIII (2).
  27. ^ Pienkos, Donald; Engel, David; Redlich, Shimon; Maurer, Jadwiga; Lukas, Richard C. (1991). "Ongoing Discussion". Slavic Review. 50 (3): 738–752. doi:10.2307/2499914. ISSN 0037-6779. JSTOR 2499914.
  28. Klier, John D. (1991). "Review of Out of the Inferno: Poles Remember the Holocaust". The Slavonic and East European Review. 69 (2): 381–382. ISSN 0037-6795. JSTOR 4210644.
  29. LERSKI, GEORGE J. (1990). "Review of Out of the Inferno: Poles Remember the Holocaust". The Polish Review. 35 (3/4): 350–351. ISSN 0032-2970. JSTOR 25778533.
  30. Pohl, Dieter (1992). "Review of Out of the Inferno. Poles Remember the Holocaust; The Jews and the Poles in World War II; 'My Brother's Keeper?' Recent Polish Debates on the Holocaust". Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas. 40 (2): 280–281. ISSN 0021-4019. JSTOR 41048819.
  31. Schleunes, Karl A.; Lukas, Richard C. (April 1996). "Did the Children Cry? Hitler's War against Jewish and Polish Children, 1939-1945". The American Historical Review. 101 (2): 520. doi:10.2307/2170499. JSTOR 2170499.
  32. Lupack, Barbara Tepa (1996). "Review of Did the Children Cry? Hitler's War Against Jewish and Polish Children, 1939-45". The Polish Review. 41 (3): 359–361. ISSN 0032-2970. JSTOR 25778946.
  33. Ernst, Eric (March 22, 1996). "Quarrel Over Book Ends With Award". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  34. Goska, Danusha Veronica (2002). Bieganski: The Brute Polak Stereotype and Its Application in Polish-Jewish Relations and American Popular Culture (PhD thesis). Indiana University. p. 54; 83. ProQuest 305511507.
  35. Rossino, Alexander B. (September 19, 2019). "WWII Book Review: Forgotten Survivors". HistoryNet. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  36. Wollaston, Isabel (2006). "Review of Forgotten Survivors: Polish Christians Remember the Nazi Occupation". The Slavonic and East European Review. 84 (4): 772–773. doi:10.1353/see.2006.0038. ISSN 0037-6795. JSTOR 4214378. S2CID 247623081.
  37. Imbroglio Erupts over ADL Prize to Controversial Holocaust Book, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 11, 1996.
  38. IJP. "Awardees". www.pilsudski.org. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  39. Polish American Historical Association (2012). "Richard Lukas". PolishAmericanStudies.org. Miecislaus Haiman Award.

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