Ian Johnson and Paul Niebrzydowski, PhD candidates in the Department of History, will present some of their ongoing work, which was sponsored by the Polish Studies Initiative Research Grant.
In “"No Divine Intervention: A Reexamination of the Battle of Warsaw, 1920," Johnson explores the Polish military’s success in breaking Red Army codes during the critical moments in the battle of Warsaw, 1920. A team of mathematicians, students and cryptologists managed to decipher messages showing a gap in Soviet lines which the Poles used to gain victory. This victory meant the survival of the young Polish Republic.
Niebrzydowski’s project, "Reining in the Four Horsemen: US Relief to Europe in the Wake of the Great War,” focuses on relief efforts to Poland after WWI, when war, starvation, disease, and death continued to ravage Central and Eastern Europe. Under Herbert Hoover, the American Relief Administration (ARA) assisted in the provision of food, medical, and material relief to millions who suffered. From the perspective of Poland, he examines the logic and logistics of the ARA's cooperation with local organizations to navigate material challenges and the outbreak of the Polish-Bolshevik War to effectively distribute relief on the ground.
Light refreshments will be served after the presentation.
For more information about past recipients of the 2014 Polish Studies Initiative Research Grants (due Feb 3), please see: http://slaviccenter.osu.edu/about/polish-studies/grants-scholarships or contact Jessie Labov (labov.1@osu.edu).
