Karol Nawrocki: Polish Giants of Science
It is a unique publication that we are sharing with you. Developed by the scholars associated with the Institute of the History of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and co-published by the IPN, the work profiles over 1,300 of the greatest Polish brains who went down in history.
Although it is not common knowledge, Poles – many of them political exiles – laid theo-
retical and practical groundwork for several modern technologies. They were among the
pioneers of the oil industry, electronics, wireless communications, and modern chemical
sector. Polish nationals made a great contribution to the Allies’ technological edge over the
Axis during World War II, participated in the construction of the most advanced airplanes,
and even helped develop lunar vehicles.
It is a unique publication that we are sharing with you. Know Your Worth. The Polish Contri-
bution to Scientific and Technical Civilisation is a brochure by Professor Bolesław Orłowski,
the editor of the five-volume Polish Contribution to Natural Sciences and Technology. Diction-
ary of Polish and Poland-Related Explorers, Inventors and Pioneers in Mathematics, Natural
Sciences and Technology. Developed by the scholars associated with the Institute of the His-
tory of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and co-published by the IPN, the work
profiles over 1,300 of the greatest Polish brains who went down in history.
It is also worth mentioning that this year the Institute of National Remembrance has
started the digitization of the Dictionary and launched a promotional campaign regarding
its content, including a series of short films in English. We believe that the Dictionary will
become an excellent tool for the promotion of the image of Poland and Poles in the world
– not only as romantic fighters for freedom, but also meticulous scientists and inventors
creating ground-breaking technologies, and as the leaders of great changes. Each of the bi-
ographies is an intellectual journey into a new, often unknown story…
Karol Nawrocki, Ph.D.
President of the Institute of National Remembrance