2025 Aquila Polonica Article Prize Winner Announced

LOS ANGELES - Dec. 18, 2025 - PRLog -- We're thrilled to announce that Dr. Louisa M. McClintock, researcher at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Holocaust Justice Project, has won the 2025 Aquila Polonica Article Prize for "In the Shadow of the Crematoria: Investigating Mass Atrocities in Poland, 1944–1945," The Journal of Modern History, Volume 96, Number 3 (September 2024), https://doi.org/10.1086/731362

The biennial Aquila Polonica Article Prize is given to the author(s) of the best English-language article published during the previous two years on any aspect of Polish studies. Administered by the Polish Studies Association ("PSA"), which appoints the independent judges, the award carries a $500 honorarium donated by Aquila Polonica Publishing.

Dr. McClintock's article offers a nuanced and sophisticated argument about the challenging work done by the Main Commission to Investigate German War Crimes in Poland. This meticulously researched study, drawing on sources across multiple languages—some previously overlooked—considers the broader context of a European-wide network of state-sponsored war-crimes commissions. The author takes into account the complications of emergent ideological divides between East and West, the immediate political concerns of a new Polish communist regime-turned-state, and the categories of identity that were manipulated against the backdrop of both.

In addition this year, PSA awarded an honorable mention to Dr. habil. Jagoda Wierzejska, University of Warsaw, for her excellent article "Artistic Forms of Shaping Ukrainian National Identity by Leon Getz," Nationalities Papers, Volume 53, Issue 3 (May 2025), https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2024.41

"It is our very great pleasure to congratulate Dr. McClintock on the superb quality of her award-winning article. We also want to congratulate our honorable mention, Jagoda Wierzejska," said Aquila Polonica president Terry Tegnazian. "And of course, we wish to thank this year's prize committee, which consisted of Elisa-Maria Hiemer of the Free University of Berlin, Karolina May-Chu of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Barbara Milewski of Swarthmore College, for their hard work and thoughtful commentary."

Dr. Jan Musekamp, co-president of PSA and Deputy Director of the German Historical Institute in Warsaw, commented, "There were a large number of excellent articles submitted this year, and the prize committee reported that it was extremely difficult to make a choice. We are so fortunate to have such strong, thoughtful scholars in the field of Polish studies. Aquila Polonica has funded this award since 2011, and its generosity has helped to highlight the accomplishments of our membership."

Aquila Polonica is an award-winning independent publisher based in Los Angeles, specializing in publishing, in English, the World War II experience of Poland. It is a member of Association of American Publishers and the Independent Book Publishers Association. See more at: www.AquilaPolonica.com.