N. A. Belous (Kiev)

On September 12-15, 2012, the Second Congress of Foreign Researchers of Polish History was held in Krakow, organized by the Krakow Branch of the Polish Historical Society. It was attended by 300 historians from 32 countries. The main purpose of the congress was to hold debates and discussions on the topic "Poland in Central Europe". A valuable asset of the Congress (2007), according to the organizers, was the creation of a forum for sharing the experience of researchers from different countries of the world engaged in the study of the history of Poland. The Second Congress provided an opportunity to discuss both the prospects and current problems of teaching and popularizing the history of Poland, contributed to the integration of researchers and various institutions interested in studying the history of Poland, its historical ties with neighboring countries, and determining the country's place in Central Europe. The organizers of the congress tried to create comfortable conditions for all participants, especially visitors from abroad, which was facilitated by a wide cultural program.

On the first day of the congress, several prestigious awards were presented. The main one - "Pro Historia Polonorum" - was awarded for the best historical books published in a foreign language related to the history of Poland. The first prize was awarded to Professor Anthony Polonsky from the USA for his monograph "the Jews in Poland and Russia". Several German and Russian historians have also been nominated for this award. Of the Ukrainians, it was received by the Assoc. Yaroslav Fedoruk for publishing the monograph " The Treaty of Vilna in 1656. The Eastern European crisis and Ukraine in the middle of the 17th century". (Kiev, 2011). Another well - known Ukrainian historian is Prof. Yaroslav Hrytsak - was awarded for his personal achievements in the scientific and popularizing field. In 2009, he also received the Bene Merito Award of Merit from the Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. German Prof. Hans Henning Hahn received the main prize named after Professors Vaclav Felczak and Henryk Veresicki for the publication of the monograph "Stereotypes-Identity-Contexts: Studios over European and Polish History" (2011).

During the congress, many sessions were held: "the future of the Visegrad Group countries", " What is Central Europe?", "History of Poland in foreign textbooks", " The usual and everyday rhythm of a small city in Poland. The Perspective of Hardship and Change", "Polish Jews and Polish-Jewish Relations in Modern Historiography", "Heritage in the perspective of Research on memory", "Food, identity, culture", "Poles and their Neighbors in Central Europe-political connections and their reflection in historiography", "Christian churches in the context of multicultural Culture". Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth", "Publishing sources-limitations and prospects", "Krakow-the Myth and model of a Central European city", "the place of modern Poland in the region and in the world", "Polonica in the archives of Central Europe", " general or excellent experience? Comparison of migration of Poles and other peoples in the world", "Tools of monarchical expansion in Central Europe", etc.

I would especially like to highlight the work of the section "publishing sources-limitations and prospects". It is not the first time that Cracow historians involved in the publication of sources have raised problems related to the preparation for printing and publication of sources from the early modern era. Last year they published the proceedings of a conference dedicated specifically to this topic "Teoria i praktyka edycji nowožytnych Żródeł w Polsce (XVI-XVIII wiek) "(Pod red. Adama Perlakowskiego. Kraków, 2011). The collection contains publications by well-known Polish historians (Hubert Laszkiewicz, Janusz Gruchala, Henryk Gmiterek, Vaclav Uruszczak, Henryk Lyulewicz, Anna Filipczak-Kotzur, Wojtech Krawczuk, Miroslav Nagelski, Bogdan Rok, Jerzy Digdal, Jaroslaw Stolicki, Janusz Tandecki, etc.), who shared their own experience in this field, noted obsolescence the existing instructions for publishing sources in the Old Polish language by Kazimir Lepshiy and the need to prepare a new concept. During the session, a lively discussion of these issues was held with the participation of historians from Poland (Wojtech Krawczuk, Adam Perlyakowski, Hubert Laszkiewicz, Janusz Gruchala, Kamila Folprecht), Belarus (Alexander Grusha), Ukraine (Natalia Yakovenko, Natalia Belous Natalia Starchenko, Irina Voronchuk, Vitaly Mikhailovsky), Russia (Konstantin Ierusalimsky, Alexander Malov), Lithuania (Elmantas Meilus). The reports of the reviewers demonstrated all the variety of approaches and concepts to the publication of sources. The organizers of the section noted the need to continue the discussion in the future and unite the efforts of various specialists-historians, legal historians, philologists and literary critics who are not indifferent to publishing problems-to develop a new concept for publishing sources of the early modern era.

The congress participants also participated in the following discussion panels: "the historian in public space", " What is Central Europe and who belongs to it?", " German peoples in Central Europe. Historical and archaeological research", " The periphery of history? Microhistory-gender-Oral History", "Heritage and Memory", " Poland in Central and Eastern Europe. Historiographic images", "Experience and prospects of research cooperation in Central Europe".

On the last day of the congress, the organizers summed up the results of the work of the sections and recognized it as quite effective and fruitful. A presentation of historical institutes of various universities was held to establish contacts for cooperation and exchange of experience. There was a book fair. Materials of the Congress are planned to be published in a separate edition.

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