On 13 December 2023 the winners of W. Felczak and H. Wereszycki Prize were announced at a ceremony in the premises of Wydawnictwo Literackie publishing house. The prize is awarded annually, alternately to Polish and foreign researchers, in recognition of outstanding publications on the history of the Central-East Europe and its relationship with Poland from the Middle Ages to the present day. This year’s prize was awarded to Dušan Fundić and Miklós Mitrovits.
The meeting was chaired by the Dean of the Jagiellonian University Faculty of History Prof. Stanisław Sroka, who reminded the participants that the Felczak and Wereszycki Prize contest, organised since 2001 by the Kraków Branch of the Polish Historical Association and the JU Faculty of History, aims to honour outstanding achievements of Polish and foreign authors of books on Central-Eastern European history published during the last three years. The Prize Chapter especially values works that are related to and contribute to the historiographical heritage of the prize patrons. This year the prize, awarded alternately to Polish and foreign researchers, went to non-Polish scholars.
As stressed by the JU Vice-Rector Prof. Piotr Jedynak, the Wacław Felczak and Henryk Wereszycki Prize is especially important for the JU academic community, because it promotes research achievements related to our part of the world, often unjustly considered of no more than local importance. It should also be noted that the prize contest is a valuable way of awarding scholars outside of the omnipresent bibliometric system and citation data.
Prof. Krzysztof Zamorski from the JU Faculty of History, Polish Historical Society board member, announced that from among the 12 books which entered the contest, 5 titles were nominated for the prize. Finally, the Main Prize went to Dr Dušan Fundić for the book Austro-Hungary and the Shaping of Albania (1896-1914) while the Honorary Prize was awarded to Dr Miklós Mitrovits for his overall research achievements and especially the book The Forbidden Contacts. Cooperation of Polish and Hungarian Opposition in 1976-1989.
Dušan Fundić graduated in history and obtained his PhD degree from the University of Belgrade. He is currently employed at the Institute for Balkan Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. His research interests include the Austro-Hungarian foreign policy, history of Serbia and Albania in the 19th and 20th century, and nationalist movements.
Dr Miklós Mitrovits graduated in history from the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest in 2004 and in Polish studies from the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in 2008. He successfully defended his PhD thesis on Soviet policy towards the Polish crisis during the years 1980-1981 in 2009. Dr Miklós Mitrovits is currently employed at the Institute of Central European Studies of the University of Public Service in Budapest and the Institute of History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His research interests include the history of Central Europe in the 20th century, the history of Polish-Hungarian relations and the history of the Visegrád Group.
