Richard Woytak
Encyclopedia
Richard Andrew Woytak was an American
historian who specialized in Europe
an history of the Interbellum and World War II
. He was the author of the 1979 book, On the Border of War and Peace: Polish Intelligence
and Diplomacy in 1937-1939, and the Origins of the Ultra Secret
.
western Poland
and early lost his mother in a German
concentration camp. In 1948 he was brought by his father to the United States, where the family had previously lived from the turn of the 20th century.
In the course of his researches, Woytak interviewed many shapers of 20th-century history, such as Polish cryptologist Marian Rejewski
, and met many of its chroniclers, including Władysław Kozaczuk. Woytak's researches contributed to the wealth of documentation found in Kozaczuk's 1984 book on Enigma
.
A selection of Woytak's interviews was published posthumously as Werble historii (History's Drumroll), edited by and with introduction by Stanisław Krasucki, illustrated with 36 photographs, Bydgoszcz, Poland, Związek Powstańców Warszawskich w Bydgoszczy, 1999, 240 pp., ISBN 83-902357-8-1. The interviewees were Marian Rejewski
, Stefan Mayer
, Jan Leśniak
, Józef Smoleński, Wacław Jędrzejewicz, Adam Ciołkosz, Kazimierz Smogorzewski, Wiesław Arlet and Janusz Kodrębski.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian who specialized in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an history of the Interbellum and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was the author of the 1979 book, On the Border of War and Peace: Polish Intelligence
History of Polish Intelligence Services
This article covers the history of Polish intelligence services dating back to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Commonwealth:Though the first official Polish government service entrusted with espionage, intelligence and counter-intelligence was not formed until 1918, Poland and later the...
and Diplomacy in 1937-1939, and the Origins of the Ultra Secret
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
.
Life
Woytak's interest in Polish and European 20th-century history had been stimulated by his family's vicissitudes. He was born in Nazi-occupiedNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
western Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and early lost his mother in a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
concentration camp. In 1948 he was brought by his father to the United States, where the family had previously lived from the turn of the 20th century.
In the course of his researches, Woytak interviewed many shapers of 20th-century history, such as Polish cryptologist Marian Rejewski
Marian Rejewski
Marian Adam Rejewski was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who in 1932 solved the plugboard-equipped Enigma machine, the main cipher device used by Germany...
, and met many of its chroniclers, including Władysław Kozaczuk. Woytak's researches contributed to the wealth of documentation found in Kozaczuk's 1984 book on Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
.
A selection of Woytak's interviews was published posthumously as Werble historii (History's Drumroll), edited by and with introduction by Stanisław Krasucki, illustrated with 36 photographs, Bydgoszcz, Poland, Związek Powstańców Warszawskich w Bydgoszczy, 1999, 240 pp., ISBN 83-902357-8-1. The interviewees were Marian Rejewski
Marian Rejewski
Marian Adam Rejewski was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who in 1932 solved the plugboard-equipped Enigma machine, the main cipher device used by Germany...
, Stefan Mayer
Stefan Mayer
Colonel Stefan A. Mayer was a Polish military intelligence officer and prewar chief of the Intelligence Department within the Polish General Staff's Section II...
, Jan Leśniak
Jan Lesniak
Jan Leśniak was a Polish military intelligence officer in the Interbellum and World War II.-Career:Leśniak was from fall 1935 deputy director of the Polish General Staff's German Office and for a year, from April 1938, its director....
, Józef Smoleński, Wacław Jędrzejewicz, Adam Ciołkosz, Kazimierz Smogorzewski, Wiesław Arlet and Janusz Kodrębski.
Works
- "Wywiad z litewskim Wodzem Naczelnym gen. Stasys'em Rastikis'em" ("Interview with LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n Commander in Chief Gen. Stasys RastikisStasys RaštikisStasys Raštikis was a Lithuanian military officer, ultimately obtaining the rank of General of the Lithuanian Army, as well as the Minister of Defense in the Provisional Government established before the German takeover of Lithuania in 1941.-Biography:Born in Kuršėnai, Raštikis attended school in...
"), ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Zeszyty Historyczne, vol. 261, no. 35 (1976). - On the Border of War and Peace: Polish Intelligence and Diplomacy in 1937-1939 and the Origins of the Ultra SecretUltraUltra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
, BoulderBoulder, ColoradoBoulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, East European Quarterly, New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, distributed by Columbia University PressColumbia University PressColumbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology,...
, 1979, ISBN 0-914710-42-7. - "The Promethean MovementPrometheismPrometheism or Prometheanism was a political project initiated by Poland's Józef Piłsudski. Its aim was to weaken the Russian Empire and its successor states, including the Soviet Union, by supporting nationalist independence movements among the major non-Russian peoples that lived within the...
in Interwar Poland," East European Quarterly, vol. XVIII, no. 3 (September 1984), pp. 273–78. - Substantial contributions to Władysław Kozaczuk, Enigma: How the German Machine Cipher Was Broken, and How It Was Read in World War Two, edited and translated by Christopher KasparekChristopher KasparekChristopher Kasparek is a Scottish-born writer of Polish descent who has translated works by Ignacy Krasicki, Bolesław Prus, Florian Znaniecki, Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Marian Rejewski and Władysław Kozaczuk, as well as the Polish-Lithuanian Constitution of May 3, 1791.He has published papers on...
, Frederick, MarylandFrederick, MarylandFrederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
, University Publications of America, 1984. - "Colonel KowalewskiJan KowalewskiLt. Col. Jan Kowalewski was a Polish cryptologist, intelligence officer, engineer, journalist, military commander, and creator and first head of the Polish Cipher Bureau...
and the Origins of Polish Code Breaking and Communication Interception," East European Quarterly, vol. XXI, no. 4 (January 1988), pp. 497–500. - Werble historii (HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
's Drumroll), Bydgoszcz, 1999, ISBN 83-90-2357-8-1.
See also
- List of Poles