Serczyk, Władysław

Serczyk, Władysław, b 23 July 1935 in Cracow, d 5 January 2014 in Rzeszów, Poland. Polish historian. A professor of history at Cracow University (1976–86), then at the Białystok branch of Warsaw University (1986–96), and then at Rzeszów University (after 2001), he is the author of numerous essays and several books on Ukrainian history, including Koliszczyzna (Koliivshchyna rebellion, 1968), Hajdamacy (Haidamakas, 1978), Historia Ukrainy (History of Ukraine, 1979), Połtawa 1709 (Poltava 1709, 1982), and Na dalekiej Ukrainie: Dzieje Kozaczyny do 1648 r. (In Faraway Ukraine: History of the Cossacks before 1648, 1984). His work, though sometimes following standard Soviet lines of interpretation, is significant for its attempts to understand objectively Ukrainian-Polish historical relations and its treatment of Ukraine as a distinct political entity whose interests did not necessarily coincide with those of Poland or Russia. With the fall of the Eastern Bloc, Serczyk could work more freely, as evidenced by his book Na płonącej Ukrainie: Dzieje Kozaczyzny, 1648–1651 (In Burning Ukraine: History of the Cossacks, 1648–1651, 1998).

[This article was updated in 2023.]