Prof. zw. dr hab. Alfred Konieczny passed away
It is with deep regret that we announce that on Friday, June 23, 2023 Professor Alfred Konieczny, an eminent historian of the state and law, long-serving director of the Institute of the History of State and Law at the University of Wrocław and co-founder and head of the Department of Administrative History, educator of numerous generations of young academics.
Alfred Konieczny was born on January 3, 1934 in Maciowakrz in the Kędzierzyńsko-Kozielski district. In 1960, he graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Wrocław, and then started working as an assistant, passing through all the levels of his academic career. He obtained the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1966, habilitated in the field of history of state and law in 1969, and obtained the title of Professor of Legal Sciences in 1985. He also carried out his scientific activity as a member of the Committee of Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He was a member of the District Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Wrocław (Komisja Okręgowa Badań Zbrodni Hitlerowskich we Wrocławiu) and the Main Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Warsaw (Główna Komisja Badań Zbrodni Hitlerowskich w Warszawie), a member of the Wrocław Scientific Society, the Silesian Institute in Opole, the Institute for Western Affairs in Poznań, an honorary member of the French Association of Prisoners “Night and Fog”, a scientific consultant at the Gross Rosen State Museum in Rogoźnica. For his scientific and social activities he was awarded, among others, the Silver Cross of Merit (1970), the Golden Cross of Merit (1981), the Knight’s Cross of Polonia Restituta (1986), the Medal of the of National Education Commission (1987). In 2016, by Resolution No. 66/2016 of the UWr Senate of April 27, 2016, awarded the Gold Medal of the University of Wrocław.
Alfred Konieczny’s scholarly output is impressive in terms of the value of the issues raised. His findings have repeatedly significantly enriched and broadened knowledge in the field of history of the state and law, which was reflected in numerous publications. The Professor’s scientific interests focused on the history of the system and law of the most recent times, the history of the system and law of the Third Reich, the history of the Nazi occupation in Europe, the system of concentration camps with particular emphasis on the site of KL Gross-Rosen. He is the author of more than 200 scientific works, including the academically important monographs: He is the author of more than 200 scientific works, including the academically important monographs: Upadek Festung Breslau (1963, co-author), Pod rządami wojennego prawa karnego III Rzeszy. Górny Śląsk 1939-1945 (1972), Akcja „Noc i mgła” w okupowanych przez III rzeszę krajach zachodniej Europy (1995), Tormersdorf-Grűssau-Reibing – obozy przejściowe dla Żydów Dolnego Śląska z lat 1941-1943 (1997), Śląsk a wojna powietrzna lat 1949-1944 (1998), Polska grupa konspiracyjna „Olimp” w wojennym Wrocławiu (1989). He is co-author of the extensive documentation Praca przymusowa Polaków pod panowaniem hitlerowskim 1939-1945, Dokumenta Occupationis, t. X (1976), or „Nuit et Brouillard” – NN-L operation terroriste nazie 1941-1944 (1981). Since 1993 he has been the editor of Historical and Legal Studies as part of the Law (Prawo) series, Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego.
In the deceased, we lose a noble Man, an outstanding Scholar and an excellent academic teacher, an educator of numerous generations of young people, always deeply committed to the matters of the University of Wrocław, the Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics and the Institute of the History of State and Law.
Translated by Julia Strzykała (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
