Description:
This book explores the material traces of mass crimes committed by Nazi Germans in Gdańsk Pomerania, Poland, during the Second World War, offering a unique archaeological perspective on these atrocities and their enduring impact on social memory.
Review Quotes:
"No project on modern conflict archaeology is as necessary today as Dawid Kobialka's. His rigorous, multidisciplinary research on the Nazi crimes in Poland shows that there is still much to be learnt on the topic and that archaeology has something crucial to say about it: about the violence itself, about the victims and about the strategies of concealment. The Archaeology of Mass Crimes: Nazi Extermination in Gdańsk Pomerania, Poland is driven by a quest for memory, justice and knowledge. In a time when war crimes are becoming normalized again, reading this book is a must."
Alfredo González-Ruibal, Senior Researcher, Institute of Heritage Sciences, Spanish National Research Council
"The Archaeology of Mass Crimes: Nazi Extermination in Gdańsk Pomerania, Poland is the first comprehensive archaeological investigation of Nazi mass crimes in Gdańsk Pomerania, transforming atrocity research from archival reconstruction into a forensic exploration of environment, artefacts, and memory. This book stands apart for demonstrating how the material remains of atrocity - bullets, rosaries, cufflinks, and wedding rings engraved with initials - can re-inscribe the dead into history and reorient the ethical responsibilities of the living. It is not only a regional case study but also a methodological landmark that sets a new standard for the archaeology of the contemporary past, genocide studies, and historical justice."
Ewa Domańska, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland