Acknowledgments

is book was originally written as a dissertation titled “Art in Crisis: Artistic Practice from Poland in the Decade of 1939–1949,” which I began in 2012 and defended ve years later at the Freie Universität in Berlin under the supervision of Prof. Gregor Stemmrich. I would like rst and foremost to thank him for his generous support of my research throughout the years and for his salient critical engagement in the project. I would also like to express my gratitude to my second supervisor, Prof. Noit Banai, for her invaluable advice and open engagement both at the time of nalizing the dissertation and beyond. My research was also made possible through the generous support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Turning my dissertation into a book was a steep learning curve so I hugely appreciated the guidance that I found in the review process, especially from Dr. Klara Kemp-Welch, whom I would like to thank sincerely for her valuable feedback and encouraging me to realize greater ambitions for the project. I will carry many of these valuable insights into my future work as the engagement in the art and exhibitions of the 1940s remains an ongoing interest for me. e process of working on the book manuscript would have been an incomparably more arduous task without the support and experience of the amazing editors and copy editors I had the pleasure

to work with: Meagan Down, Aleksandra Kędziorek, and Alan Lockwood. Here I would also like to thank Joanna Mytkowska, the director of the Museum of Modern Art, and Prof. Błażej Ostoja Lniski, the rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, for creating such a supportive and professional working environment for their authors. I further thank the Academic Board of the New Histories of Art series, as well as the Editorial Board, for making this publication possible. Many aspects of my writing were developed during discussions and exchange with colleagues on many formal and informal occasions. I would like to thank Piotr Słodkowski for our collaborations, which greatly enriched my perspective, Michal B. Ron for the thrilling discussions during and a er our doctoral colloquiums, and uc Linh Nguyen Vu for her inspiring support and thoughtful advice. My interest in the artistic practices of the wartime period was invigorated many years ago through the remarkable opportunity to work together with many talented colleagues as part of a curatorial team headed by Anda Rottenberg, whom I would also like to thank for sharing so generously her knowledge and experience with us. Last but not least I would like to thank my family for supporting my persevering rst with my dissertation and later on with this book. My husband, Daniel, is the rst reader of all my writing and I would like to thank him for his love, patience, and support in the moments of crisis, joy, and excitement that were brought through the research and writing. My sister Paula, my parents, Andrzej and Majka, and my grandmother Marianna, I must thank for always encouraging me to follow my dreams.