Kryzys profesjonalizacji i zmierzch ekumeny?
The crisis of professionalization and the twilight of the ecumena?

VIII International Congress of Historical Sciences in Zurich in 1938 and the participation of Polish historians

Summary/Abstract: In the course of events related to the organization of international congresses of historical sciences since 1898, the interwar period occupies a special place. On the one hand, it was a time of turbulent changes for historians, and on the other hand, the tendency to perceive history in terms of a national conflict, noticeable after the first war, rosein prominence once again before the outbreak of WWII. The International Committee of Historical Sciences consciously strove both to cater to the international dialogue on research problems in history as a science and to create a platform for a calm and balanced discussion between historians of different nationalities and representing different socio-political systems. This would develop an idea that Karl Dietrich Erdmann called “the ecumena of historians”. Polish historians played a significant role in this process. The Congress in Zurich in 1938 was the last pre-war meeting of professional researchers in the field of history. It took place in a tense international atmosphere, yet its organizing committee also tried to effectively implement positive aspects of previous congresses and exclude negative phenomena visible in the organization of these most important international meetings at that time. The experiences of the 1933 Warsaw Congress turned out to be particularly important here. In this context, the participation of Polish historians in the Congress in Zurich would appear to be particularly relevant as well as interesting.

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