The Best Books About Poland and Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia is an area of Poland with a rich history and mix of people who have settled here across the centuries. As such, the region has been written about by a host of authors. Here are just some of the best books about Lower Silesia, Poland and Central Europe.
History of a Disappearance: The Story of a Forgotten Polish Town
By Filip Springer
The Silesian village of Kupferberg suffered decades of violence and neglect before becoming known as Miedzianka after Stalin’s post-World War II redrawing of Poland’s borders. In the 70s, the town was declared uninhabitable. Journalist Filip Springer rediscovers the town’s fascinating history and the people who once lived here.
Poland: A Novel
By James A Michener
Michener chronicles the lives of three Polish families across eight centuries, from nobles to peasants, who are sometimes united but often tragically divided. Their story is one of resistance to invaders and burning pride.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
By Olga Tokarczuk
In a remote Polish village, Janina has a reputation as a recluse who prefers animals over humans. When members of the local hunting club are found dead, Janina inserts herself in the investigation, certain she knows who is responsible. Author Olga Tokarczuk has since gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Microcosm: A Portrait of a Central European City
By Norman Davies and Roger Moorhouse
Silesia has a complex history and has been home to a huge variety of invaders and settlers. Davies and Moorhouse focus on the city of Wrocław, once known as German Breslau, to present a portrait of this fascinating part of Central Europe.
Death in Breslau
By Marek Krajewski
Set in 1933 in Breslau, known as Wrocław since World War II, this novel follows the investigation of a brutal murder. Krajewski explores the secrets of this exceptional city in the grip of the Gestapo.
Augustus The Strong: A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco
By Tim Blanning
This entertaining biography of a charismatic ruler explores the successes and failures of Augustus the Strong. Blanning shows how a ruler can be remembered for their incompetence as much as their brilliance.
Forgotten Land: Journeys Among the Ghosts of East Prussia
By Max Egremont
Prussia was once a thriving land which came to embody turbulence in the 20th century as it was carved up between Poland and the USSR. Egremont explores the stories of those who once lived in this remarkable part of Central Europe.
The Peasants
By Wladyslaw Reymont
Scandal, romance and drama are alive in the Polish village of Lipce. Reymont tells the story of a tangled love story among farmers and peasants in this both comic and tragic ode to rural Poland.
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The Pianist
By Wladyslaw Szpilman
This powerful, bestselling memoir follows the story of a young Jewish pianist in Warsaw who survived the war against all odds. After avoiding deportation to a concentration camp, Szpilman survived the war hiding in the ruined city. The book has since been made into an Oscar-winning film.
Anna and the Swallow Man
By Gavriel Savit
It’s 1939 and Anna Lania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father and she is alone in Krakow. Then she meets The Swallow Man, a mysterious man who helps her navigate war-torn Poland.
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