Tadeusz Manteuffel

Who was Tadeusz Manteuffel?

Tadeusz Manteuffel or Tadeusz Manteuffel-Szoege was a Polish historian, specializing in the medieval history of Europe.

Manteuffel was born in Rēzekne, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire. He lost his right hand in the Polish-Soviet War in 1920, when he took part in the defence of Warsaw. He studied medieval history in Poland, France, and Italy and later taught at Warsaw University, becoming a known medievalist before 1939.

During the Second World War, Manteuffel was an activist in the education and information section of the Polish Secret State in German-occupied Poland, where he contributed to and edited underground newspapers and leaflets and from 1940 to 1944 he organized underground history seminars in the then-outlawed Warsaw University.

After the war, Manteuffel was active in rebuilding Warsaw University, where he organized the History Institute and its library. In 1950-53 he directed the Polish Historical Society, and he co-founded the Polish Academy of Sciences, creating and directing its Institute of History, later named for him.