Feliks Tych (1929-2015)

Prof. Dr. Feliks Tych, an eminent historian and director of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, died on February 17, 2015 at the age of 85.

Feliks Tych was born in Warsaw on July 31, 1929. He grew up in Radomsko, central Poland, where his father owned a metal works.

During World War II, his parents and sibling all perished in the Treblinka death camp. Tych survived in Warsaw on false documents, living with a Polish family.

After the war, he studied history in Warsaw and in Moscow. In 1960 he received his post-doctorate degree (habilitacja) upon presenting a dissertation about the Left Polish Socialist Party in World War I. He worked at the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences, devoting himself to historical studies of the labor movement. He initiated publications of scholarly periodicals in the field of social and labor history and also authored monographs on these subjects.

In 1968, Professor Tych lost his academic posts during Poland’s anti-Jewish purges. He nevertheless continued pursuing projects which were already underway, managing to complete his own publication projects. These included a 3-volume edition of the correspondence of Rose Luxemburg and Leon Jogiches. In all, Professor Tych was the author of 5 monographs and 26 volumes of source documents. From 1990 onward, he lectured at the universities of Goettingen, Darmstadt, Freiburg, Kassel, and Berlin.

In 1996, Professor Tych accepted the position of the director of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, which he held until his retirement in 2007. The same year he assumed his job, he participated in the group of scholars and representatives of Jewish scholarly institutions from various countries who began planning the creation of a Museum of Polish Jews. Tych lived to see this goal realized, and he also served as member of the Museum’s council.

From 1997, Professor Tych represented the Jewish Historical Institute in the Jury of YIVO’s annual Jan Karski Award.

YIVO is deeply saddened by Professor Feliks Tych’s passing and offers heartfelt condolences to his wife, Mrs. Lucyna Tych, and their son.