Archaeology of Mass Crimes

Dawid Kobiałka is an Associate Professor at the University of Łódź, Poland. He has published many works in the fields of contemporary archaeology, forensic archaeology, and modern conflict archaeology. He is the author of several books on this subject and dozens of scientific articles.

• 1. Introduction: 30 years ago… 2. Polish (Modern) Conflict Archaeology 3. The Pomeranian Crime of 1939 4. A History of Death Valley 5. An Archaeology of Death Valley 6. An Ethnography of Death Valley 7. A History of the Szpęgawsk Forest 8. An Archaeology of the Szpęgawsk Forest 9. An Ethnography of the Szpęgawsk Forest 10. Conclusion

"No project on modern conflict archaeology is as necessary today as Dawid Kobiałka’s. His rigorous, multidisciplinary research on the Nazi crimes in Poland shows that there is still much to be learnt on the topic and that archaeology has something crucial to say about it: about the violence itself, about the victims and about the strategies of concealment. The archaeology of mass crimes is driven by a quest for memory, justice and knowledge. In a time when war crimes are becoming normalized again, reading this book is a must."Alfredo González-Ruibal, Senior Researcher, Institute of Heritage Sciences, Spanish National Research Council"The Archaeology of Mass Crimes: Nazi Extermination in Gdańsk Pomerania, Poland is the first comprehensive archaeological investigation of Nazi mass crimes in Gdańsk Pomerania, transforming atrocity research from archival reconstruction into a forensic exploration of environment, artefacts, and memory. This book stands apart for demonstrating how the material remains of atrocity – bullets, rosaries, cufflinks, and wedding rings engraved with initials – can re-inscribe the dead into history and reorient the ethical responsibilities of the living. It is not only a regional case study but also a methodological landmark that sets a new standard for the archaeology of the contemporary past, genocide studies, and historical justice."Ewa Domańska, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland