Waldemar Rezmer

Garbės daktaras / Honorary Doctor (Suteiktas vardas 2008-12-10)

Professor Waldemar Rezmer, Head of the Department of Military History at Nicolaus Copernicus University and member of the International Commission on the History of War, was awarded the regalia of VMU Honorary Doctor in 2009.

Waldemar Rezmer was born on 6 March 1949 in Gdynia, Poland. He began his history studies at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń in 1968, graduating in 1973.

In 1981, he began working as a senior assistant at the Department of Military History of the Institute of History and Archival Sciences at Nicolaus Copernicus University. On 1 June 1983, he defended his doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Humanities. On 2 June 1993, he was awarded a habilitated doctorate in the field of Modern and Universal History of Poland. In 1994, he was appointed Head of the Department of Military History at Nicolaus Copernicus University, and on 1 March 1996, he became a professor at the University.

On 28 March 2000, the President of the Republic of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, awarded him the title of Professor of Humanities. On 1 May 2001, the Polish Minister of National Education appointed him to the position of (State) Professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University. From 20 May 2002 to 30 September 2008, Waldemar Rezmer served as the Head of the Faculty of Historical Sciences at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.

The professor’s scientific portfolio includes a significant number (more than 140) of various scientific articles, studies, and monographs, primarily focusing on military history, many of which were devoted to topics related to Lithuania. Between 1995 and 2008, he published two monographs and 25 scientific articles in Polish and Lithuanian, addressing a range of topics concerning the army of the First Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, and regional issues.

Since 1992, the professor has regularly visited Lithuania. Over the course of seventeen years, he established close ties with Lithuanian scholars, which laid the foundation for cooperation between Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and numerous Lithuanian scientific and cultural institutions.

Prof. Waldemar Rezmer was one of the initiators of the cooperation between Vytautas Magnus University and Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. This initiative was consolidated in 2006 through a partnership agreement between the two universities. Since 2003, there have been ongoing student exchanges, giving young people from both countries the opportunity to get to know the neighbouring country and its culture.

Rezmer has made a significant contribution to cross-border cooperation between Lithuania and Poland. His efforts, together with those of his colleagues, led to the formation of a Lithuanian Science and Culture Hub in Toruń, Poland, which undoubtedly played a role in the establishment of the Consulate of the Republic of Lithuania in Toruń and contributes to the realisation of the idea of a Lithuanian Community House. Furthermore, on his initiative, a Lithuanian language course was introduced at Nicolaus Copernicus University.

In 2005, on Rezmer’s initiative, an interdisciplinary scientific conference entitled “Poland – Lithuania” (Polska – Litwa) was organised, bringing together scholars from various institutions in both countries in the fields of history and ethnology for collaborative work. The event has become a traditional international symposium, held alternately in Poland and Lithuania.

On 18 June 1999, Prof. Rezmer was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

Based on information provided by VMU Library.