History Commons^™

Soaring With Eagles: The Life And Legacy Of Janina Lewandowska, The Only Female Pow Killed In The Katyń Forest Massacre, Joshua Chlebowski

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

In March of 1940, Joseph Stalin ordered the execution of approximately five thousand Polish prisoners of war, setting off a chain of events leading to the Katyń Massacre. Buried in seven mass graves, these soldiers’ bodies remained undisturbed until German forces unearthed them several years later. Even more shocking to the Polish nation than this discovery was the revelation that one of the victims was a female military officer: Second Lieutenant in the Polish Air Force, Janina Lewandowska. Indeed, the presence of her body was at the center of a fifty-year cover-up.

Exploring the life of Janina Lewandowska offers more …

Beneath The Surface: Hadrian’S Underground Contributions To Roman Greece, Michaiah Elizabeth Kojoian

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Reigning during the ‘Golden Age’ of Rome, Emperor Hadrian is remembered mostly for his excessive travel and magnificent building projects such as the Roman Pantheon, his villa at Tivoli, and the famous Hadrian’s Wall. Despite his attention to the city of Rome, however, Hadrian was also very involved in providing for the needs of the Roman provinces. This research explores Hadrian’s legacy as a ‘good’ and philhellenic emperor while also noting his imperial proactivity. This is accomplished by a thorough examination of his aqueducts in Roman Greece, especially his aqueduct in Athens through archaeological and literary sources. This research specifically …

The Legion Of The Archangel Michael: The Past And Present Appeal Of Decentralized Fascism, Andrew Bennet Gillen

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The Legion of the Archangel Michael (LAM) was a notorious fascist group in Romania from the years 1927-1941. It was a highly religious fascist movement, led by Corneliu Codreanu, and attracted many young men to its banner in the middle of the 20^th century. However, its appeal appears to not be limited to the past. In 2017, at the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, one of the lead organizers of the rally was seen wearing a shirt depicting Codreanu. In 2019, London’s Sanctuary Press published a new translation of Codreanu’s memoir, and in Romania, the Alliance for …

Medieval Ailments: Healing Others, Misogyny, And Anti-Semitism, Mackenzie Fox

History & Classics Student Scholarship

The following paper examines Sir Walter Scott’s historical novel, Ivanhoe, which was published in 1814, in terms of the social attitudes persisting during the Middle Ages when the novel takes place. Specifically, the paper analyzes Rebecca, a multi-faceted and subtly heroic character, by placing her into historical context and using the relevant social attitudes to inform her accusation as a witch. Throughout Ivanhoe, Rebecca’s perception as a witch is compounded by her identities as a medical healer, a woman, and a Jew, which accurately reflects the attitudes towards these identities that existed during the European witch hunt in …