Victoria Van Orden Martínez växte upp i New Jersey i USA. I området fanns en stor polsk diaspora bestående av människor som hade flytt nazisterna under andra världskriget eller kommit dit som förintelseöverlevare efter kriget. Som barn blev dessa personer ett naturligt inslag för Victoria. Hennes skola besöktes av överlevare som berättade sin historia och deras närvaro gjorde ett djupt intryck. Om man lägger samman denna bakgrund med ett stort intresse för historia är det kanske inte så märkligt...

Book review of my dissertation, Afterlives: Jewish and Non-Jewish Polish Survivors of Nazi Persecution in Sweden Documenting Nazi Atrocities, 1945-1946, by Matylda Jones-Kowalik and published in Nordisk judaistik/Scandinavian Jewish Studies.

Historian Tony Kushner’s review of my dissertation, “Afterlives: Jewish and Non-Jewish Polish Survivors of Nazi Persecution in Sweden Documenting Nazi Atrocities, 1945-1946.” Published in the journal Historisk tidskrift.

A news article from Linköping University in Sweden, where I am working on my PhD in history, about a research article I wrote and published in the peer-reviewed academic journal, Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History, in September 2021.

Article in Spanish newspaper, La Vanguardia, for which I was interviewed about the false “Princess Qajar” meme and the article I wrote about the real history behind two fascinating women.

Unexplained Mysteries, a YouTube channel, created a video based on my article, "'Princess Qajar' and the Problem with Junk History Memes."

The editors of Royal Splendor also found the "Princess Qajar" meme I wrote about objectionable and published a piece on the history behind these two fascinating Persian princesses, in which they kindly quoted my article, "'Princess Qajar' and the Problem with Junk History Memes."

As the viral “Princess Qajar” junk history meme makes its way around the world, some are taking not of its false and demeaning tone. Reporter Borja Rodrigo of Spain’s El Confidencial newspaper is one of these. He contacted me after finding my article on the subject, “‘Princess Qajar’ and the Problem with Junk History Memes” (which can be found on my History Articles page), and interviewed me for an extensive article on the subject.

Billy of SOWERS was also suspicious of the so-called “Princess Qajar” junk history meme that I wrote about back in December 2017 on my A Bit of History blog, “‘Princess Qajar’ and the Problem with Junk History Memes” (which can be found on my History Articles page). During his investigations on the subject, he came across my article, which he quotes in his piece. It’s great to see positive momentum built in this way.

In July 2017, I was interviewed for a Swedish newspaper, Värnamo Nyheter, about my research and writing on the World War II-era refugee camp in Öreryd, Sweden, for survivors of Nazi concentration camps. This is the resulting article, written by reporter Hanna Nordemark. You can find my original article, "History Dies Deep in the Woods: The forgotten Nazi concentration camp survivors in the forests of Småland," on my History Articles page.

I avhandlingen Afterlives undersöks judiska och icke-judiska polacker som överlevde den nazistiska förföljelsen och kom till Sverige 1945 som så kallade repatriander och som hade kopplingar till Polska källinstitutet i Lund. Undersökningen fokuserar på hur de engagerade sig i transnationella sociala och politiska processer under tiden direkt efter kriget, bland annat hur de dokumenterade den nazistiska förföljelsen och bidrog till humanitärt och rättskipande arbete efter kriget.

Although the Polish survivors of Nazi persecution who came to the refugee camp in Öreryd were healthy enough to be moved from quarantine and hospitals, they were far from "recovered." They had just begun their long journey – physically, emotionally and psychologically – away from the atrocities they, their families and their homeland had been subjected to. Öreryd, like the other Swedish refugee camps, was only a short stop on the survivors' journeys from a life under Nazi oppression to something new and as yet unknown. (The chapter is in Swedish only.)

An authorized French translation of my piece, “‘Princess Qajar’ and the Problem with Junk History Memes.”

Anneli Ahtee, editor of Källan, the official publication of the Swedish Church in Lessebo municipality, translated my article on the very unusual gravestone I found in one of their churchyards. The first half of the Swedish translation of “A Beacon in Historical Darkness: The Medal Worn on the Grave” (which can be found on my History Articles page) was published in the first issue of 2018, and the second (attached here) in the third issue. It can be found in the linked PDF on pages 10-11 and 20.

Authorized Dutch translation of my article, “‘Princess Qajar’ and the Problem with Junk History Memes,” on my A Bit of History blog, produced with permission for De Chinese Vrijwilliger.

I was really pleased when I was contacted by someone from the Swedish Church in Lessebo municipality about translating my article on the very unusual gravestone I found there and printing it in their parish publication, Källan. Anneli Ahtee, the editor, translated the first half of “A Beacon in Historical Darkness: The Medal Worn on the Grave” (which can be found on my History Articles page) to Swedish and published it in the first issue of 2018. It can be found in the attached PDF on pages 11-12.

In fall 2019, I was contacted by Jacalyn Duffin, PhD, who was working on editing the memoirs of Halina Maria Czajkowska Robinson, a Polish survivor of Nazi persecution who had come to Sweden in the aftermath of the Second World War. Halina had been at the refugee camp in Öreryd, Sweden, which I had researched and written about. I was able to find and provide Jacalyn and Halina with information and images, including an image of Halina in a 1946 Swedish newspaper article, which were used in the memoirs. I also had the privilege of reading and commenting on the manuscript prior to publication. It was a privilege to be a small part of the process of bringing these wonderful memoirs to fruition.

In 2004, I published the first of two articles on the 1946 theft of jewels belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (aka the former King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson). The following year, I was contacted by BBC Radio and asked to provide historical consultation on a forthcoming radio drama on the subject. I provided historical background and proofing on Robin Glendinning's script, which resulted in this Saturday Drama on Radio 4. One of my original articles, "Burglary on the Links: Unraveling the Mystery of the Stolen Windsor Jewels," can be found on my History Articles page.