The UK scholar collected the honour from Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau at a ceremony in the central city of Łódź on Monday.
The event had been postponed for almost two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moorhouse wrote on Twitter: “I’m very honoured to receive the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize for 2020, from Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau in Łódź today. It was awarded for my book “First to Fight. Poland 1939.”
First to Fight. Poland 1939 documents Poland’s defence against the German invasion of September 1, 1939, and contains a detailed description of the atrocities committed by the Nazi Germans in Poland in the first stage of World War II.
According to Moorhouse, the Polish defensive war did not break through to the general consciousness in the West, resulting in harmful myths that have a bearing on current international relations.
Following its UK launch in 2019, the book was published in the United States under the title Poland 1939, and in Poland as Polska 1939.
In addition to the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize 2020, it was shortlisted for the Wellington History Medal in the UK.
Born in 1968, Moorhouse is an expert in modern German and Polish history, especially the World War II period. His books include Berlin at War: Life and Death in Hitler's Capital 1939-1945, The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin 1939-1941, and The Third Reich in 100 Objects.
(mk/pm)