The book was serialized by the magazine "Tygodnik Illustrowany" between 1897–1899 before its first complete printed edition appeared in 1900. The book was first translated into English by Jeremiah Curtin, a contemporary of Henryk Sienkiewicz. "The Teutonic Knights" had since been translated into 25 languages. It was the first book to be printed in Poland at the end of World War II in 1945, due to its relevance in the context of Nazi German destruction of Poland followed by mass population transfers. The book was made into a movie in 1960 by Aleksander Ford.