Published : 2024-07-04

Sources for the Latest History of Poland in German Archives

Abstract

Political, economic and cultural relations between Poland and Germany are centuries old. Materials on the history of Poland and Polish-German relations are kept in most major state archives located in various regions of Germany. These are both central and regional archives. The main institution collecting historical resources, including numerous Polish records from the 19th and 20th centuries, is the Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) based in Koblenz. Equally important historical records, including documents relating to World War II, are kept by the branches of the Federal Archives in Berlin and Ludwigsburg, the Central Military Archives in Freiburg, the Archive of the International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen, and a private institution such as the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin. The German state archives of North Rhine-Westphalia located in Düsseldorf and Münster, which store many groups of archives concerning the occupation of Polish lands and the fate of the Polish population in the years 1939-1945, remain almost completely unrecognized by Polish historians.

Access to sources on Polish history in German institutions is facilitated by the digitization of these resources, as well as their ever increasing recognition thanks to various projects conducted by the Polish state archives. The largest initiative that has been implemented for over 20 years is the programme Reconstitution of the Memory of Poland, under which Polish records in Germany and other European countries are registered.

Keywords:

Polonica, German archives, Federal Archives, Polish-German relations, digitization of archival materials, Polish emigration in Germany



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Teka of the Historical Sciences Commission of the Learned Society of KUL |ISSN 2658-1175 eISSN 2719-3144 DOI: 10.18290/tkh

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