Many researchers of Eastern Europe are well aware of the difficulties associated with working with archival and library sources. Countries with the richest and most renowned collections—Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia—have become increasingly inaccessible due to tougher legislation on archives and large-scale reclassification of documents (in Russia and Belarus), as well as the ongoing war and its severe consequences (in Ukraine). As a result, the search for alternative sources has become especially relevant. The Bridge has decided to present countries whose archival potential is equally impressive but less widely considered. Our first overview is devoted to Poland.
Polish archives constitute a major repository of diverse and unique materials, particularly valuable for scholars of Central and Eastern Europe. The uniqueness of Polish collections is largely explained by the country’s history and geography: for centuries, Poland was part of different states, each of which left behind an extensive documentary legacy. Researchers can access well-preserved and largely declassified materials from imperial administrations (Russian, German, and Austrian), the interwar Polish state, the occupation period during World War II, and the socialist era. Polish archival holdings are especially important for studying the complex processes of the 20th century, including repression, the activities of security services, military planning, political control, and ideological work. These sources create rare opportunities for comparative research on power, violence, and historical memory in 20th-century Europe. This is supported by a favorable institutional climate with open access to archival holdings, detailed finding aids, and user-friendly cataloguing and search systems.
Particularly important at the national level are the Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych (AGAD; Central Archives of Historical Records), Archiwum Akt Nowych (AAN; Central Archives of Modern Records), Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (IPN; Institute of National Remembrance), and Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe (NAC; National Digital Archives). Together, these institutions cover nearly the entire spectrum of sources required for studying Eastern European states in the 19th and 20th centuries, regional military and political alliances, the Cold War, repression, ideology, and Poland’s transnational connections. Polish archives are equipped with modern digital research tools. For example, the
Szukaj w Archiwach portal provides easy navigation across the country’s major archival collections: entering relevant keywords yields detailed listings of related materials.
The principal repository for documents on Polish history from the 12th century to the first quarter of the 20th century is AGAD. Its holdings include archives of Polish and foreign authorities, central and provincial institutions, and the papers of prominent families and individuals from the territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including South Prussia and New East Prussia, the Duchy of Warsaw, the Kingdom of Poland, and parts of Galicia. As of 2022, AGAD held more than 323,900 archival units organized into 486 fonds and collections. Among the key fonds are:
- “Warsaw Crown Archive” (1455–1796), ref. no. 1/3/0, containing diplomatic documents, legislative acts, and private correspondence of representatives of the Polish Crown and partitioning powers (Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Prussia);
- “Central Authorities of the November Uprising and Various Polish and Russian Materials” (1830–1831), ref. no. 1/200/0, comprising several dozen groups of archival materials on the Polish uprising. The documents include numerous appendixes with leaflets, proclamations, orders, circulars, official journals, and iconographic materials and are especially valuable for presenting both the Polish perspective and that of the Russian Empire;
- “Russian Military Units Operating on the Territory of the Former Kingdom of Poland” (1914–1918), ref. no. 1/295/0, containing financial documents related to the maintenance of Russian military formations (orders, circulars, financial requests), as well as materials on operational activities at the front, including orders and personnel lists.
AAN holds extensive documentation relating to Polish state history from 1918 to the early 21st century. The AAN currently contains 2,851 archival fonds. In the early 1990s, it acquired approximately 1.8 linear kilometers of files from the Central Archive of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party, the ruling party of the Polish People’s Republic from 1948 onward. Among the most important collections are the records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw (1918–1939; 1944–1948; 1955–1959), ref. nos. 2/322/0 and 2/610/0, which document Poland’s international activity in the interwar and postwar periods, including contacts with Western states and the Socialist Bloc, as well as the USSR.
Equally significant are the records of the
Polish Embassy in Moscow (1919–1920; 1921–1939), ref. no. 2/510/0, which illuminate political and diplomatic relations between Poland and the Soviet Union in the interwar period. The collection includes materials on Soviet domestic and foreign policy, the activities of Polish diplomatic and consular services, the situation of Poles in the USSR, and documentation relating to international organizations, the press, and propaganda.
IPN holds a vast body of documentation from 1944–1990. Its archival holdings were formed from the records of state security agencies, as well as materials from the Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation and files concerning individuals subjected to political repression. One of the most important collections is “Repressive Organs of the Soviet Union” (1939–1992), which contains documents from the KGB archives of the Lithuanian and Belarusian SSRs concerning repressive actions against residents of Polish nationality. The collection “Civilian Organs of State Security” (1950–1990) includes files from central and regional units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, reports by state security agents, and surveillance materials. The “Military Organs of State Security” collection (1947–1999) includes personal files of informants and officers of the Military Internal Security Service, personnel assessments, and internal investigative materials.
NAC complements the institutional holdings with extensive collections of photographs, film, and sound recordings documenting 20th-century Polish history – about 16 million photographs, 40,000 sound recordings, and 2,400 films. Particularly valuable are the collections of the Polish section of Radio Free Europe (1952–1994), ref. no. 3/36/0; the photographic archives of the National Publishing Agency (1974–1997), ref. no. 3/45/0; and the Central Photographic Agency (1944–1992), ref. no. 3/4/0. These materials contain unique audiovisual documentation of Poland’s political, social, and cultural life in the second half of the 20th century—from officially mediated everyday life to the alternative information sphere shaped by independent radio broadcasts.
The richness of Polish archival holdings makes it possible to form a comprehensive understanding of the history and cultural development not only of Poland but also of Eastern Europe more broadly. Their value is especially evident in research on the 20th century and the socialist system, given Poland’s position within the Soviet sphere of influence. Extensive declassification, a high proportion of digitized materials, and relatively open access make Polish archives among the most important and accessible sources for historical, political, and sociocultural research on Eastern Europe.