Original Name
Instytut Pamieci Narodowej (IPN)

Institution Type
Research Center

Country
Poland

Address
ul. Towarowa 28, 00-839 Warsaw

Telephone
+48 22 530 86 90

Email
sekretariat.ipn@ipn.gov.pl

Website
http://www.ipn.gov.pl

Description
The Institute of National Remembrance - Commission of the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (IPN) (created by the Polish parliament in 1998) seeks to preserve the memory of Polish losses in the WWII and the post-war period; traditions of fighting against occupants, Nazism and Communism; citizens' efforts to fight for an independent Polish State; the duty to prosecute crimes against peace, humanity and war crimes; the need of the state to compensate for damages suffered by the repressed in the times of mass human rights violations.The Institute started its activities on July 1st, 2000.

The Institute is headed by the President whose post is independent of the state authorities.

The IPN is responsible for gathering, assessing, custody and disclosing the documentation created between July 22nd, 1944 and the December 31st, 1989 by Polish security agencies. The documentation would also include records pertaining to Communist, Nazi and other crimes committed against Polish citizens in the period from September 1st, 1939 to December 31st, 1989 as well as political repressions carried out by officials of the former Polish investigative and justice organs in that time. The documentation concerning the activities of the security organs is also the subject of interest of the IPN. The Institute has been carrying out its research programs which focus on important events and phenomena of the 1939-1989 years.

Office for Preservation and Dissemination of Archival Records is one of the three main departments of the Institute of National Remembrance. The main responsibility of the Office is to collect, preserve, edit and disclose the archival material accumulated by the former secret security apparatus in the period from 22 July 1944 to 31 December 1989, as well as documents of the security organs of the Third Reich and Soviet Union related to the Nazi and Communist crimes, crimes against peace, humanity or war crimes, and other political repressions committed against people of Polish nationality or Polish citizens of other nationalities from 1 September 1939 to 31 December 1989.

Specific: Office for Preservation and Dissemination of Archival Records collects all documentation related to the activities of the secret service apparatus in Poland that has so far been stored in the archives of various offices and central institutions in Poland.

ISRA Affiliation Level
member