News - Instytut Pileckiego
- Redressing Wartime Violations: How can individuals claim their right to reparation?
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Redressing Wartime Violations: How can individuals claim their right to reparation?
- „Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” - international academic conference
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„Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” - international academic conference
Three days, dozens of presentations, and researchers from Poland and abroad summed up the international academic conference held at the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw on 2–4 September.
- The hitherto unknown memoirs of a German official from occupied Poland have been donated to the Pilecki Institute
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The hitherto unknown memoirs of a German official from occupied Poland have been donated to the Pilecki Institute
A unique document has been added to the Pilecki Institute’s archives: the previously unpublished and unknown memoirs of a German official who worked in the civil administration of the General Government during the Second World War.
- Evil Woven into Everyday Life | Dr Joanna Nikel on the Memoirs of a German Official from His Stay in the General Government
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Evil Woven into Everyday Life | Dr Joanna Nikel on the Memoirs of a German Official from His Stay in the General Government
"It is rare for a document to find its way into archival collections in which the voice of an official of the occupation apparatus himself – written down without any intention of accusation, and even stressing his own sense of normality – becomes one of the most eloquent testimonies to the criminal nature of the system he served", writes Dr Joanna Nikel in her initial commentary on the materials received by the Pilecki Institute.
- 14 books nominated for this year’s Witold Pilecki International Book Award
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14 books nominated for this year’s Witold Pilecki International Book Award
On Saturday, 5 September, at the Autumn Book Fair in Warsaw, the Pilecki Institute announced the titles and authors of 14 books nominated for this year’s Witold Pilecki International Book Award.
- New Jork | Exhibition: Between Life and Death. Stories of Rescue during the Holocaust
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New Jork | Exhibition: Between Life and Death. Stories of Rescue during the Holocaust
Through October 29, the Pilecki Institute in New York is hosting an exhibition about the people who risked their own lives to save Jews during the Holocaust—and those who survived thanks to their courage.
- „Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” - international academic conference
News
„Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” - international academic conference
The international academic conference organized by the Pilecki Institute is the first initiative in Poland to bring together interdisciplinary research on Soviet Central Asia, a region with an exceptionally complex history of totalitarianism, mass repression, and forced deportations, that also include the experiences of Poles.
- Call for Articles – Volume 9 of the Totalitarian and 20th Century Studies yearbook
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Call for Articles – Volume 9 of the Totalitarian and 20th Century Studies yearbook
The Editorial Board of the Totalitarian and 20th Century Studies yearbook announces a call for submissions for the next special issue of the publication, covering the years 2025–2026. We invite researchers from various disciplines, including history, political science, law, and sociology, to submit scholarly articles, editions of source materials, and reviews in line with the profile of our yearbook.
- Karol Madaj appointed Director of the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor
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Karol Madaj appointed Director of the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor
Marta Cienkowska, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, has appointed Karol Madaj Director of the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor in Warsaw. His five-year term will begin on 30 August 2026. From 1 September 2025, Karol Madaj served as the acting director of the Pilecki Institute.
- Hacker attack on the websites of the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw, Berlin, and Augustów
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Hacker attack on the websites of the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw, Berlin, and Augustów
On the night of August 13–14 our websites suffered another serious hacking attack. Content bearing the hallmarks of Russian propaganda and disinformation — targeting Polish history and reinforcing anti-Ukrainian narratives — was deliberately placed on the Institute's pages devoted to Augustów, Berlin, and Warsaw.
- Academic conference “Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century: Poland in a Comparative European Perspective (1919–1989)”
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Academic conference “Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century: Poland in a Comparative European Perspective (1919–1989)”
The second academic conference in a series “Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century: Poland in a Comparative European Perspective (1919–1989)” brought together representatives of various fields of the humanities and social sciences from numerous research centers in Poland and abroad.
- Accountability for War Crimes. New book from Pilecki's expert
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Accountability for War Crimes. New book from Pilecki's expert
It is an expanded English-language edition of the monograph "Problem odpowiedzialności karnej za zbrodnie wojenne w pracach rządu polskiego na emigracji (1939–1945)", which in 2023 was awarded a grant under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s “Excellent Science II” program for the translation and open-access publication of the book abroad.
- 12 July | Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Augustów Roundup
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12 July | Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Augustów Roundup
12 July is celebrated as the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Augustów Roundup. The roundup began 81 years ago on this day – on 12 July 1945, two months after the end of the Second World War.
- The Volhynian Crime: The Pilecki Institute and its scholarly and research activities
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The Volhynian Crime: The Pilecki Institute and its scholarly and research activities
On the Sunday of 11 July 1943, units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the armed wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Stepan Bandera faction) – a radical fascist organization striving to build an independent Ukrainian state without any national minorities – carried out a coordinated attack on almost a hundred Polish settlements in the German-occupied Volhynian Voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic.
- Announcement
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Announcement
The Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor, the sole shareholder of Pilecki Institute (USA), Inc., announces that the Board of Directors has appointed Jack Fairweather as the interim President (CEO) of Pilecki Institute (USA), Inc., effective as of 18 June 2026. His task will be to expand the program strategy in line with the statutory mission of the Pilecki Institute’s New York branch.
- Colloquium “Writing and Teaching Environmental History of Ukraine and East Central Europe”
conference
Colloquium “Writing and Teaching Environmental History of Ukraine and East Central Europe”
The colloquium aims to advance the environmental history of Ukraine as a research field and teaching area by addressing related challenges, identifying opportunities, and planning future directions.
- The MODEERN FREEDOM exhibition at the Pilecki Institute NYC is now open!
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The MODEERN FREEDOM exhibition at the Pilecki Institute NYC is now open!
The largest group presentation of Polish contemporary art in New York since MoMA’s legendary “Fifteen Polish Painters” exhibition in 1961.
- Pilecki Institute USA presents MODEERN FREEDOM exhibition - contemporary art from Central and Eastern Europe in Lower Manhattan, NYC
exhibition
Pilecki Institute USA presents MODEERN FREEDOM exhibition - contemporary art from Central and Eastern Europe in Lower Manhattan, NYC
The largest group presentation of Polish contemporary art in New York since MoMA’s legendary “Fifteen Polish Painters” exhibition in 1961.
- The Witold Pilecki International Book Award for historical books. Applications accepted only until the end of June!
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The Witold Pilecki International Book Award for historical books. Applications accepted only until the end of June!
The Pilecki Institute is accepting applications for the Witold Pilecki International Book Award until the end of June. The competition, now in its sixth year, is organized with the participation of the Patron’s Family and in partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
- On better protection against crimes against humanity: Summary of the international conference “The Roots of Crimes Against Humanity”
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On better protection against crimes against humanity: Summary of the international conference “The Roots of Crimes Against Humanity”
The international conference “The Roots of Crimes Against Humanity: Bridging the Normative Gap” successfully concluded at the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw. Organized on the 20th and 21st of April 2026, in cooperation with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the event aimed to provide historical and academic foundations for the first-ever United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity.
- April 30 Deadline: Poland Proposes "Child-Sensitive Approach" for New UN Convention
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April 30 Deadline: Poland Proposes "Child-Sensitive Approach" for New UN Convention
Beginning with today’s (April 30) deadline for all nations to submit their official comments to the United Nations on the draft of the proposed Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity, Poland has made an aggressive bid to become one of the leaders representing the globe’s most vulnerable victims.
- Recap of the 5th edition of the Pilecki Institute International Teachers and Educators Program (ITEP)
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Recap of the 5th edition of the Pilecki Institute International Teachers and Educators Program (ITEP)
This year's online conference focused on the post-war decade of 1945–1955 – a time of rebuilding devastated countries, the beginning of the Cold War, and the birth of a new international order.
- Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visits the Augustów Roundup Memorial House
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Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visits the Augustów Roundup Memorial House
On 22 April 2026, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian democratic opposition, visited the Augustów Roundup Memorial House.
- The conference “The Roots of Crimes against Humanity: Bridging the Normative Gap” places Warsaw at the center of global human rights diplomacy
conference
The conference “The Roots of Crimes against Humanity: Bridging the Normative Gap” places Warsaw at the center of global human rights diplomacy
As global efforts to codify a groundbreaking legal act intensify, Warsaw is becoming a center of legal discourse. The international conference “The Roots of Crimes against Humanity: Bridging the Normative Gap" will be held on April 20–21, 2026. This event represents a significant contribution to the discussion on the first-ever United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity.
- Research cooperation between the International Centre for War Crimes Trials (ICWC) and the Pilecki Institute
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Research cooperation between the International Centre for War Crimes Trials (ICWC) and the Pilecki Institute
The Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor has entered into official cooperation with the International Centre for War Crimes Trials (ICWC) at Philipps University in Marburg.
- Researchers from the Pilecki Institute at BASEES 2026 in Birmingham
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Researchers from the Pilecki Institute at BASEES 2026 in Birmingham
On 10–12 April, the BASEES 2026 Annual Conference was held in Birmingham; the international academic meeting was organized by the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies.