Witnesses - Instytut Pileckiego
In 2018, we started recording the recollections and reminiscences of people who lived through the Second World War, and also of those who remember the postwar period. Our archive of oral history comprises a dozen or so thousand hours of video materials. Fragments of these interviews have been presented below, and you can also find them on the “Świadkowie Epoki” [Witnesses of the Age] YouTube channel.
Among the witnesses who talk about their experiences are soldiers from all fronts of the conflict, civilians, political prisoners, concentration camp inmates, and those who were incarcerated in forced labor camps and the Gulag. Witnesses of atrocities motivated by nationalism and of war crimes. The Righteous and the Saved. Polish citizens, Poles holding foreign citizenship, and the citizens of other countries. Accounts concerning the postwar period include, among others, provide information about the activities of the NKVD, the mass arrests conducted by the security services, and the period of martial law (1981-1983). The Solidarity movement is discussed by its members, while the workers’ strikes – by their immediate participants.
Contact: swiadkowieepoki@instytutpileckiego.pl
- Konrad Bieliński
Witnesses to the Age
Konrad Bieliński
#anti-Communist resistance in Poland#Communist crimes - Zygmunt Bizior
Witnesses to the Age
Zygmunt Bizior
#Communist crimes#pro-independence resistance movement - Marian Breńda
Witnesses to the Age
Marian Breńda
#German crimes#ghetto#help during WWII#occupation#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Holocaust - Hanna Chmielecka
Witnesses to the Age
Hanna Chmielecka
#children#concentration camps#deportation_exile#German crimes#help during WWII#occupation#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Holocaust - Alina Dąbrowska cz. 3.
Witnesses to the Age
Alina Dąbrowska cz. 3.
#concentration camps#German crimes#occupation#the Holocaust - Alina Dąbrowska cz.1.
Witnesses to the Age
Alina Dąbrowska cz.1.
#German crimes#occupation#the underground - Alina Dąbrowska cz.2.
Witnesses to the Age
Alina Dąbrowska cz.2.
#German crimes#occupation#prison#the underground - Krzesimir Dębski
Witnesses to the Age
Krzesimir Dębski
#occupation#Volhynia, Ukrainian Insurgent Army - Polikarp Duda
Witnesses to the Age
Polikarp Duda
#deportation_exile#occupation#Soviet crimes#the Gulag - Maria Dwurzyńska-Grzegrzółka
Witnesses to the Age
Maria Dwurzyńska-Grzegrzółka
#German crimes#help during WWII#occupation#rescue of Jews by Poles - Jan Dziewulak
Witnesses to the Age
Jan Dziewulak
#deportation_exile#Polish_Armed_Forces#Soviet crimes - Bogdan Eubich
Witnesses to the Age
Bogdan Eubich
#German crimes#occupation#the underground - Alicja Fojcik
Witnesses to the Age
Alicja Fojcik
#concentration camps#deportation_exile#German crimes#occupation#the underground - Izabela Galicka
Witnesses to the Age
Izabela Galicka
#German crimes#invasion of Poland#occupation#Soviet crimes#the Katyn massacre - Wanda Grabowska
Witnesses to the Age
Wanda Grabowska
#German crimes#occupation#Volhynia, Ukrainian Insurgent Army - Anna Grygiel-Huryn
Witnesses to the Age
Anna Grygiel-Huryn
#children#German crimes#ghetto#help during WWII#rescue of Jews by Poles - Teresa Gwara
Witnesses to the Age
Teresa Gwara
#invasion of Poland#occupation#Soviet crimes#the Katyn massacre - Jan Hadam
Witnesses to the Age
Jan Hadam
#Communist crimes#pro-independence resistance movement - Jerzy Hoffman
Witnesses to the Age
Jerzy Hoffman
#children#deportation_exile#occupation#Polish_Armed_Forces#Soviet crimes#the Gulag - Aleksandra Janas
Witnesses to the Age
Aleksandra Janas
#German crimes#occupation#Soviet crimes#the underground - Kazimiera Jarosz
Witnesses to the Age
Kazimiera Jarosz
#German crimes#help during WWII#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Holocaust#the Righteous - Józef Jarosz
Witnesses to the Age
Józef Jarosz
#German crimes#help during WWII#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Righteous - Irena Jaszczuk
Witnesses to the Age
Irena Jaszczuk
#concentration camps#deportation_exile#extermination camps#German crimes - Lena Kielar
Witnesses to the Age
Lena Kielar
#concentration camps#deportation_exile#forced labor#German crimes#Soviet crimes - Irena Koźlicka
Witnesses to the Age
Irena Koźlicka
#help during WWII#occupation#Volhynia, Ukrainian Insurgent Army - Wiesław Krawczykowski
Witnesses to the Age
Wiesław Krawczykowski
#concentration camps#deportation_exile#German crimes#occupation#the underground#Warsaw Uprising - Krzysztof Krogulec
Witnesses to the Age
Krzysztof Krogulec
#children#German crimes#occupation#the underground - Antoni Kruszewski
Witnesses to the Age
Antoni Kruszewski
#German crimes#occupation#Warsaw Uprising - Tomasz Krzyżanowski
Witnesses to the Age
Tomasz Krzyżanowski
#anti-Communist resistance in Poland#Communist crimes#Solidarity - Wojciech Kuropieska
Witnesses to the Age
Wojciech Kuropieska
#German crimes#help during WWII#occupation#rescue of Jews by Poles - Romuald Malinowski
Witnesses to the Age
Romuald Malinowski
#German crimes#Warsaw Uprising - Olga Morawska
Witnesses to the Age
Olga Morawska
#German crimes#help during WWII#others - Marian Musioł
Witnesses to the Age
Marian Musioł
#German crimes#Polish_Armed_Forces - Anna Naczke
Witnesses to the Age
Anna Naczke
#deportation_exile#Soviet crimes#the Gulag#the Katyn massacre - Teresa Nosarzewska
Witnesses to the Age
Teresa Nosarzewska
#deportation_exile#Soviet crimes - Grażyna Teresa Olton
Witnesses to the Age
Grażyna Teresa Olton
#German crimes#help during WWII#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Holocaust#the Righteous - Andrzej Paszkiewicz
Witnesses to the Age
Andrzej Paszkiewicz
#concentration camps#deportation_exile#German crimes#occupation#the underground - Brunon Piekarski cz. 2.
Witnesses to the Age
Brunon Piekarski cz. 2.
#Communist crimes - Brunon Piekarski cz. 3.
Witnesses to the Age
Brunon Piekarski cz. 3.
#Communist crimes#prison#pro-independence resistance movement - Brunon Piekarski cz.1.
Witnesses to the Age
Brunon Piekarski cz.1.
#Communist crimes#prison - Andrzej Pilecki
Witnesses to the Age
Andrzej Pilecki
#Communist crimes#German crimes#invasion of Poland#occupation - Leszek Polkowski
Witnesses to the Age
Leszek Polkowski
#concentration camps#deportation_exile#forced labor#German crimes#occupation#the underground#Warsaw Uprising - Zofia i Jerzy Przeździakowie
Witnesses to the Age
Zofia i Jerzy Przeździakowie
#German crimes#ghetto#help during WWII#occupation#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Holocaust#the Righteous#the underground - Robert Rogalski
Witnesses to the Age
Robert Rogalski
#German crimes#occupation#prison#Soviet crimes - François Rosset
Witnesses to the Age
François Rosset
#Communist crimes#the Righteous - Zofia Rucińska-Hobgarska
Witnesses to the Age
Zofia Rucińska-Hobgarska
#German crimes#occupation - Tadeusz Selbirak
Witnesses to the Age
Tadeusz Selbirak
#deportation_exile#invasion of Poland#occupation#others - Jan Ryszard Sempka
Witnesses to the Age
Jan Ryszard Sempka
#concentration camps#deportation_exile#German crimes#occupation#the underground#Warsaw Uprising - Ludmiła Seredyńska
Witnesses to the Age
Ludmiła Seredyńska
#deportation_exile#occupation#Soviet crimes#the Katyn massacre - Barbara Sokólska
Witnesses to the Age
Barbara Sokólska
#children#deportation_exile#Polish_Armed_Forces#Soviet crimes#the Gulag - Wiesław Stypuła cz.1.
Witnesses to the Age
Wiesław Stypuła cz.1.
#deportation_exile#Soviet crimes - Wiesław Stypuła cz.2.
Witnesses to the Age
Wiesław Stypuła cz.2.
#deportation_exile#Soviet crimes - Wiesław Stypuła cz.3.
Witnesses to the Age
Wiesław Stypuła cz.3.
#deportation_exile#Soviet crimes - Janusz Szewluk
Witnesses to the Age
Janusz Szewluk
#Communist crimes#prison#pro-independence resistance movement#the underground - Eugeniusz Szylar
Witnesses to the Age
Eugeniusz Szylar
#German crimes#occupation#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Holocaust#the Righteous - Romuald Twardowski
Witnesses to the Age
Romuald Twardowski
#Communist crimes - Józef Walaszczyk cz. 2.
Witnesses to the Age
Józef Walaszczyk cz. 2.
#German crimes#the Righteous - Józef Walaszczyk cz. 3.
Witnesses to the Age
Józef Walaszczyk cz. 3.
#German crimes#Soviet crimes#the Righteous#the underground - Józef Walaszczyk cz.1.
Witnesses to the Age
Józef Walaszczyk cz.1.
#German crimes#help during WWII#occupation#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Holocaust#the Righteous - Aleksander Wiechowski
Witnesses to the Age
Aleksander Wiechowski
#children#German crimes#occupation#the underground#Warsaw Uprising - Helena Woźniak
Witnesses to the Age
Helena Woźniak
#German crimes#ghetto#help during WWII#occupation#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Holocaust#the Righteous#the underground - Teresa Żabińska-Zawadzka
Witnesses to the Age
Teresa Żabińska-Zawadzka
#German crimes#help during WWII#occupation#rescue of Jews by Poles #the Holocaust#the Righteous#the underground - Ludwik Zalewski
Witnesses to the Age
Ludwik Zalewski
#children#German crimes#occupation