Researching relatives lost during World War II?

The fate of many Poles arrested by Germans and Russians during World War II and after still remain a mystery. On April 23rd, the Kosciuszko Foundation will host experts from Poland's Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) to explain their latest project, the Information Issuing Center for Victims of World War II.

The goal of the Center is to provide applicants with information about the citizens of Poland's Second Republic, victims of the Third Reich and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1939-1956.

The Center's archives stretch four kilometers long with an internal database of 1.2 million records with data on 3.5 million oppressed people.

Among the documents are files of German Nazi war criminals and materials related to the concentration camps, as well as copies of documents relating to Soviet repression, which are derived from the post-Soviet archives. These include lists of people killed and deported, and lists of estates and factories were nationalized after the occupation of the eastern territories of the Second Republic by the USSR in 1939.

These resources are being made available to all interested people who want to find out more about the victims of oppressions of totalitarian regimes, any individuals seeking documents concerning their lost relatives as well as researchers and journalists specializing in the history of World War II.

IPN historians and archivists will be at the Kosciuszko Foundation to answer questions in English and Polish.