Archival materials

The archival resources of the Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War consist of documents concerning POWs (mainly Polish) detained in POW camps located on the territories of the Third Reich, the USSR, as well as in the internment camps established in Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Romania, Sweden and

Switzerland during World War 2. The impressive Museum archive comprises about 20 thousand archival units, that is as much as 55 running meters of files.

The Museum’s archival resources consist of:

• Three archival units – Wehrmachtauskunftstelle für Kriegerverluste und Kriegsgefangene (Information Office of the Wehrmacht in charge of matters relating to Military Losses and POWs), Deutches Rotes Kreuz. Präsidium (German Red Cross. Presidium) and the Environment of Officers-Cadets former POWs.
• Five closed collections: the Environment of former POWs of Camp Dössel (Dössel Camp POWs Club), Józef Kobylański’s Collection, Files of Mirosław Zawodny, Edward Wolski’s Collection, Henryk Tomiczek’s Collection.
• Two open collections: Materials and Documents, Accounts and Memoirs.
• Microfilms with documentation from the state archives in Moscow, Prague and Freiburg.
• Valuable phototeque and video- and phonoteque, as well as a cartographic collection.

Gathering, storage, conservation, elaboration of the materials and rendering them available are the responsibility of the Department of Archives based in Opole. The Department also conducts archival queries: certifications of stay in captivity are issued on request from former POWs or their families and scientific search is carried out on commission. The cost of scientific queries and also that of copies of archival documents are given in price-list for performing specialist services.

The archival resource can be made use of upon lodging a written application and obtaining the Director’s of the Museum permission. The study to conduct scientific research is located in the Museum’s seat in Opole. It is open Monday through Friday from 8.00 to 15.00.