Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Poland. Ministerstwo Prac Kongresowych records
47036  
No online items No online items       Request items ↗
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Alternative Form Available
  • Historical Note
  • Scope and Content Note

  • Title: Poland. Ministerstwo Prac Kongresowych records
    Date (inclusive): 1940-1945
    Collection Number: 47036
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: Mainly in Polish
    Physical Description: 13 manuscript boxes (5.2 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: Essays, bulletins, reports, and studies, relating to Poland's boundary disputes following World Wars I and II; events and conditions in Poland under German and Soviet occupations during World War II; Polish-Soviet relations; communism in Poland; and twentieth century Polish agriculture, economy, foreign relations, history, politics, and government.
    Creator: Poland. Ministerstwo Prac Kongresowych
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Access

    The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

    Use

    For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Acquisition Information

    Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1947

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Poland. Ministerstwo Prac Kongresowych records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Alternative Form Available

    Also available on microfilm (16 reels).

    Historical Note

    Ministry of Preparatory Work Concerning the Peace Conference, Polish Government-in-Exile (London).

    Scope and Content Note

    The Ministerstwo Prac Kongresowych was brought to life by the Presidential decree of July 1942. It had been known earlier, since 1940, as the Biuro Prac Politycznych, Ekonomicznych i Prawnych (Department of Political, Economic and Legal Analysis). The ministry's English name is self-explanatory: Ministry of Preparatory Work Concerning the Peace Conference.
    Unlike other branches of the government it functioned more as an advisory agency by collecting ideas for the country's post-war political and economic reconstruction. Ideas were solicited from top class specialists, researchers, government experts, and non-government employees.
    That was also a way for the ministry to provide financial support to those who found themselves out of work in exile but who could, thus, contribute to the government's information bank.
    The materials included in this collection deal with some of the most critical issues for Poland, which should have been solved either during the war or shortly thereafter. They document how Poles envisioned their future and how little of those plans materialized between 1945 and 1989. But the researcher should remember that these are not official government plans but merely suggestions submitted for consideration.
    Among the issues of particular importance discussed here are the restoration of the German state; Poland's relations with the Soviet Union; borders and historic disputes about them; and events and conditions in the country under Soviet and German occupation. Plans to restore the Polish economy and the problem of war reparations are particularly well covered.
    Researchers are also advised to consult the Poland. Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych records, also in the Hoover Archives, on topics such as disarmament, execution of treaties, economic organization of post-war Europe, Central European federation, boundary disputes, and military and political alliances.
    The records of the Ministerstwo Prac Kongresowych were sent to the Hoover Institution in 1947 along with the archives of the Polish Research Centre (London).

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Poland -- Politics and government -- 1918-1945
    Poland -- History -- Occupation, 1939-1945
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Poland
    Poland -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union
    Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- Poland
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Peace
    Katyn Massacre, Katynʹ, Russia, 1940
    Poland -- Economic conditions
    Poland -- Boundaries
    Communism -- Poland