Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Poland. Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnetrznych issuances
47020  
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
  • Historical Note
  • Scope and Content of Collection

  • Title: Poland. Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych issuances
    Date (bulk): 1940-1945
    Collection Number: 47020
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: In English, Polish, and French
    Physical Description: 12 manuscript boxes (4.8 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: Reports and bulletins, relating to Polish politics and government; social conditions in Poland; the German and Soviet occupations of Poland; and the Polish underground movement during World War II. Includes reports and studies prepared by the Ministries of National Defense and Military Affairs.
    Creator: Poland. Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych
    Creator: Poland. Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej
    Creator: Poland. Ministerstwo Spraw Wojskowych
    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

    Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1947.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych issuances, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Historical Note

    As a direct result of the German and Soviet occupation of Poland, the government of the country was forced into exile in September 1939 with its first headquarters in Angers, France and later London, England. Polish government-in-exile, despite the situation in state, managed to hold considerable influence over what was happening in Poland at the time, largely due to the efforts of the Polish underground movement and the resilience of the Polish citizenry. Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych (MSW) (Ministry of Internal Affairs) did not form until 1940, while the government was in exile in London. The main role of MSW was to oversee the Polish underground state and to maintain a stable connection between the occupied country and the government-in-exile. While fulfilling its duties, the MSW received updates from the underground state on the social and physical condition of the occupied nations. As a result, the agency was able to produce various bulletins, communiques, reports and studies and thus chronicle the situation in 1940s occupied Poland.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The collection is composed of bulletins, communiques, and reports created by the Polish government-in-exile in London, particularly Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych, during the period of 1940-1945. The documents in the collection provide an overview of the Polish politics and government in-state during the period of German occupation. Materials discuss the social conditions in occupied Poland and provide detailed descriptions of terror, torture, false imprisonment, and extermination of Jews, Poles and various other nationalities residing in Poland during the time period. Additionally, the collection comprises of various studies focusing on the effect of war on children, concentration camps, educatin, and overviews of the situation on the western and eastern European lands under the control of German government.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements
    Poland -- History -- Occupation, 1939-1945
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Poland
    Poland -- Social conditions