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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