Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw ( pl, Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych w Warszawie, AGAD) is one of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
's four
national archives. It holds records ranging from 12th century until
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The current headquarters is located in
Raczyński Palace located at Długa 7 Street in Warsaw.
History
The archive was founded in 1808.
A large portion of the archive was intentionally destroyed by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
in 1939 and in 1944. In the aftermath of the suppression of the
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...
of 1944, the archives were not only deliberately set ablaze, but the
Nazi German
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
troops also entered each of the nine accessible fire-proof vaults in the underground shelter and meticulously burned one after another (entrance to the 10th was blocked by rubble, thus saving its contents).
Official names
The archive went through several name changes:
*National General Archive (Polish: Archiwum Ogólne Krajowe) (1808-1816)
*Central Archives of the Polish Kingdom (Polish: Archiwum Główne Królestwa Polskiego) (1816-1889)
*Warsaw Central Archive of Historical Records of the Polish Kingdom (Polish: Warszawskie Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych Królestwa Polskiego) (1889-1918)
*Central Archives of Historical Records (Polish: Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych) (since 1918)
Archive Directors
*Walenty Skorochód Majewski (1808–1835)
*
Feliks Bentkowski (1838–1852)
*Walenty Hubert (1853–1875)
*
Adolf Pawiński (1875–1896)
*
Teodor Wierzbowski (1897–1919)
*
Stanisław Kętrzyński (1919–1920)
*
Józef Siemieński (1920–1939)
*Adam Stebelski (1939–1953)
*Michał Wąsowicz (1954–1976)
*Kazimierz Krzos (1976–1979)
*Mieczysław Motas (1979–1981)
*
Edward Potkowski (1981–1986)
*Władysław Stępniak (1986–1997)
*Hubert Wajs (from 1997)
See also
*Other three National Archives of Poland:
**
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe (English: National Digital Archive)
**
Polish Central Archives of Modern Records (Polish: Archiwum Akt Nowych)
**
Polish National Archive of Personal and Wage Documentation (Polish: Archiwum Państwowe Dokumentacji Osobowej i Płacowej)
Further reading
*
*
*
*
References
{{Authority control
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
Archives in Poland