All documents in the repository of the Witold Pilecki Center for Totalitarian Studies come from the holdings of the Institute of National Remembrance (their originals are stored in the Institute of National Remembrance archive) and are made available to the public under the provisions of the Act of 18 December 1998 on the Institute of National Remembrance - Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation.
The repository features the depositions of witnesses who, after World War II, testified about crimes committed by the Germans during the occupation of Poland from 1939 to 1945. The depositions were held by the Main Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland and its legal successors.
The testimonies record the experience of Polish victims of Nazi terror. Many testimonies contain graphic details, and therefore minors should use them under adult supervision.
Documents available in the repository should be interpreted in accordance with the methods and tools of historical research. The contents of the depositions were affected by the circumstances in which they were made as well as by the various intentions of interviewers and witnesses. Sometimes human memory also proved fallible. Not all cases in which witnesses were heard ended in conviction.
We welcome all your comments and remarks regarding the material published in the repository. We wish to obtain detailed information about the people and events mentioned in the testimonies in question. We also want to obtain a comprehensive knowledge of all relevant source material recording the experience of Polish victims of Nazi terror. All the remarks should be sent to the following address:
