Guide

Where to start

This guide is for people who only know that a relative 'died in the war', or 'was in Germany' or 'in Siberia'. After 1 September 1939 Polish citizens met very different fates: the western lands were annexed to the Reich, the centre became the General Government, and the east was occupied from 17 September by the USSR, which in four deportations in 1940–1941 sent some 320,000–340,000 Polish citizens deep into the country, according to NKVD records. Each fate has its own archives, so first establish the person's basic details and at least an approximate fate, then turn to the matching guide.

How to search

1. 01Start by talking to the oldest members of the family and going through papers at home: identity documents, military service books, letters, camp postcards, annotated photographs, veterans' and compensation certificates. Write down full names, date and place of birth, parents' names (including the mother's maiden name) and the last known whereabouts – every database asks for these.
2. 02The details can be confirmed in civil registration records. A descendant can order a copy of an ancestor's (parent's, grandparent's) birth, marriage or death certificate from any civil registry office in Poland, including online with a Trusted Profile or an e-ID card. Older registers have been transferred to the State Archives; their scans are often on the Szukaj w Archiwach portal, and name indexes on the Polish Genealogical Society's Geneteka.
3. 03If the fate is unknown, search two large name databases: the Arolsen Archives (victims of Nazi persecution – camps, prisons, forced labour, post-war displaced persons) and the IPN's Index of the Repressed (victims of Soviet repression). A result often shows which guide is the right one.
4. 04The Polish Red Cross Information and Tracing Bureau holds, among other things, card files of POWs and of camp and prison inmates, death certificates of Poles who died in camps, and a multi-million card index of people sought since the war. Requests are made on the PCK tracing form, by post or email; people living abroad apply to the Red Cross in their own country.
5. 05The IPN archive holds documents from 1917–1990, including records of German, Soviet and post-war communist repression. File descriptions can be searched in its archival inventory; seeing the documents of a deceased next of kin requires a written request with proof of the relationship. The archive of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva (POWs, civilian internees) has suspended its research service until further notice and accepts only certain humanitarian cases.
6. 06Once you know what happened to the relative, move on to the matching guide: deported to the Soviet Union, prisoners of war, concentration camp prisoners, forced labourers, soldiers in the West, Wehrmacht conscripts, Polish Army soldiers, underground soldiers or Holocaust victims. Each points to the databases and archives for that fate.

Where to search

• Online searchCopy of a civil registration certificate (gov.pl) ↗The service for ordering a copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate from any civil registry office. Descendants can order their ancestors' records without proving a legal interest; the online request requires a Trusted Profile or an e-ID card.gov.pl/web/gov/uzyskaj-odpis-aktu-stanu-cywilnego-urodzenia-malzenstwa-zgonu
• Online searchSzukaj w Archiwach (National Digital Archives) ↗A portal of scans and descriptions of State Archives holdings – over 55 million scans, including parish and civil registers – plus the PRADZIAD database, which shows where the registers of a given parish are kept.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl
• Online searchGeneteka (Polish Genealogical Society) ↗A volunteer-made name index of parish and civil registers – over 68 million entries. It quickly gives the record number and parish, so the record itself can be found in an archive or on Szukaj w Archiwach.geneteka.genealodzy.pl
• Online searchArolsen Archives ↗The largest archive on victims and survivors of Nazi persecution – over 40 million documents on prisoners, forced labourers and displaced persons. Search by name; free enquiries for relatives through a form.collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/search
• Archive / collectionPolish Red Cross Information and Tracing Bureau ↗Card files of POWs and camp inmates, death certificates of Poles who died in camps, lists of fallen soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces in the West and an index of people sought since the war. Issues certificates on the fate of sought persons; apply on the tracing form.pck.pl/co-robimy/kbiip
• Online searchIPN Archive – inventory and requests ↗A search tool for descriptions of IPN records from 1917–1990. Seeing the documents of a deceased next of kin requires a request on the IPN form, lodged at the IPN archives in Warsaw or at its regional branches.inwentarz.ipn.gov.pl
• Online searchIndex of the Repressed (IPN) ↗Over 316,000 records of people imprisoned, sent to labour camps or exiled by the Soviet authorities after 17 September 1939. The database is incomplete; you can send an enquiry through the site.indeksrepresjonowanych.pl/wyszukiwanie
• Archive / collectionICRC Archives – requests about individuals from the Second World War ↗Central Tracing Agency records on prisoners of war and civilian internees. The research service is suspended until further notice; only requests from the person concerned, compensation and administrative cases, and searches for a natural parent or grandparent are considered.icrc.org/en/document/request-information-about-individuals-detained-during-second-world-war-or-spanish-civil-war

We checked the addresses and holdings on these institutions' own websites. Their rules can change, so check their current pages before sending a request.

Read in the chronicle

• 1939Germany invades PolandAt dawn on 1 September 1939 the Wehrmacht attacked Poland from the north, west and south without declaring war. The Slovak army struck alongside the Germans.
• 1939The Soviet invasion of PolandAt dawn on 17 September 1939 the Red Army entered Poland without a declaration of war, carrying out the secret protocol of its pact with Germany.
• 1939The annexation of Polish lands and the General GovernmentOn 26 October 1939 Hitler’s decrees took effect. Western Poland was annexed to the Reich and central Poland became Hans Frank’s General Government.
• 1940First deportation from the eastern landsOn 10 February 1940 the NKVD began deporting families of military settlers and foresters from the Kresy. NKVD documents put the total at nearly 140,000.
• 1944Warsaw UprisingFrom 1 August to 2 October 1944 the Home Army fought the Germans for Warsaw. After 63 days it capitulated; the city was emptied and razed.
• 1945The liberation of AuschwitzOn 27 January 1945 soldiers of the Soviet 60th Army entered Auschwitz. They found some 7,000 prisoners, hundreds of bodies and stores of victims’ belongings.