Oral History Archive

„In memories, the past comes alive again”. Interviews with witnesses of history are a very important and increasingly appreciated source for historical research. Through a face-to-face meeting, we can learn about the emotion-filled, difficult fates of people about whom documents are usually silent. Each person is approached individually, therefore each testimony is unique.

The CDZWiP Archive has collected more than 1,000 interviews with witnesses of history, recorded in both audio and video format using professional film equipment. The subjects of the interviews are extensive. A large group are the accounts of Siberians, both those who remained in exile until the end of the Second World War and those who left the USSR after the signing of the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement in 1941. Władysław Anders, Younger Volunteers, Junaks, paratroopers, as well as participants in the Warsaw Uprising, soldiers of the Home Army, deported for forced labour to the Third German Reich, displaced persons within the framework of Operation Vistula and Operation Saybush, so-called Children of Tehran, Poles living in Romania and Serbia, etc

 

Visit our YouTube channel and listen to excerpts from interviews with witnesses of history.

Click here: Centrum Dokumentacji Zsyłek Wypędzeń i Przesiedleń – YouTube