The role of the Institute of National Remembrance in the process of restoring memory

Abstract

Poland’s history reflects the vicissitudes of the successes and difficult experiences of our statehood. It was a whirl of events we took part in, starting from the ancient times of the Piast dynasty and ending with the communist period. The post-Yalta order introduced in Europe after the atrocities of WWII divided Europe and the entire world into two blocs. Poland found itself in the Communist one.

The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) has a special role to play. Executing its statutory obligations on behalf of Poland, it is supposed to redress the injustices suffered by the Polish nation during the periods of Nazism and Communism. The IPN has undertaken the task of resolving this difficult past from 1939–1989. A crucial and inherent element of this process involves educational and research activities that allow the IPN to present the truth about this difficult period, after the truth about Polish his- tory was distorted for nearly half a century and the heroes of the struggle for independence were doomed to oblivion.

Restoring memory is about redressing the victims and honouring them which is indispensable from the point of view of the moral activities of the State institutions on behalf of which the IPN operates, as well as about academic and educational activities addressed at the youngest generation, allowing them to learn history while learning and having fun. The activities of the IPN are also addressed to the older generations, revising the former picture of Polish history conveyed by the communist State.