Jozef Pilsudski Institute of America in New York City
Established in 1943 by a group of Polish diplomats, politicians and veterans of the Polish Legions in World War I who were associates and former soldiers of Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, a symbol of Polish independence since 1914. By gathering an collection of documents on the modern history of Poland, and by its distinguished record of defending the historical truth about Poland against all adversaries the Institute earned the designation of one of the most important Polish institutions outside of Poland. After the fall of Communism in 1989, the Institute has been active as a research center of the modern history of Poland and as a museum of Polish history and culture.
Internet address: http://www.pilsudski.org
Jozef Pilsudski Institute of AmericaThe first issue of its Electronic Bulletin
by PMN
The Jozef Pilsudski Institute of America has issued the first issue of its Electronic Bulletin for those not familiar with the Institute. It is delivered by e-mail in both Polish and English.
The Pilsudski Institute was founded in New York in 1943 by a group of prominent Americans of Polish descent, together with well known leaders of Polish wartime emigration. The Institute continues the work of its predecessor, founded in 1923 in Warsaw and known as the Pilsudski Institute for Research in the Modem History of Poland.
The Institute collects and preserves historical documents and other artifacts of Polish culture. Its archives are 200 meters long, and contain over a million documents as well as photographs, the press, medals, decorations and stamps. Its history library of 22,000 titles and over 240 paintings and drawings by prominent Polish artists, like Matejko, Brandt, Chelmonski, Wyspianski, Czermanski and many others, were all donated to the Institute by its members and represent a major museum of Polish history and culture.
Priceless archives were saved from burning Warsaw in September 1939, including the personal archives of Jozef Pilsudski as Head of State (1918-1922) and documents relating to the Silesian Uprisings (1920-1922), as well as documents deposited by Ambassadors Jozef Lipski, Juliusz Lukaszewicz and General Kazimierz Sosnkowski. The collections of archives and other collections make the Institute a unique treasure trove of Polish culture in America where anyone in search of knowledge about Poland and Central Europe may find the answer to their quest.
The major aim of the Institute is to continue to collect and preserve historical documents to make them available to students, scholars and the general public. Access to documents has been greatly facilitated by the resources of the Internet, making it possible to find information on ancestors who served in the Polish Legions or fought in the Silesian Uprisings. In the first phase of this work the Institute lists the contents of its archival collections at http://www.pilsudski.org. In the next phase the Institute plans to scan, index and facilitate the retrieval of information in all its original documents and other materials.
From: Bialy Orzel - White Eagle, Vol. 1, Issue 2, March 29, 2005