Some problems of selecting and classifying records of the communist period in following the regulations of articles 25 and 27 of the act from 18th December 1998 on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against...

Abstract

Some problems of selecting and classifying records of the communist period in following the regulations of articles 25 and 27 of the act from 18th December 1998 on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation between 2007 and 2012

The article is a shortened and amended version of the Report on carrying out basic tasks concerning following the regulations of articles 25 and 27 of the act from 18th December 1998 on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation in the Section of Collecting between 2007 and 2012, which was created as a part of the Office for the Preservation and Dissemination of the Archival Records in September 2012. Some problems of selecting and classifying records of the communist period that occurred during following the regulations of the discussed law had, and still have, a significant impact on shaping the national archival heritage. Attempts made between 2007 and 2012 in the archival department of the INR to organize methods and procedures in this scope, showed many difficulties occurring while using regulations of the act in practice. The legal system and methodology of the actions (or lack of it) was analyzed then. Cooperation in the discussed scope between archival institutions responsible for following the regulations was criticized and its consequences were shown. As a result of collaboration between INR and the General Directory of State Archives, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and bodies of the prison system, numerous cases showing lack of proper methods used in classifying of a significant part of records from the communist period, and lack of proper actions of archival control in this scope were pointed out. There were also given some examples showing necessity for more engagement from the Institute in the process of preserving the archival heritage, which sometimes is the only and unique source for research on functioning of the communist repressive state apparatus, in its broad sense. At the same time, it has been shown that INR is the only institution that has some legal levers on institutions, and at minimal range it monitors these problems on the territory of the whole country. An effect of the depicted actions are suggestions for amendments in the archival law, and definitions of „repressive apparatus” and „repressions on political basis” that are effects of works of the Commission, appointed by the President of INR, for creating catalogues of regulations that were a basis for repressions due to political motives, and used in cases against perpetrators of Nazi crimes, communist crimes, and crimes against peace, humanity or war crimes.