Location

• Warszawa, Warsaw, Poland
  Show on map

Languages

• Polish

Website

• http://karta.org.pl/Archiwa_i_bazy_danych/Archiwum_Wschodnie/51

Name of collection

• Eastern Archive

Provenance and cultural activities

• The Eastern Archive, initiated in 1987, was a project of collecting testimonies of former Polish citizens, repressed by the Soviet Union after the 1939, imprisoned, resettled, etc. Their remembrance was excluded from the official view of the past, but remained in private circles. At the end of the Polish Peoples’ Republic it became possible to reach these people and make their view of the past more public. In the context of the collapsing, but still existing regime, the Eastern Archive was founded in Warsaw in November 1987.
  
  Initially, it was a group of independent activists, led by Zbigniew Gluza. The participants  were mostly academics, media employees including people with their own experience of Soviet persecutions. Among them were Alicja Wancerz – Gluza, Piotr Mitzner, Katarzyna Madoń – Mitzner and Wiesław Krasnodębski. The whole initiative was a network, based on voluntary work and it was supported in a grassroots way, but also by the Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe and the Social Committee for Science. The Eastern Archive, as a common initiative of various groups, has had its branches in several cities in Poland and abroad (Moscow, New York, London).
  
  The Eastern Archive was not a political initiative, however its activities had very serious consequences.  The alternative view of the past, based on individual testimonies, was a serious stroke against the official monopoly in dealing with the history – and a clear indicator, that the regime is going to collapse. The activity of the Archive was tolerated, but, for safety precautions, people involved in it remained underground (or at least tried to do so). During the process of gathering materials for the Eastern Archive, there were only a few incidents with the state apparatus.
  
  The two most important figures among the KARTA group (Zbigniew Gluza and Alicja Wancerz – Gluza) have been active since 1982, however the legal form of their activity was changed twice. From its beginning, KARTA was an independent, underground opposition group and remained unrecognizable till 1990. In 1990 two legal bodies (foundations) appeared; one was devoted to the Eastern Archive, another to the Dissent Archive and “Karta” quarterly. They were united in 1996 into one body, the KARTA Centre Foundation.

Description of content

• The collection includes mostly testimonies recorded on magnetic tapes and which were in most cases transcribed. People have also been encouraged to write the testimonies on their own and send it the archive. A significant part of the collection consists of personal files (documents, notes, letters, drawings). The Eastern Archive includes also  copies of personal records of former Polish citizens repressed by the Soviet Union. The originals of these documents are stored in the National Remembrance Institute. There are also artifacts created during persecutions, like spoons, objects of religious significance, etc.

Content

• manuscripts (ego-documents, diaries, notes, letters, drafts, etc.): 1000-
• publications (books, newspapers, articles, press clippings)
• voice recordings (including oral history recordings): 1000-
• voice recordings (including oral history recordings): 1000-

Operator(s)

• KARTA Centre Foundation

Owner(s)

• KARTA Centre Foundation

Topics

• survivors of persecutions under authoritarian/totalitarian regimes

Founder(s)

• Gluza, Zbigniew
• Wancerz-Gluza, Alicja

Date of founding

• 1987

Place of founding

• Warszawa, Warsaw, Poland
  Show on map

Collector(s)

• Eastern Archive Volunteers

Supporters

• Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe

Important events in the history of the collection

• Digitalization process

Featured items

• Personal documents of Witold Lis-Olszewski

Access type

• visits by appointments

Part of network

• EUSTORY

References

Ziętal, Katarzyna, editor. Archiwistyka społeczna. Warszawa: Ośrodek KARTA, 2012.

Gluza, Zbigiew. Odkrycie KARTY. Niezależna strategia pamięci. Warszawa: Ośrodek KARTA, Dom Spotkań z Historią, 2012.

Harchut, Monika, interview by Melon, Maciej, May 11, 2016. COURAGE Registry Oral History Collection