The Polish Centre of Holocaust Research was founded on 2 July 2003 pursuant to a regulation of Prof. Henryk Domański, Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN).
The Center groups researchers who deal with the Holocaust of Jews in Poland during World War II from various perspectives: historic, sociologic, psychological, literary, and anthropological. They are people who deal with the issues of the Holocaust in their work places or environments.
The main activities of the Centre are: conduction of scientific research and publication of its results, publication of source documents, organisation of seminaries and scientific conferences, cooperation with foreign centers dealing with the issues of the Holocaust and genocide, preparation of educational offers for academic circles in Poland and cooperation with people and institutions occupied with teaching about the Holocaust on all levels of education.
The text on the Polish version of the main page of the Polish Center of Holocaust Research reads as follows:
Even though the Holocaust occurred on Polish soil and in Polish presence, it is not a part of Polish history or of the Polish fate in the historic conscience of the majority of Poles. We believe this should be changed. Therefore, we want to connect scientific perspective with educational activity that would lead to propagating knowledge and shape attitudes.
In Polish archives we can still find plenty unknown documents, unused testimonies and accounts that are worth knowing, compiling and bring into the global scientific mainstream. The cooperation with foreign scientific organisations is further hindered by the lack of a Polish organisation which would deal with this matter only. We believe this should be changed, hence the initiative to establish the Polish Center of Holocaust Research.
The Center groups researchers from different humanist disciplines: historians, literary scholars, sociologists and psychologists. Our aim is to carry out interdisciplinary research, combine different methodologies, overcome existing schemata in Holocaust narration, uncover various cognitive perspectives and points of view, demonstrate the variety and ambiguity of historical fabric.
Prof. dr. hab. Barbara Engelking is the head of the Polish Center of Holocaust Research. For many years has she been dealing with the history of the Holocaust; she is the author of many books on this subject, among them Getto warszawskie. Przewodnik po nieistniejącym mieście (Warsaw Ghetto. Guide to a Non-Existent City), written together with Jacek Leociak. She also conducts seminars and lectures on subjects connected to the Holocaust.
Polish Center of Holocaust Research of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
72 Nowy Świat Street
00-330 Warsaw
E-mail: centrum@ holocaustresearch.pl
