Institute of National Remembrance

Janusz Kusociński na treningu — fotografia archiwalna z około 1937 roku ze zbiorów Archiwum Głównego Akt Dawnych
Janusz Kusociński "Kusy": Los Angeles 1932 gold, interval training and the forest near Palmiry
Janusz Kusociński, "Kusy" (1907–1940) — a runner for KS Warszawianka, a student of Estonian coach Aleksander Klumberg, and the creator of the Polish version of interval training. In June 1932,... Read more...
Jerzy Pawłowski, polski szablista, na zdjęciu z igrzysk olimpijskich w Meksyku w 1968 roku
Jerzy Pawłowski: greatest fencer of all time, 25-year sentence, and Glienicke Bridge
Jerzy Pawłowski (1932–2005) – five-time Olympic medalist in saber fencing, gold medalist at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, nineteen-time World Championship medalist (seven gold), recognized in 1967 by the International... Read more...
Zbigniew Pietrzykowski (z lewej) i Cassius Clay podczas igrzysk olimpijskich w Rzymie w 1960 roku
Zbigniew Pietrzykowski: three rounds with Cassius Clay and four European golds
Zbigniew Pietrzykowski (1934–2014) — eleven-time Polish champion, four-time European champion (West Berlin 1955, Prague 1957, Lucerne 1959, Moscow 1963), and three-time Olympic medalist: bronze in Melbourne 1956, silver in Rome... Read more...
Pojedynek bokserski w przedwojennej warszawskiej hali - Hala Mirowska i Cyrk Staniewskich
Boxing Galas at the Staniewski Circus: Golden years of the ring, intercity matches, and horsehair gloves
The Staniewski Brothers Circus at 1 Ordynacka Street – four stories high, three thousand seats, a thirteen-meter diameter arena that could be flooded with water – was the main indoor... Read more...
Marek The Punisher Piotrowski - 9-krotny mistrz świata w kickboxingu w szlafroku bojowym
Marek "The Punisher" Piotrowski: 9-time world champion, locker room ethos, and steely discipline
On August 18, 1988, Marek Piotrowski flew from Okęcie to the United States with seventy dollars because professionalism did not exist in Poland, and kickboxing was a banned discipline. On... Read more...
Waldemar Legień - dwukrotny mistrz olimpijski w judo Seul 1988 i Barcelona 1992
Waldemar Legień and Paweł Nastula: Judokas of Gold and the Japanese Art of Throws
Waldemar Legień was the first judoka in history to win the Olympic Games in two different weight categories – Seoul 1988 (up to 78 kg) and Barcelona 1992 (up to... Read more...
Andrzej Wroński - podwójny mistrz olimpijski w zapasach klasycznych Seul 1988 Atlanta 1996
Andrzej Wroński and the Golden Era of Polish Wrestling: Two-time Olympic champion
Two-time Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, up to 100 kg category: Seoul 1988 (final against Gerhard Himmel 3:1, one loss in the entire tournament) and Atlanta 1996 (final against Sergey... Read more...
Jerzy Kulej - podwójny mistrz olimpijski z Tokio 1964 i Meksyku 1968
Jerzy Kulej: Double Olympic gold and an iron middle distance in the ring
The only Polish boxer with two Olympic gold medals: Tokyo 1964 and Mexico City 1968, light welterweight. In Tokyo, he went through the tournament without a hitch – defeating Melbourne... Read more...
Feliks Papa Stamm - twórca potęgi Polskiej Szkoły Boksu
Feliks "Papa" Stamm: The Architect of the Polish Boxing School's Might and Master of the Corner
Feliks Stamm (1901–1976), known as “Papa” to his athletes – from 1936 to 1968, coach of the Polish Boxing Association national team: seven Olympic Games, fourteen European Championships, twenty-four Olympic... Read more...
Antoni Kolka Kolczyński - król warszawskiej Pragi, mistrz Europy 1939 i żołnierz AK
Antoni "Kolka" Kolczyński: King of Warsaw's Praga, 1939 European Champion, and Home Army Soldier
Antoni “Kolka” Kolczyński (1917–1964): a bicycle newspaper delivery boy from the Old Town, European champion from Dublin 1939, conqueror of Jimmy O’Malley in Chicago. Six years of war taken out... Read more...
Gmach Cyrku Braci Staniewskich przy ul. Ordynackiej w Warszawie - mekka przedwojennego boksu
Staniewski Circus and the Cyganiewicz Brothers: Pre-war boxing mecca, classical wrestling and the strength of the Second Polish Republic
The building at Ordynacka: 3000 seats, a 13-meter arena that could be flooded. From the Cinisellis (1883) through Mroczkowski to the Staniewski brothers (1929). Circus wrestling as a spectacle of... Read more...
Tadeusz Teddy Pietrzykowski - przedwojenny mistrz ringu i gladiator z Auschwitz
Tadeusz "Teddy" Pietrzykowski: Auschwitz's Boxing Gladiator, Legia Warsaw, and the Fight for Dignity
On the first Sunday of March 1941, in a corner of the camp kitchen at KL Auschwitz, prisoner number 77 stood to fight Kapo Walter Dünning: about forty kilograms against... Read more...