Institute of National Remembrance

Surowe bryłki bursztynu bałtyckiego z zwietrzałą korą na powierzchni
Gdańsk amber craftsmanship: guild since 1477, amber processing and the Amber Room
On March 31, 1477, Gdańsk amber craftsmen received their guild statute — eleven years after the Peace of Toruń lifted the Teutonic ban from 1394, which deprived people of the... Read more...
Dzwon Serce Łodzi odlany w Ludwisarni Felczyńskich w Taciszowie, z płaskorzeźbami i inskrypcją na płaszczu
Bell foundry: how a bell is made. The Felczyński family since 1808, 78/22 bronze, and irreversible tuning
A bell is cast once. The mold is broken after casting, no metal can be added – it can only be ground down, so the instrument is tuned only downwards.... Read more...
Ceglany budynek fabryczny przy ulicy Wolczanskiej 243 w Lodzi, dawna siedziba Zakladow Odziezowych Wolczanka
"Wólczanka" and the Polish shirt: bespoke underwear, ready-to-wear shirts, and collar technology
The “Wólczanka” Garment Industry Plants were established in Łódź on October 10, 1948, on the street that gave them their name – Wólczańska 243A. At its peak, the plant produced... Read more...
Budynek dawnych Zakładów Odzieżowych Bytom przy ulicy Wrocławskiej 32/34 w Bytomiu
"Bytom" Garment Factory: from guild tailoring to ready-to-wear
On October 22, 1945, in the ruins of a German sewing factory at Wrocławska 32/34 in Bytom, a garment factory began operations: 110 people, 64 machines. In 1975, it produced... Read more...
Damskie kożuchy ze skóry owczej wystawione na sprzedaż na targowisku w Nowym Targu
Podhale furriery and sheepskin coat: Nowy Targ tanneries, serdak and cucha
The guild of furriers in Nowy Targ was established in 1624, but by 1660 there was not a single furrier in the town. In the 19th century, it was the... Read more...
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...
Wnetrze przedwojennej warszawskiej pracowni krawieckiej i sklepu blawatnego
Interiors of Pre-War Tailoring Workshops and Textile Shops: Oak cutting tables, Solingen scissors, and spools of thread from Łódź
Bławaty was an old name for noble fabrics, and a "bławaty shop" was a place where they were sold in cuts measured on an oak counter. A report on the... Read more...
Pilot w skorzanej kurtce lotniczej przed mysliwcem PZL P.11 II RP
PZL P.11 and Zygmunt Puławski: Gull wing, Polish duralumin and leather jackets of pilots of the Second Polish Republic
Zygmunt Puławski designed a gull-wing for the fighter, angled at the fuselage so as not to obstruct the pilot's view of the sky – a solution the world dubbed the... Read more...
Prof. Jan Czochralski - ojciec monokrysztalow krzemu i wspolczesnej elektroniki
Jan Czochralski and the State Factory in Mościce: The father of electronics, industrial chemistry, and a linen lab coat
Berlin, 1916. The head of the iron and steel research laboratory at AEG dips a nib not into an inkwell but into a crucible with molten tin, and pulls out... Read more...