Chief Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation

Chief Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (Polish: Główna Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu) is a governmental agency created in 1945 in Poland. It is tasked with investigating German atrocities and (since 1991) communist ones. In 1999 it was transformed into the main organizational unit of the investigative department of the Institute of National Remembrance.

Naming

The commission was created in the aftermath of World War II under leadership of the Polish communist and Auschwitz survivor Alfred Fiderkiewicz, to investigate Nazi crimes against the Polish nation.[1] Following the fall of communism in Poland and revision of its mission in 1991, it was also tasked with investigate communist crimes in Poland.[1][2][3]

The commission, first established in 1945, predates the Institute, which was created in 1998, though the Institute name was first used by the commission in 1984. The Commission has undergone a number of name changes:[1][2][4]

  • From 1945 to 1949 it was known as the Chief Commission for Investigation of German Crimes in Poland (Główna Komisja Badania Zbrodni Niemieckich w Polsce).
  • From 1949 to 1984 it was known as the Chief Commission for Investigation of Hitlerite Crimes in Poland (Główna Komisja Badania Zbrodni Hitlerowskich w Polsce).
  • In the period from 1984 to 1991 it was known as the Chief Commission for Investigation of Hitlerite Crimes in Poland – Institute of National Remembrance (Główna Komisja Badania Zbrodni Hitlerowskich w Polsce – Instytut Pamięci Narodowej).
  • In the period from 1991 to 1999 it was known as the Chief Commission for Investigation of Crimes against the Polish Nation – Institute of National Remembrance (Główna Komisja Badania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu – Instytut Pamięci Narodowej).

In 1999 the commission was merged into the Institute of National Remembrance, becoming the main organizational unit of its investigative department,[5][4][1][6] and its name became the Chief Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation.[7][8]

There are also differences in unofficial translations of the commission name in various sources, with the word Main used instead of Chief, Research(ing) or Examination instead of Investigation, Nazi instead of Hitlerite, and Atrocities instead of Crimes; ex."Main Commission for Researching Crimes against the Polish nation".[9][10][11][12]

Activities

Upon its creation, it was tasked with the following:

  • investigate crimes committed by Nazi Germany in the years 1939–1945 on Polish territories in general and on Polish citizens in other territories occupied by Nazi Germany and in Germany itself
  • collect and archive materials about said crimes and
  • analyze said materials and publish analysis on this topic.[1] This last aspect of its mission has been described as educational.[11]

Polish criminal code also stated that investigations of the commission have equal status to court proceedings.[1]

The commission has been instrumental in providing evidence for the war criminal trials carried out in Poland by the Supreme National Tribunal (1945–1948), including for the trials of Albert Forster, Rudolf Höss and Amon Göth.[1][2] By 1950 the Commission had succeeded in getting approximately 2,000 German war criminals extradited to Poland.[1] Its materials were used in later trials of Ludwig Hahn, Erich Koch and Wilhelm Rosenbaum, among others.[2] In 1968 its experts and materials were used to aid the United Nations in drafting of the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.[2] It has also fathered the most comprehensive collection of materials about World War II atrocities in Poland in existence.[1] By 1989 nearly 20,000 Germans were sentenced in Poland for war crimes.[9]

Starting in 1946, the Commission has published an academic journal describing its activities and findings.[1][2] The journal has changed its name several times; since 1995 it is published as Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość.[13][14]

See also

References
  1. "Główna Komisja Badań Zbrodni na Narodzie Polskim — Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Encyklopedia PWN". encyklopedia.pwn.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  2. Łukasz Jasiński, Sprawiedliwość i polityka. Działalność Głównej Komisji Badania Zbrodni Niemieckich/ Hitlerowskich w Polsce 1945–1989* Archived 2019-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Dzieje Najnowsze, Rocznik L – 2018, 1
  3. Apor, Péter; Horváth, Sándor; Mark, James (2017-09-27). Secret Agents and the Memory of Everyday Collaboration in Communist Eastern Europe. Anthem Press. p. 43. ISBN 9781783087242.
  4. Narodowej, Instytut Pamięci. "Magdalena Sierocińska "Oddziałowa Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu w Poznaniu – zarys działalności i jej zadania"". Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  5. "Zapytanie w sprawie możliwości wyodrębnienia ze struktur Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej pionu śledczego i ujęcia go w strukturze prokuratury jako pionu ds. ścigania zbrodni przeciwko narodowi polskiemu". orka2.sejm.gov.pl. Archived from the original on 2019-06-23. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  6. Lewandowski, Przemysław (2015). "Główna Komisja Badania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu w Polsce (1945–1999)". Piotrkowskie Zeszyty Historyczne (in Polish). 16 (_): 145–172. ISSN 2081-2663. Archived from the original on 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  7. Narodowej, Instytut Pamięci. "Główna Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu". Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  8. Remembrance, Institute of National. "Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation. ABOUT THE IPN". Institute of National Remembrance. Archived from the original on 2019-05-27. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  9. Mikaberidze, Alexander (2013-06-25). Atrocities, Massacres, and War Crimes: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 531. ISBN 9781598849264.
  10. Polonsky, Antony; Michlic, Joanna B. (2009-04-11). The Neighbors Respond: The Controversy over the Jedwabne Massacre in Poland. Princeton University Press. p. 461. ISBN 9781400825813.
  11. Wolchik, Sharon L.; Curry, Jane Leftwich (2014-12-24). Central and East European Politics: From Communism to Democracy. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 181. ISBN 9781442224223.
  12. Bazyler, Michael J.; Tuerkheimer, Frank M. (December 2015). Forgotten Trials of the Holocaust. NYU Press. p. 114. ISBN 9781479899241.
  13. "Biuletyn Głównej Komisji Badania Zbrodni Niemieckich w Polsce". bs.sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  14. "Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość : biuletyn Głównej Komisji Badania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu – Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej". bs.sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
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