We are an independent, non-governmental public organization. We present, preserve and popularize history, shown from the personal perspective. We do it in a way that the past becomes a source of mutual understanding, helps to build civil society and encourages to look for reconciliation.
For details, please visit web-page karta.org.pl,
We are engaged in archival work
KARTA is one of the largest Polish public archives. We are collecting (mainly from the private persons) photos, documents, correspondence, diaries, audio- and video recordings as well as memorabilia and museum pieces. We reach out to witnesses of history, living in Poland and all over the world, record their testimonies, secure and protect documents that could be destroyed. We run a reading room and an academic library. Our collections are available on the Internet and in our residence.
Here you will find the unique archives. Among them there are photos, biographical narratives, documents about repressions of Polish citizens under Soviet occupation, Polish largest collection of oral history, archival collections of Polish opposition as well as the collection "Solidarność - The Birth of a Movement", included to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We are engaged in publishing and exhibition work
Our publications are centered around personal testimonies and narratives of history witnesses. In the historical quarterly "Karta", as well as in books and albums we publish source texts and collections of sources. Our publications are available through the Internet bookstore, at our headquarters at 29 Narbutta Street in Warsaw, and in some bookstores throughout the country.
Thanks to our publications and exhibitions, the past becomes closer, almost tangible, and more comprehensible. Approaching from this perspective, history not only shows its multidimensionality and complexity, but also reveals its human face.
We are active in the field of public archiving
For many years we have been advocating for the Polish public archives milieu. In February 2020, together with the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, we established the Centre for Public Archival Studies (CAS), which continues and develops our previous activities in this field. The mission of CAS is to integrate, promote and support Polish organizations involved in the independent, grassroots archival activity. It provides archivists with knowledge and free resources, including a program for processing and presenting public archives collections online - the Open Archiving System.
We are engaged in the educational activity
We organise youth history competitions as well as local encounters based on our non-fiction publications. We popularize history through projects, elaborated presentations and internet portals, such as uczycsiezhistorii.pl, wojnaipamiec.pl, polska1926.pl.
Here you will find inspirations for your own educational programs and valuable materials for your lessons or youth projects. Thanks to our activities you can become a history researcher yourself.
KARTA Center Foundation is a member of the National Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations, Polish Book Chamber, the international network of history competitions EUSTORY and Platform of European Memory and Conscience.
Council of KARTA Center Foundation
Prof. Barbara Engelking
Prof. Andrzej Friszke
Prof. Jerzy Kochanowski
prof. Marcin Kula
prof. Andrzej Paczkowski
Anna Stankiewicz
Dawid Walendowski
Prof. Dariusz Stola – chairman of the Council
Board of KARTA Center Foundation
Zbigniew Gluza – President of the Board
Katarzyna Górny – Member of the Board
Magdalena Kornacka-Jaskulska – Member of the Board
Fundacja Ośrodka KARTA deklaruje, że przestrzega praw człowieka, stosuje zasady równego traktowania i prowadzi działalność wolną od jakiejkolwiek dyskryminacji ze względu na cechy takie jak płeć, rasa (rodzaj skóry), pochodzenie etniczne lub narodowość.
