„Dolnośląscy Niepokorni”
(The Defiant Lower Silesians)
This ongoing research project aims to create a comprehensive archive of personal accounts from Lower Silesian activists of opposition organizations, participants in strikes and demonstrations, and anyone involved in resistance against the communist regime who contributed to its downfall. The goal is to build a collection of historical sources that includes information not found in traditional documents and to provide researchers and educators with resources for exploring and disseminating knowledge about Polish societal resistance in the 20th century.
The project is led by Dr Kamil Borecki (kamil.borecki@zajezdnia.org).
„Elity Wrocławia”
(The Elites of Wrocław)
This ongoing research project aims to gather accounts from residents of Wrocław who, through various public roles in local governance, academia, culture, and sport over recent decades, have influenced the city and its inhabitants.
The project is led by Dr Ewa Maj (ewa.maj@zajezdnia.org).
„Wrocławskie Tysiąclatki”
(Wrocław’s Millennium Memorial Schools)
The aim of the project is to analyse the implementation process of the Millennium Memorial Schools programme in Wrocław, based on archival documents, architectural plans, social records, and testimonies from witnesses, including architects, former principals, teachers, and students of these schools.
The project is led by Marcin Musiał (marcin.musiał@zajezdnia.org).
„Doświadczenie totalitaryzmów podczas II wojny światowej w relacjach historii mówionej”
(Experiencing Totalitarianism during World War II in Oral Histories)
This research project, part of the “Wrocław i Falstadt nie zapomną. Polskie i norweskie spojrzenie na totalitaryzmy. Działania edukacyjne, badawcze, wystawiennicze, wydawnicze i popularyzatorskie o różnych doświadczeniach Wrocławia i Falstad totalitaryzmu hitlerowskiego i stalinowskiego w okresie II wojny światowej” (“Wrocław and Falstadt Will Not Forget. Polish and Norwegian Perspectives on Totalitarianism: Educational, Research, Exhibition, Publishing, and Popularization Activities on Various Experiences of Wrocław and Falstad Under Nazi and Stalinist Totalitarianism During World War II”) project, aimed to collect several dozen oral histories from Poles who experienced different aspects of totalitarian oppression during World War II, particularly deportation and forced labour.
The project team was led by Dr. Katarzyna Bock-Matuszyk (katarzyna.matuszyk@zajezdnia.org).
„Klęska ekologiczna w Sudetach Zachodnich a narodziny świadomości ekologicznej w Polsce w latach 80. XX w.”
(Ecological Disaster in the Western Sudetes and the Birth of Environmental Awareness in Poland in the 1980s)
The aim of this ongoing project is to gather oral history accounts from those who witnessed or participated in actions related to the ecological disaster in the Karkonosze and Izera Mountains (the mass forest dieback and environmental degradation during the 1980s). Interviewees to date have included environmental activists (such as members of the Polish Ecological Club), foresters, scientists (geographers, climatologists, soil scientists, economists), officials, and local residents from the affected areas.
The project is being carried out by Dr Marek Szajda (marek.szajda@zajezdnia.org).
Nippern – Niepierzyn – Mrozów. Historia zmiany
(Nippern – Niepierzyn – Mrozów. The Story of Change)
The aim of this ongoing project is to analyse the processes accompanying and resulting from the post-war population exchange in Lower Silesia on a micro-scale, using the example of the village of Mrozów near Wrocław. The project will culminate in an academic monograph, drawing on both existing sources and oral history accounts.
The project is being led by Dr Katarzyna Bock-Matuszyk (katarzyna.matuszyk@zajezdnia.org).
„Listy Milenijne” (2018–2021)
(Millennium Letters)
As part of this project, academic research was conducted in dozens of archives in Poland and abroad, focusing on the invitation letters sent in 1965 by the Polish episcopate to the episcopates of Europe and the world, inviting them to the celebrations of the Millennium of the Baptism of Poland. The project resulted in a monograph by Dr. hab. Wojciech Kucharski, Listy Milenijne, Wrocław 2020, which includes a critical edition and facsimiles of all the discovered invitation letters.
The project was co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the Multiannual Programme Niepodległa for 2017–2022.
„Region czy regiony? Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne (1945–1989)” (2019–2020)
(One Region or Many? The Western and Northern Territories (1945–1989))
This research project, conducted by institutions affiliated with the Western and Northern Territories Network (www.szzip.pl), involved a team of 30 specialists from various humanities disciplines. The aim was to explore whether the territories annexed to Poland after World War II form one cohesive region or rather a collection of smaller regions united by the shared historical experience of post-war population exchange.
The research findings were published in a multi-author academic monograph titled „Region czy regiony? Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne (1945–1989)” (One Region or Many? The Western and Northern Territories 1945–1989), under the academic editorship of Dr. hab. Wojciech Kucharski, released in 2022.
„100 100-latków na 100-lecie” (2017–2020)
(100 Centenarians for the Centenary)
The aim of this project was to gather 100 oral history testimonies from representatives of Poland’s oldest living generation, i.e., individuals born in 1923 or earlier. The project sought to provide a perspective on the last 100 years of Polish history from those who have lived through the entire century. The project resulted in an outdoor exhibition titled Rówieśnicy Niepodległej (also available online) and the publication Rówieśnicy Niepodległej: One Hundred Years of Polish History from the Perspective of the Oldest Poles, edited by K. Bock-Matuszyk, E. Maj, and A. Paprot-Wielopolska, Wrocław 2020.
The project was funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage as part of the Multiannual Programme NIEPODLEGŁA for 2017–2022.
„Grant Oral History” (2011–2020)
This cyclical project aimed to fund research conducted by young scholars using oral history sources on topics related to the past and present of the Western and Northern Territories. Through the allocation of micro-grants, researchers recorded a specified number of testimonies, which were added to the Centre’s Oral History Archive, while also supporting their own research objectives.
The project has been suspended.
