From pole to pole
For information on Poland today and Polish culture:
• Polish government online
<poland.pl>: Features information about issues in the country today.
• Polish Embassy
2640 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 234-3800, <www.polishworld.com/polemb/>
• Polish National Tourist Office (Orbis)
275 Madison Ave., Suite 1711, New York, NY 10016, (212) 338-9412, <www.polandtour.org>
• US Embassy
Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, 00540 Warsaw, Poland, 48-22-628-3041. Consulate General, Ulica Stolarska 9, 31043 Krakow, Poland, 48-12-211-400. Consular Agency, Ulica Paderewskiego 8, 61708 Poznan, Poland, 48-61-518-516.
• Polish World
<www.polishworld.com>: Links to Polish news, organizations and travel.
• Poland.net
<www.poland.net>: Online guide to Polish businesses and Internet culture.
• Indiana University Polish Studies Center
1217 E. Atwater Ave., Bloomington, IN 47401,(813)855-1507, <www.indiana.edu/~polishst/>: Offers lectures, concerts and holiday activities at the eight Indiana University campuses.
• American Center of Polish Culture
2025 O St. NW, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 785-2320, <www.polishcenter.org>: Seeks to build interest and a positive image for Polish life and culture.
• Polish American Cultural Center
308 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106, (215) 922-1700, <www.polishamericancenter.org>: Nice listing of Polish-American radio programs; there’s also a museum and gift shop.
• American Institute of Polish Culture
1440 79th St. Causeway, Suite 117, Miami, FL 33141, (305) 864-2349, <www.ampolinstitute.org>: Seeks to share Poland’s heritage and promote endeavors of Polish-Americans.
• Polish American Association
3834 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago, IL 60641, (773) 282-8206, <www.polish.org>: Aims to improve the well-being of Poles and Polish-Americans today.
• Polish American Congress
Polish Roots on the Web
Federation of East European Family History Societies
www.feefhs.org
Searchable database of nearly 500,000 Central and Eastern European surnames. Write Box 510898, Salt Lake City, UT 84151.
PolishRoots
www.polishroots.com
Nifty site with links and information on everything from culture and customs to databases to an events calendar.
Polish Genealogical Society of America
www.pgsa.org
Provides books, newsletters, bulletins and an annual workshop. There are more than 1,800 members, primarily in the United States. The site provides little help with searches for specific surnames. More extensive files are available at the office, 984 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60622. The Polish Museum of America is just steps away.
Polish Genealogical Word List
wiki.familysearch.org/en/Poland_Genealogical_Word_List
Quick guide to common words you’ll run across in research.
PolandGenWeb
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~polwgw/
Information about each Polish province as well as guides to researching in America and obtaining Polish records.
State Archives of Poland
www.archiwa.gov.pl/en/for-archive-users/genealogy.html
Provides an explanation of holdings in both English and Polish. In addition to records of national importance kept in Warsaw, some family, town and other records can be found in about 80 provincial and local offices. Check the site for those addresses; the state archives says while most of the regional archives date from the 19th and 20th centuries, some records go back to medieval times. Best bet for old records: Gdansk, Krakow, Lublin, Olsztyn, Poznan, Szczecin and Wroclaw. Foreigners who wish to access genealogical records must obtain permission from the archives’ managing director. For information about documents produced before 1945, write Archiwum Glowne Akt Dawnych, 00-263 Warszawa, ul. Dluga 7. Phone 48-22-831-54-91.
From the December 2000 issue of Family Tree Magazine
