Archiwa Instytutu Polskiego i Muzeum im. gen. Sikorskiego jako źródło do opracowania monografii i biografii

Abstract

The Archives of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London are a veritable gold mine of primary sources for persons wishing to write the biographies of Polish politicians, soldiers, diplomats, writers, painters of the twentieth century. The same is true of monographs about formations and units of the Polish Armed forces and the battles of the Second World War. Moreover, the sources available can enrich the biographies of British and other allied commanders, politicians and diplomats, something which unfortunately many foreign historians fail to take into account when researching their topic. The papers presents the complexity of undertaking research taking as an example the biography of General Władysław Anders (1890–1970). The sheer volume of primary sources available at the Institute make this a monumental task necessitating strict inner discipline not to be overwhelmed by it. This may in part explain why to date there is no single volume biography of the General encompassing his entire life and the many faceted aspects of his activities.