Instytut Zachodni

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Headquarters of the Poznan West Institute

The Instytut Zachodni im. Zygmunta Wojciechowskiego , based in Poznan (English: Institute for Western Affairs , German: Westinstitut, French: Institut Occidental ) is a state organizational unit, established by the law of December 17, 2015, and is the legal successor to the Instytut Zachodni - Instytut, which has existed since 1944 Naukowo-Badawczy im. Zygmunta Wojciechowskiego . The institute is subject to the supervision of the Prime Minister. The IZ deals with the observation and analysis of political, economic and legal developments in Germany and follows German-Polish relations as well as international issues such as: processes in the European Union , transatlantic relations, global challenges and dangers. The main task of the IZ is: the scientific research of the above-mentioned processes and the preparation of analyzes, reports, expertises and forecast studies for the needs of public authorities in Poland .

History and function of the Instytut Zachodni

The origin of the Western Institute is deeply connected with the “ Western Idea ” and thus with the historical memory of the western regions of Poland. In the interwar period, the western idea developed particularly at the University in Poznan, which became an important center for research on German studies, German-Polish relations and the Polish past of the western regions. Posen's scientific circles gathered such outstanding scholars as: Jan Czekanowski , Kazimierz Tymieniecki , Teodor Tyc , Józef Kostrzewski , Mikołaj Rudnicki , Maria Kiełczewska-Zaleska and Zygmunt Wojciechowski.

The idea of ​​founding a specialized research institute to deal with the German problem and the difficult history of the German-Polish neighborhood arose during the Second World War in the second half of 1943 as part of the underground organization "Ojczyzna" [ Fatherland ], the was connected to the structures of the Polish underground state .

“Ojczyzna” directed the work of the so-called West Section of the Information and Press Department of the Polish government delegation for the country. Even then, the activists of "Ojczyzna", among whom Zygmunt Wojciechowski , Edmund Męclewski , Jan Jacek Nikisch, Edward Serwański , Andrzej Grodek and Jan Zdzitowiecki participated, were considered to be important creative forces in the post-war Polish order and brought Poland back to the old borders of the Kingdom of Piasts on Oder and Lusatian Neisse prepared. At that time, the name of the later institution, Instytut Zachodni, but also the title for its most important trade journal, “ Przegląd Zachodni ”, was conceived for the first time. The first document describing the research profile and organizational structure of the Western Institute was prepared in December 1944 in the form of a note to the government delegation for the home country. The point in time is considered to be the actual founding date of the Western Institute.

The actual idea of ​​founding the Western Institute arose in Milanówek near Warsaw , where Z. Wojciechowski was staying at the time and where other initiators of this idea from the “Ojczyzna” organization met conspiratorially, v. a. A. Grodek, E. Męclewski and J. Zdzitowiecki. From the beginning there was no doubt about the choice of the city of Poznań as the seat of the future Western Institute, as one was clearly looking for a link to the tradition of the “Western Thought” and German studies as it had been practiced at the University in Poznań.

The West Institute was officially founded on February 27, 1945, shortly after Wojciechowski had addressed a memorandum to Prime Minister Edward Osóbka-Morawski . The institute's statutes were confirmed on August 6, 1945. The initiator Z. Wojciechowski, legal historian and expert on German-Polish history, became the first director of the Western Institute. The scientific tasks of the institute at that time included the reappraisal of the German occupation, the analysis of the process of integrating the western areas into the Polish state and research into the history of Polish-German relations. This profile was then gradually expanded to include the question of European integration (a pioneering research in Poland), the problems of the two coexisting German states, the development of East-Central Europe and finally, in general, East-West relations.

The turn of the year 1989/1990 opened up new research possibilities for the institute by expanding and deepening the scope of the topics. The question of the process of integration and disintegration of Europe was taken up on a broad scale, including the unification of Germany, the role of Germany on the international level, the problem of German inheritance in the western regions and the question of collective security in a regional and global aspect as well as the transatlantic relations.

The institute functioned as a scientific research facility until 1991, with the “Verein Westinstitut” as the founding body taking on the supervisory function. This solution ensured the material basis for the research work and at the same time ensured the connection between the permanent staff and the scientific circles in Poznań and in Poland. In 1991 the West Institute first became a research and development facility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and from 2013 of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The Instytut Zachodni acquired its current legal status as a state organizational unit subordinate to the Prime Minister's Office on December 17, 2015 on the basis of a relevant law.

Structure of the institute

Directors of the institute

Justyna Schulz (2019)

Departments of the institute

a. Area for research and analysis

  1. Team: Germany - state, society, economy
  2. Team: Germany - Europe - World
  3. Team: history and politics
  4. Team: Global Security
  5. Project: western and northern areas

b. Organization department

c. accounting

Library

The collections of the library of the Instytut Zachodni include a total of over 120,000 titles (including a large German-language press inventory) and are considered the largest special collections in the field of research in Germany; Furthermore, the library of the IZ has rich and valuable collections not only on the history of Poland and general history, but also on European questions, problems of international relations and sociological, legal and economic questions.

Document collection

The holdings of the Western Institute contain original archive material (digitized): the archive of the Second World War - and the archive of the western territories. For years, documents, memories and various personal records, archive materials, photos and publications from the time of the occupation were collected here. These form the archive of World War II. The archive material from these collections was recorded in monographs and albums, presented at exhibitions and used in documentaries and reports. In the Archives of the Western Regions, on the other hand, one can find, among other things, the products of the pioneering scientific work of the Western Institute, which was carried out in the Recovered Territories immediately after the war , and memoirs of the inhabitants of these regions, which were collected and edited by the Western Institute in 1956, 1966 and 1970 .

publishing company

The publishing house of the Western Institute, which has existed since 1945, has so far published over 400 books, the 350-copy magazine “Przegląd Zachodni” (in the past the magazine was also published in English, French and German) and many other occasional publications and book series. He not only publishes the scientific research of the staff of the institute, but also the work of other, thematically relevant scientific groups from Poland and abroad.

Council of the Institute

The council was appointed by virtue of a parliamentary law and supervises the work of the Western Institute.

Composition (2016-2020):

Research and analysis program of the institute

Research and analyzes are carried out in the most important areas:

  1. Germany: internal (political, economic, social, legal) issues;
  2. Germany at the international level (including within the framework of the EU and the transatlantic system as well as with regard to its global commitment and its security policy);
  3. Historical, political and legal aspects of Polish-German relations, including the shaping of collective memory and historical politics; and more specifically the history of Germany;
  4. Global challenges and security issues (including terrorism, migration, humanitarian aid);
  5. West and North areas: historical, sociological and cultural aspects.

Results of the research and analysis work

The results of the research and analysis work carried out in the Westinstitut are presented in the form of: publications, elaborations for public administrative authorities, online publications.

Publications

  • Monographs and collected works, published as part of the publication series: Books of the Western Institute ( Prace Instytutu Zachodniego ), Library "Przegląd Zachodni" ( Biblioteka "Przeglądu Zachodniego" ), studies for German Studies ( study Niemcoznawcze ) European Studies ( Studia Europejskie ), Western Areas - studies and documents ( Ziemie Zachodnie - Studia i Materiały ), collections of sources on the German occupation ( Documenta Occupationis ), IZ Policy Papers and others;
  • Scientific journal “Przegląd Zachodni” (published since 1945; digitized);

Preparations for public administration authorities

"BISE notes", "BISE expertises", "BISE reports", "Safety indicators" and irregular publications.

Online publications

"BISE Bulletin", "IZ Policy Papers", "From the BISE Archive"

Archives of the Minister Krzysztof Skubiszewski

An integral part of the Western Institute is the archive of Minister Krzysztof Skubiszewski . This is a donation made in 2014 by Krzysztof Skubiszewski's family. Krzysztof Skubiszewski worked as Polish Foreign Minister from 1989 to 1993 and was an outstanding lawyer and diplomat in a historically unique transition period. In addition to his abundant book inventory, he left behind numerous documents, his correspondence, handwritten notes, photos and personal family mementos.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Law of December 17, 2015 on the "Zygmunt Wojciechowski Westinstitut" (Journal of Laws of 2015, item 2292)
  2. ↑ Marian Mroczko, The Polish "Western thought" 1918-1939. Kształtowanie i upowszechnianie , Instytut Zachodni, Poznań 1986
  3. ^ Zbigniew Mazur, Ancestors. On the political roots of the Western Institute , Instytut Zachodni, Poznań 2002
  4. ^ Organizational framework for the Western Institute, in: Western Institute in Documents , Red. A. Choniawko, Z. Mazur, Instytut Zachodni, Poznań 2006, p. 39
  5. ↑ a b Memorandum on the Western Institute, in: Western Institute in Documents , Red. A. Choniawko, Z. Mazur, Instytut Zachodni, Poznań 2006, p. 40.