Archiwa kościelne na ziemiach zachodnich i północnych a badania regionalne

Abstract

The article presents the history of creation and organization of the archives in the western and northern territory of Poland (the recovered territories), as well as preparation of staff to work in these institutions. Much space is devoted to the use of the collections for scientific work and the most important publications about the region are listed. Also, the role of these archives in the teaching process at universities or in the dissemination of knowledge is pointed out. Church archives in the western and northern territory have also become the institutions integrating and connecting the two communities – the German one (inhabitating the territory before 1945) and the Polish one. Employees of these archives as ones of the first alluded cooperation with former residents, who found a new homeland in western Germany, answer the questions about genealogical research or participate in a number of scientific symposia. Meetings organized for youth and school children and training courses prepared for students are also an important measure of the commitment of church archives in the regional sense. Creation of good conditions for the storage of records and development of resources made implementation of these tasks easier. Extensive cooperation has also appeared after the erection of the Universities of Szczecin, Opole and Olsztyn.