On 12-16 December the Institute of National Remembrance hosted representatives of the Bulgarian Commission for the Disclosure of the Documents and Announcing Affiliation of Bulgarian Citizens to the State Security and the Intelligence Services of the Bulgarian National Army (COMDOS): Todor Trifonov, member of the Commission and experts of the Commission: Antoniya Topchieva, Valentin Nikolov, Krasimir Krastev, Silviya Atanasova and Maya Nikolova. The purpose of the visit was familiarising the guests with the structure and working methods of the IPN Archives.
The first stage of the visit was the meeting at the IPN Headquarters in Warsaw, which was hosted by dr Rafał Leśkiewicz, Director of the Office for the Preservation and Dissemination of Archival Records. The meeting was also attended by the representatives of the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes and the Archive of Security Service: Director of the Institute – Daniel Herman, as well as dr Pavel Žáček and Patrik Košický. During the meeting, dr Rafał Leśkiewicz presented the activity of IPN in the area of archival materials, especially with regards to archival resources and categories of collections of the resources. In addition, he described the system of disseminating, editing and digitalising documents and finally the scope of international cooperation of the Archives.
Radosław Peterman, Vice Director of the Vetting Office presented the typology and the possibilities of the on-line access to the catalogues of the Vetting Office. Attorney Edyta Karolak described the legal basis of the IPN’s vetting activity.
Members of the delegation had the opportunity to explore the premises of IPN’s archives in two locations in Warsaw, where they saw the process of digitalising archival resources of IPN and learnt about the electronic systems for processing of archival information. Furthermore, the guests visited the Warsaw Rising Museum.
The second stage of the study tour was visiting the IPN’s Cracow Branch Office for the Preservation and Dissemination of Archival Records at Wieliczka. Members of the delegation met with dr Marek Lasota – Director of the Institute of National Remembrance Branch in Cracow, and subsequently visited the archives where they could yet again, get acquainted with various types of operational files and learn about the procedures and equipment implemented by the Reprographic Unit of the Archives.