Iconographic Department and Photographic Service
The resources of the Iconographic Department include archival photographs presenting the history of the twentieth century. The basis of this collection is forms the archive created by the KARTA Centre (over 110 000 photographs, 20 000 of them digitised). The Iconographic Department enables the digitisation of photographs brought by guests of the HMH and processes material to be used in temporary exhibitions, publications and other forms of popularisation. Another part of the collection constitutes photographs documenting all events taking place in the History Meeting House.
An educational Photographic Service www.fotohistoria.pl has been launched in 2006 by the HMH and the KARTA Centre. Currently, over 58 000 thousand unique photographs covering the history of the twentieth century have been collected within this project. The main part of this collection comprises photographs from the archives of the KARTA Centre and of the Polish Press Agency.
The Photographic Service aim to present the historical milestones and most important people of the century as well as events of every-day life, all in one collection. The Polish-Bolshevik war, the actions of the Polish Armed Forces, events of March 1968, the introduction of the martial law in 1981 and Pope John Paul II pilgrimages to Poland, all those crucial events of Polish history are documented in our collection.
Photo. 10.07.1055, Khakas Autonomous Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, USSR. Exiles employed in a gold mine with a force-drill used to prospect for new deposits. From left: Ukrainian foreman, Ukrainian worker, Jadwiga Borodziuk. Photo: author unknown. Archives of the KARTA Centre.
We present photographs of famous Poles: Józef Piłsudski, cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, Józef Cyrankiewicz, Bolesław Bierut, Włądysław Gomułka, Lech Wałęsa, Jacek Kuroń, Adam Michnik, Czesław Miłosz. However, our holdings show also less known chapters of Polish history: Poles repressed by Soviet authorities, postwar reconstruction of Warsaw, national and religious holidays.
Holdings are subdivided into thematic files and described in accordance with the international IPTC standard. Every description includes: the date and place in which the photograph was taken, the name of the photographer, a short description with key words and a reference number, which can be used during contacts with copyrights holders. Advanced search options which allow for finding a specific person, place or event are available. Additionally, a time-line tool enables to select pictures from a specific period or even year. However, besides carrying out specific searches, users are given the possibility to browse collections of various organisations. Photographs can be rated and commented on.
The aims of the Photographic Service are:
to gather and catalogue photographs featuring events from the social history of the twentieth century, with special focus on the history of Poland and of Central and Eastern Europe
to protect existing private collections from destruction
to provide access to and popularise the iconographic collection
The Photographic Service continues to add to its collection and encourage all organisations interested in cooperation and in providing access to their materials to contact the Department.
With all questions concerning the Iconographic Department and Photographic Service please contact Mr Dawid Skoblewski: d.skoblewski@dsh.waw.pl