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	HU OSA 300-50
Fonds 300:	Records of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Research Institute (RFE/RL RI)
Subfonds 50:	Polish Unit

Date(s) 1951-1994

Extent and medium

3124 Archival boxes, 391 linear meters
28 Archival card boxes, 9 linear meters
Total: 399 linear meters

Name of creator(s)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Research Institute: Information Resources Department: East European Archives: Polish Unit

Scope and content

Materials in this subfonds include press clippings, news agency releases, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty research papers and background analyses, Information Items, index cards, posters, leaflets, telexes and letters.
The records of the Polish Unit give a broad picture of postwar Polish political life, economics, culture and arts, religions, media, social, trade union and military issues. The files on the Solidarity movement give a wide picture about Poland in 1980-1985.
Originating from unofficial and non-public but usually reliable sources (interviews with refugees, escapees, and dissidents), the Information Items also have a special value among the records, but unfortunately in 1973 the evaluators deleted most of the originals, and now these are researchable only in microfilm format.
The biographical files, together with the biographic sections of the Subject Card Files, contain invaluable information on thousands of individuals playing major or less important roles in Poland's political, economic, and cultural life.
The collected correspondence and telex materials are also valuable parts of the series.
The Polish Unit has two very special and interesting series, which partly contain confidential documents even, on the Polish Secret Intelligence Service, and on different RFE operations. These are the Interviews with Jozef Swiatlo, Andrzej Czechowich, Mieczyslaw Lach and Andrzej Smolinski.
The RFE News Bureaus' and the Confidential Reports also give a special and unic picture of Poland and the political movements in the 70's.

Accruals Not expected

System of arrangement

• HU OSA 300-50-1 Old Code Subject Files, 1951-1993
• HU OSA 300-50-2 New Code Subject Files, 1953-1991
• HU OSA 300-50-3 Subject Card Files, 1952-1992
• HU OSA 300-50-5 Subject Files relating to Fight with Church, Poznan Trials and Repatriation, 1953-1965
• HU OSA 300-50-6 Interviews with Józef Swiatlo, 1954-1955
• HU OSA 300-50-7 Subject Files: clippings, samizdat and monitoring materials
• HU OSA 300-50-8 Subject Files: news agency's releases in English
• HU OSA 300-50-9 Interviews with Andrzej Czechovicz, Mieczyslaw Lach and Andrzej Smolinski, 1971-1975
• HU OSA 300-50-10 Polish Evaluation Index Cards
• HU OSA 300-50-11 Information Items, 1970-1971
• HU OSA 300-50-12 Reports of the RFE News Bureaus, 1970-1976
• HU OSA 300-50-13 RFE Confidential Reports on Poland, 1971-1975
• HU OSA 300-50-14 Evaluating Cards of Information Items
• HU OSA 300-50-15 Biographical Files, 1951-1992
• HU OSA 300-50-16 Monitoring of the Polish Radio, 1952-1994
• HU OSA 300-50-17 Monitoring of the Polish TV, 1982
• HU OSA 300-50-18 Press Bulletin
• HU OSA 300-50-19 Press Summary
• HU OSA 300-50-21 Transcripts of the RFE program ''Rakowiecka 2''
• HU OSA 300-50-22 Transcripts and Analyses of Seweryn Bialer, 1956-1957
• HU OSA 300-50-23 Report of the Workers' Defense Committee (KOR)
• HU OSA 300-50-24 Letters Sent to RFE
• HU OSA 300-50-26 Internal Memos
• HU OSA 300-50-50 Additions to Subject Files

Language/scripts of material

Principally Polish and English, but also German, Russian and French

Finding aids

• Related OSA Reference Information Papers is available.

Related materials

• HU OSA 300-20 Bulgarian Unit, 1949-1994
• HU OSA 300-30 Czechoslovak Unit, 1951-1994
• HU OSA 300-40 Hungarian Unit, 1949-1995
• HU OSA 300-60 Romanian Unit, 1946-1995
• HU OSA 300-80 Soviet Red Archives, 1953-1994
• HU OSA 300-55 Polish Underground Publications Unit, 1981-1990

Date(s) of descriptions

Processed by Mikolaj Kunicki, Isabella Main, Miklós Bányász, Lajos Ludmann, and Miklós Tamási; described by Miklós Tamási, July 11, 2002
Online version updated 18 December 2008