Cheat Sheet - Genealogy in Poland

Genealogy: How to find your Polish ancestors? We guide you with useful links to archive sites!

©️Gallica - BnF

Archives in Poland

Before you begin: Excerpt of Polish history for genealogical research 

Translator: Deepl - A translator can be useful for civil records written in Polish, Russian (since 1868 for the center and the east of the country), German (in the Poznan and Wroclaw regions) or even Latin (in Galicia).

Good to know: 

To consult Catholic parish registers before 1850, you need to contact diocesan archives or parishes. For more recent parish registers of all religions, contact the "Archiwum Państwowe" (national archives). This is where censuses, notarial acts, cadastre, etc. are kept.

Civil records less than 100 years old are freely accessible for descendants at the "Urzad Stanu Cywilnego" (civil registry offices). 

Polish State Archives

On this site, you can search civil registers and view maps, photos, videos, and other archive files. 

The site is partially translated into English, but you may still need a translator to understand the register titles. 

Online Resources 

Ancestry - Online Archives for Poland 

FamilySearch - Genealogy in Poland 

Joint State Genealogical Archives Project in Torun and Bydgoszcz for residents of Kuyavia and Pomerania

JRI Poland - Indexing Jewish Registers in Poland 

Genealogy of the descendants of the Great Sejm

Czestochowa-Radomsko Area Research Group - List of Polish Holocaust victims and survivors 

List of people buried in the Jewish cemetery of Łódź

Migrations to and from Poland

Notre Polonia de France - Resource site for the Polish diaspora in France 

Polish diaspora in France

Polish immigration in France

Didier Lecoustre - Polish immigration

Généalogie Gomez Lechatel - Polish immigration in France

Polish agricultural workers in France in the 20th century

A difficult integration: the Poles in France in the early 20th century

Polish immigration in France in the 1920s, by Alain Szelong

Polish immigration in the mining basin of Tarn (1919-39)

Poland in Images

Archive Photos

Collections of the Polish National Archives
Digital archives of the State Archives

Fotopolska - Old photos of Poland

Gallica - Archives of Poland

Old Maps of the Country

Stare Nowe Mapy - Historical maps of Poland

Fotopolska - Maps of Poland

Gallica - Maps of Poland

Useful Genealogy Sites for Poland

Online Help 

Genealogy in Poland - Philippe Christol, professional genealogist

Beskid Site - General information about genealogy in Poland 

Polishroots

PolandGenweb

JewishGen

Routes to Roots Foundation - Jewish genealogy in Western Europe 

Geneawiki - Genealogical research in Poland 

Geneachtimi Forum - Polish Genealogy 

Facebook Group - Polish Genealogy 

Facebook Group - France Poland Genealogy

Association Sites 

Polish Genealogical Society (PL) - Polskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne

Szlachta - Association of Polish nobility

Genealogical Society of Greater Poland "Gniazdo"

Franco-Polish Club 

Circle of Jewish Genealogy

Polish Genealogical Society of America

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