For many older Poles, the journey to the IPN is a pilgrimage. It is a chance to confront the past, to find the name of an informer who betrayed a Solidarity activist, or to locate the final resting place of a Cursed Soldier (Żołnierze Wyklęci).
The IPN is no stranger to controversy. As the institution responsible for prosecuting crimes against the Polish nation, its findings often spark heated public debate. The building at ul. Janusza Kurtyki stands as a symbol of this ongoing reckoning. ipn warszawa adres
– ipn.gov.pl
Previously, the head office was located at ul. Towarowa 28. That address is still sometimes listed online, but it is since the move to ul. Kurtyki 1. For many older Poles, the journey to the IPN is a pilgrimage
Walking into the reading room, the atmosphere is hushed but charged. Researchers pore over thousands of linear meters of files. These documents contain the blueprints of the totalitarian state: surveillance logs, interrogation transcripts, and operational plans. – ipn
Tucked away in the Wola district, at ul. Janusza Kurtyki 1 (formerly ul. Janusza Jędrzejowicza) , stands the modern, functionalist headquarters of the Institute of National Remembrance (Instytut Pamięci Narodowej - IPN). While it shares the city with museums and monuments, this building serves a different purpose: it is the engine room of historical memory.
More than just an address on Wieczorkowskiego Street, the IPN Warsaw branch serves as the custodian of Poland’s turbulent 20th-century narrative, bridging the gap between archival documents and public memory.