World War II displaced more Poles than almost any other people on earth. By 1945, millions of Polish citizens were living outside Poland’s borders — in Germany and Austria as forced labourers and concentration camp survivors, in Britain and Italy as soldiers, in the Soviet Union as deportees, in Iran and Palestine as Anders Army veterans and their families. Their journeys through war left a paper trail across dozens of countries and archives that genealogists are still working to fully map.
If your Polish ancestor’s story includes displacement, forced labour, military service abroad, or refugee status during World War II, this guide covers the key record collections, the archives that hold them, and the research strategies that work best for this complex era.
Table of Contents
- Why WWII Polish Research Is Complex
- Displaced Persons Records
- The Arolsen Archives
- UNRRA and IRO Records
- Forced Labour and Concentration Camp Records
- Polish Armed Forces Records
- The Anders Army and Polish Forces in the Middle East
- Soviet Deportees and the Siberian Exiles
- Katyń and the Murdered Officers
- Post-War Resettlement Records
- Final Thoughts
Why WWII Polish Research Is Complex
Poland was invaded from both sides in September 1939 — Germany from the west, the Soviet Union from the east under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The subsequent six years subjected Polish civilians and soldiers to an extraordinary range of experiences: occupation, deportation, forced labour, concentration camps, partisan resistance, military service under multiple commands, displacement, and ultimately the total redrawing of Poland’s borders. Each of these experiences generated its own set of records — in different languages, held in different countries, with different access conditions.
The key to WWII Polish research is knowing which experience your ancestor had, because that determines which archive system to search. A civilian deported to Siberia by the Soviets requires completely different research pathways from a forced labourer taken to Germany or a soldier serving in Britain under Polish command.
Displaced Persons Records
After the war ended in May 1945, approximately 1 million Polish displaced persons (DPs) were in western Germany, Austria, and Italy — people who had been forced labourers, concentration camp survivors, POWs, or who had fled Soviet-controlled eastern Poland and refused to return to a communist-dominated homeland. These DPs were registered, processed, and eventually resettled by Allied authorities and international relief organisations, creating substantial documentation in the process.
DP Camp Registration Cards
Displaced persons in Allied-controlled Germany and Austria were registered at DP camps and assembly centres. Registration cards typically recorded: full name, birth date and place, nationality, pre-war residence, war experiences (forced labour, concentration camp, POW status), and destination country preference. These cards are held primarily at the Arolsen Archives (Germany) and, for some collections, at the US National Archives.
SHAEF and Allied Military Government Records
The Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) and the subsequent Allied Military Government generated administrative records covering DP management in the western occupation zones. These are held at the US National Archives in College Park, Maryland, and at the UK National Archives in Kew.
The Arolsen Archives
The Arolsen Archives (formerly the International Tracing Service) in Bad Arolsen, Germany, hold the world’s most comprehensive collection of Holocaust and forced labour documentation — approximately 30 million documents covering 17.5 million victims and survivors. For WWII Polish research, this is the single most important archive.
The Arolsen Archives online portal allows free searching by name and requesting copies of documents. Results can include: concentration camp admission records, forced labour registration cards, death certificates from camps, DP registration files, and the correspondence files created by the ITS while tracing missing persons after the war. Requesting documents is free; responses are typically delivered digitally within a few weeks.
The Arolsen Archives are invaluable not just for victims of Nazi persecution but for any Polish civilian who passed through German-controlled territory — forced labourers, POWs, and DPs all generated records that may be in this collection.
UNRRA and IRO Records
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA, 1943–1947) and its successor the International Refugee Organisation (IRO, 1947–1952) managed the resettlement of millions of European DPs after the war, including approximately 130,000 Poles who ultimately resettled in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere rather than return to communist Poland.
IRO case files for Polish DPs who resettled in various countries can be extraordinarily detailed — recording pre-war biographical information, wartime experiences, family members (including those left behind in Poland), skills and occupations, and resettlement destination. These files are held at the Arolsen Archives and at national archives in the resettlement countries (US National Archives, UK National Archives, Library and Archives Canada, National Archives of Australia).
Forced Labour and Concentration Camp Records
The Nazi regime transported approximately 1.5 million Polish civilians to Germany and German-occupied territory as forced labourers. Additional millions were imprisoned in concentration camps, labour camps, and transit camps across occupied Europe. Records of this system are extensive — the Nazi bureaucracy was meticulous — and many survive.
The Arolsen Archives hold the most comprehensive collection of camp records. Individual camp records are also held at the relevant national archives — for example, records from camps in what is now Poland are at Polish state archives and the IPN (Institute of National Remembrance). The USHMM in Washington DC holds microfilm copies of many camp record collections and its online collections database (collections.ushmm.org) is searchable.
Polish Armed Forces Records
Several distinct Polish military formations existed during WWII, each generating its own personnel records. The Central Military Archive (CAW) in Warsaw is the primary repository for Polish military records, though holdings are uneven due to wartime losses. The CAW portal (caw.wp.mil.pl) provides guidance on what’s available and how to request records.
The Anders Army and Polish Forces in the Middle East
One of the most remarkable stories of the war: approximately 115,000 Polish soldiers and civilians were released from Soviet captivity in 1941–1942 and, under General Władysław Anders, travelled through Iran, Iraq, Palestine, and Egypt before serving in Italy (notably at Monte Cassino) under British command.
The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London holds the most extensive collection of Polish Armed Forces in the West records, including personnel files for many Anders Army veterans. The UK National Archives holds British Army records covering Polish units under British command. For civilians who accompanied the Anders Army (wives, children, elderly relatives released with the soldiers), records are at the Sikorski Institute and partly at the USHMM.
Soviet Deportees and the Siberian Exiles
Between 1939 and 1941, the Soviet NKVD conducted four mass deportations of Polish citizens from Soviet-occupied eastern Poland — approximately 320,000–350,000 people, primarily civilians considered politically unreliable. They were transported to labour camps, collective farms, and remote settlements in Siberia, Kazakhstan, and other parts of the Soviet Union.
Records of these deportations are held in Russian archives, primarily at the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF) and the FSB Archive in Moscow — access from outside Russia is difficult. However, significant documentation is available through Polish sources. The IPN (instytut pamięci narodowej, ipn.gov.pl) has published extensive documentation of the deportations. The Kresy-Siberia Foundation has digitised survivor testimonies and family records from deportee communities. The Polish State Archive holds post-war repatriation records for deportees who eventually returned.
Katyń and the Murdered Officers
In spring 1940, the Soviet NKVD murdered approximately 22,000 Polish officers, police, intellectuals, and other prisoners at Katyń, Kharkiv, Kalinin, and other sites. If your ancestor was a Polish officer or policeman who disappeared in 1940, the Katyń victim database is essential research.
The IPN maintains an online database of Katyń victims (accessible through ipn.gov.pl). The Katyń Museum in Warsaw and the Polish Military Museum hold documentation of the massacre. Yad Vashem holds some records of Jewish officers among the victims. The Memorial organisation in Russia (now suppressed) had published significant documentation before its forced dissolution.
Post-War Resettlement Records
Poles who resettled in the UK after the war were processed through the Polish Resettlement Corps, and their records are at the UK National Archives. Poles who came to the US under the Displaced Persons Acts of 1948 and 1950 have immigration files at the US National Archives and may have USCIS records accessible through the USCIS Genealogy Program. Canadian and Australian records are at Library and Archives Canada and the National Archives of Australia respectively.
Final Thoughts
WWII Polish research rewards persistence and creativity more than almost any other area of Polish genealogy. The records exist — scattered across archives on three continents, in multiple languages, under multiple administrative systems — but finding the right collection for your ancestor’s specific wartime experience is the key challenge. The framework in this guide points you to the right archives for the right experience categories. From there, it’s a matter of working through each relevant collection systematically.
For the broader research context, see our Complete Beginner’s Guide to Polish ancestry research and our guide to Polish military records. Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly Polish heritage guides.
