Institute of National Remembrance

The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (Polish: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecution service components exercising investigative, prosecution and lustration powers. The IPN was established by the Polish parliament by the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance of 18 December 1998 through reforming and expanding the earlier Main Commission for the Investigation of Crimes against the Polish Nation of 1991, which itself had replaced a body on Nazi crimes established in 1945.

This article is about the Polish institute. For other uses, see Institute of National Memory (disambiguation).

Institute of National Remembrance
Instytut Pamięci Narodowej
AbbreviationIPN
Formation18 December 1998 (1998-12-18)
PurposeEducation, research, archive, and identification. Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom. Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation.
HeadquartersWarsaw, Poland
Location
  • 1 Kurtyki Street
Region served
Republic of Poland
Membership
Staff
Official language
Polish
President
Karol Nawrocki
Main organ
Council
Affiliations
  • Platform of European Memory and Conscience
  • Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., partner institutions in Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary
Staff
Several hundred
Websitewww.ipn.gov.pl
RemarksThe IPN Headquarters in Warsaw co-ordinates the operations of eleven Branch Offices and their Delegations

In 2018, IPN's mission statement was amended by the controversial Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance to include "protecting the reputation of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Nation". The IPN investigates and prosecutes Nazi and Communist crimes committed between 1917 and 1990, documents its findings, and disseminates them to the public. Some scholars have criticized the IPN for politicization, especially under Law and Justice governments.

The IPN began its activities on 1 July 2000. The IPN is a founding member of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience. Since 2020, the IPN headquarters have been located at Postępu 18 Street in Warsaw. The IPN has eleven branches in other cities and seven delegation offices.

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