Źródła do dziejów Kościoła katolickiego w zasobie archiwum Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej Oddział w Poznaniu

The author characterizes the historical sources from the years 1939-1990 concerning the Catholic Church in the Institute of National Remembrance, the branch office in Poznań. He also emphasizes the variety of the documents and their division according to their creators. He points out that, contrary to popular belief, in addition to the documents produced and collected by the security authorities of the Polish Peoples’ Republic, the collection includes materials produced by other institutions. Historians and journalists can also make use of the documents taken over by the Institute of National Remembrance from private individuals and the International Red Cross. The article contains information on the procedure for providing access to the documents and benefits of these regulations. Moreover, the author addresses the issue of to what extent the documents produced by the security apparatus are complete. If some materials are missing, he shows how to gain information about them by analyzing registration records and disposal schedules.