The research library · Discover your Polish roots
Every family story
starts with a clue.
Turn the names, places and papers you have into a clearer path through Polish family history. Explore practical guides to the records - and the lives behind them.
Find your starting pointA good place to begin
Find a route into your family’s past.
Start with a clear question
Build a path to your Polish roots
Organise the clues you already hold and decide which Polish source to search next.
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Polish forces in Britain
Follow a relative’s service story
Use family papers to begin investigating Polish military records held in the UK.
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Connect the generations
Find the earlier Polish birth entry
Choose the right locality, interpret an entry and understand which type of copy you need.
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Read the entry
Understand Latin causes of death
Use the glossary to interpret morbus et qualitas mortis and other wording in old registers.
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Galician ancestors
Explore Austrian military records
Choose a research route for a relative who served in the Austro-Hungarian army.
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Polish families in Britain
Find Polish Resettlement Corps records
Connect service papers, camp references and the move into civilian life.
Read the guideFollow the evidence
Choose your next question.
From a single certificate to a wider family story, find the sources that fit your search.
Military service & wartime lives
Follow service papers, units and the journeys that brought Polish families to Britain.
- Polish Army in France
- The Polish Resettlement Corps
- A guide to Polish military records
- No. 303 Squadron RAF: The Story of Poland’s Finest Fighter Pilots
- Battle of Britain
View 11 more guides
- Polish service records held in the UK
- Polish Military Identity Cards
- Polish Military Decorations and Medals
- Polish Prisoner of War Records - How to obtain WW2 POW Documents
- Austrian Military Records: Tracing Galician Ancestors in the Austro-Hungarian Army
- German World War II Service Records: How to Find and Request Them
- Anders’ Army Records: How to Trace Your Ancestor in the 2nd Polish Corps
- Polish Air Force in the UK: How to Find Personnel and Squadron Files
- General Haller’s Blue Army: Tracing Polish Volunteers from WWI
- Home Army (Armia Krajowa) Records: Researching the Underground
- Searching for Service Records of the Polish Navy in Great Britain
Births, marriages & parish records
Find the entries that connect generations, then learn how to read the evidence.
- Finding Polish birth records
- Cemeteries in Poland
- Polish State Archives
- Vital Records from Poland
- Finding Polish marriage records
View 19 more guides
- Finding Polish death records
- Polish parish and church records
- Causes of death in Latin: Morbus et Qualitas Mortis
- Polish Birth Records and the 100-Year Access Rule
- Reading Latin Birth Records: A Guide to Polish Parish Registers
- Deciphering Russian Cyrillic in Polish Vital Records
- Reading German Script in Records from the Prussian Partition
- Searching for Evangelical and Lutheran Ancestors in Poland
- How to Search for Greek Catholic and Uniate Records in Poland
- Using Polish Allegata Records to Find Missing details
- Tracking Illegitimate Birth Records in Old Polish Registers
- Identifying your ancestor’s parish
- Searching Geneteka
- Tracing Ancestors via Polish Marriage Banns
- Finding Divorce and Annulment Records in Polish Genealogy
- Using Polish Cemetery Records to Trace Your Ancestors
- Identifying Religious Conversions Inside Vital Records
- Occupations and Social Status Inside Polish Vital Records
- Late Registration and Delayed Acts in Polish Vital Records
Starting your Polish family history search
Work from the family papers you have towards the Polish records you need.
- Polish Ancestry Records
- Polish families in the United Kingdom
- Polish Heritage Days
- S.S. Pilsudski (MS Piłsudski)
- Planning Polish family history research
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People behind Polish history
Explore family origins through documented lives and historical research.
- Tadeusz Kościuszko: Soldier of Liberty in Poland and America
- Kazimierz Pułaski (Casimir Pulaski) Genealogy: Family’s Polish Origins
- Stanisław August Poniatowski: Tracing the Poniatowski Line Through Genealogical Records
- Maria Skłodowska-Curie: A Detailed Look at Her Polish Origins and Early Life
- Fryderyk Chopin’s Family Tree: A Genealogical Guide to His Polish Roots
Family evidence & citizenship
Understand the research questions before collecting documents for an application.
Beyond the family tree
Look for homes, occupations, journeys and the details that ordinary registers miss.
- Notarial Records in Poland
- Pre-War Polish Passport and ID Applications
- Polish Population and Residence Registers
- An introduction to Polish archival sources
- How to Find Polish Census Records: Years 1921, 1931 and Earlier
View 13 more guides
- Polish Passenger Lists
- Displaced Persons (DP) Records
- Border Crossing Permits from Poland
- Polish Land and Mortgage Registers
- Wills and Testaments of Polish Ancestors
- Court Records and Litigation
- Polish School Certificates and Records
- University Student Files in Poland
- Guild and Trade Records from Poland
- Civil Service Personnel Files
- Parish Census Records (Polish Status Animarum)
- Polish Nobility Records (Legitymacja Szlachectwa)
- Polish Police and Law Enforcement Records
Famous people with Polish roots
Explore lives with Polish roots
The family backgrounds of well-known people with Polish ancestry.
- Max Factor’s Polish Origins: The True Story of Maksymilian Faktorowicz
- Helena Rubinstein: The Polish Origins of a Global Beauty Icon
- Pola Negri: The Polish Star Who Conquered Silent-Era Hollywood
- The Warner Brothers’ Polish Roots: Uncovering the Wonskolaser Family History
- Antoni Patek: The Polish-Born Watchmaker Who Built a Life in Switzerland
Names, places & Polish heritage
Make sense of surnames, changing place names and the traditions your family remembers.
Your research, with a clear direction
Ask about research in Polish records
Tell us what you have already found and the question you would like answered. We reply with the service that fits and its price, or a quote.
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