Problemy z publikowaniem źródeł masowych z Archiwum Wojny w Wiedniu na przykładzie edycji akt cenzury austriackiej z lat 1914–1918
The Problems with the publication of mass sources in the War Archive in Vienna on the example of the edition of the Austrian censorship records of 1914–1918

Author(s): Paweł Brudek, Jan Molenda, Jerzy Z. Pająk
Subject(s): History
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: First World War; Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; Central Joint Registry Office of the Red Cross – Information Department; austro-hungarian censorship; correspondence of the prisoners of war
Summary/Abstract: During the First World War in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy special institution for the prisoners of war affairs – Gemeinsames Zentralnachweisebureau des Roten Kreuzes – Auskunftstelle für Kriegsgefangene (Central Joint Registry Office of the Red Cross – Information Department for prisoners of war, GZNB) was established. Its Department of the censorship (Zensurabteilung) was responsible for the censorship of incoming and outgoing mail of Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war. Officially it was a Red Cross facility but in fact it became an intelligence unit that made reports for state authorities, based on the analysis of the letters. The source publication The Great War in Polish correspondence retained by the Austro-Hungarian censorship focused on the Polish-language correspondence of the prisoners of war. Correspondence in Polish was written mainly by Poles, but also in the smaller part by Ukrainians and Jews. Not all Poles wrote letters in Polish, some of them wrote in German and French, to confuse censors. The main goal of the publication is documentation of the fate of Poles fighting on all fronts of World War I, and civilians writing to them. The vast collection of correspondence is an invaluable source for characterizing Poles attitudes towards main political, social and economic issues at the time. It also highlights the problems of everyday life and the customs of various social strata.

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