Archival Processing of the Records of Basic Party Organizations of the Polish United Workers’ Party in the Siedlce Voivodeship: A Report from a Research and Educational Project

Abstract

The article presents the course and results of a didacticproject carried out during the winter semester of  the 2023/2024 academic year at the Institute of History, University of Siedlce, as part of the course “Archival Material Processing.” The project involved team-based student work on the processing of four archival fonds of basic party organizations of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR), preserved in the State Archive in Siedlce. The aim of the course was to implement both classical and contemporary methods of archival methodology, while simultaneously shaping the professional identity of future archivists through engagement with ideologically charged archival sources. The article discusses the archival methods applied, the learning outcomes achieved, and the significance of the processed materials as a tool for activating local historical memory. The article includes – in the annex –archival inventories of the fonds, prepared by students and recognized as fully processed.