One of the tasks of the Polish government, and specifically the Ministry of Culture, is to “protect the national heritage outside the borders of the Republic of Poland”. However, does our country really have the tools to control institutions that hold archives and collections of enormous historical value? Not to mention the financial issues, which in this case amount to hundreds of millions of złoty.
The Polish Sikorski Institute and Museum in London is a cultural institution operating in Great Britain (formally an English foundation subject to The Charity Commission), established on May 2, 1945, as the Sikorski Historical Institute (IHGS). From the very beginning, its mission has been to collect, develop, and make available documents of the Polish government in exile and the Polish Armed Forces in the West. Thanks to this activity, many valuable collections were saved from confiscation by the communist authorities in Poland. The IHGS archives occupy approximately 700 meters of shelves, and the collection of photographs includes over 200,000 items. In 1988, the Polish Underground State Studies were also incorporated into the institution, which retained its autonomy as a separate scientific and archival department. The facts indicated above show that we are dealing with historical collections whose value can only be described in one simple word: priceless. But can we be calm about their future? After all, they are located outside the country and are cared for by an organization subject to English law.
The future of our priceless collections
The Polish People’s Republic (PRL), a satellite state of the Soviet Union, existed until 1989. In the years 1989–1991, as a result of political changes, it was transformed into the democratic Republic of Poland, called the Third Polish Republic. So much for a quick recap of history. However, if we take these facts seriously, it will be difficult to accept that the previous justification for the institution’s operation still has a reason to exist. Poland’s regained sovereignty meant that the collections of this institution no longer have to remain abroad – and therefore outside the control of the Polish authorities – because they are not in danger in the country. Although over 30 years have passed since the transformation, little has actually been done in the matter of the national heritage that Polish emigrants took to Great Britain in good faith. Very interesting collections, including documents, photographs, and exhibits, should support research on the history of Poland in the 20th century and promote our best traditions among the international public. However, this is not possible due to the way the Polish institution operates.
Familiarization with the official information, available on the Institute’s website, among others, does not inspire much optimism. And when we add to this the reports of informants associated with the institution, we get a comprehensive picture that should at least raise a red flag. Currently, access to the archives requires payment of fees, and the possibility of visiting the museum is very limited in time. Another cause for concern is the fact that documents and exhibits are stored in buildings that do not meet technical requirements in terms of fire protection or protection against theft. Looking at the way these collections are cataloged, protected, and made available, one can have serious doubts about their future fate. However, this is not all or rather the least outrageous part of this story. “The sale of the Institute’s collections has been going on for a long time, and they are going to auctions or private collectors. One of them bought various exhibits and turned them into a private museum in his home. Apparently, one of the properties was also sold. This situation worries me a lot, especially since the Museum run by the Institute is de facto not operating. It is rarely open and almost no one comes there. It is difficult to make an appointment and not everyone is allowed in. It looks as if the management is not interested in running the Institute. I am afraid of what is coming and I do not trust the current government in Poland. If things continue like this, the collections will be transferred to Polish state museums and partly sold, as will the buildings. We are talking about assets worth several dozen million pounds,” expresses her concern a source associated with the Polish Institute and Museum of General Sikorski in London, who wishes to remain anonymous for this article.
MP intervenes in the matter of Polish collections
At the end of October, Confederation MP Grzegorz Płaczek decided to respond to the emerging reports and, to this end, sent a parliamentary interpellation to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his letters, he asked, among other things, whether the government has formal or informal tools to control the Institute’s activities, a current inventory of the stored collections and an audit of the level of security and protection of exhibits. In addition, the politician expressed concerns about the financial situation of the institution and rumors indicating that its assets are being sold. Finally, the parliamentarian also drew attention to the fact that almost all of the archives of the Second Polish Republic from the period of World War II belong to a foundation under English law, which means that they are de facto not in the possession of the Polish nation. The official position of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage is too long to quote in full, but the same theme is constantly repeated in the responses to individual questions.
“The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage does not have formal tools to control IPMS, which is a British entity and operates under British law. (…) The Ministry of Culture does not have a comprehensive inventory of IPMS collections. The Institute, as a British legal entity independent of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, is not obliged to provide data on the collections collected. (…) The Ministry does not have a current audit of the level of security and protection of the collections stored in IPMS. Without having the tools to control it, it cannot oblige the Institute to conduct it. (…) It should be noted that the ministry has no influence on the order and scope of the tasks carried out, and the responsibility for securing the collections lies with their administrator. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage is aware of the restrictions on access to the archives and the Museum, which takes place on the basis of internal regulations adopted by IPMS. These principles result in particular from the Institute’s staff, premises and technical resources,” stated Deputy Minister of Culture Marta Cienkowska in the letter, emphasizing that the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage cooperates with the Institute, among others, in the field of co-financing programs.
In short, the answers show that the management of the Ministry of Culture is aware of the scale of the problem. That’s great – it’s just a shame that it remains powerless in the face of this knowledge because it is unable to really influence the way the institution operates. After all, we are dealing with a completely private institution, on which nothing can be forced. For example, it is difficult to verify the disturbing claims about the sale of exhibits and memorabilia to auction houses. In such a situation, one can only wonder what will happen in several decades, since we are already hearing about numerous irregularities. How the Institute manages its assets is by no means the responsibility of the British government, for which everything is fine as long as taxes are paid. Therefore, the Polish authorities can only limit themselves to “cooperation”, which provides for various subsidies, but without the possibility of setting specific conditions or enforcing changes.
Hostile takeovers in emigration?
One of the questions formulated by MP Grzegorz Płaczek concerned the outrageous events that allegedly took place in the Polish community in London. Namely, it concerns the current president of the Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London and her husband, who are accused of illegally appropriating property and a banner belonging to the “Association of Polish Airmen UK”. The case was reported by, among others, the emigre “Głos” (49/2023) in the article “Hostile takeovers in emigration”, in which we can read about the revelations concerning Danuta and Artur Bildziuk:
“When leaving the Remembrance Committee in 2019, Bildziuk kept the official banner of the Association of Polish Airmen, which the Committee took over from the SLP Foundation (Association of Polish Airmen – editor’s note). The banner serves to lend credibility to his claim that he is the continuator of the Association. The trustees of the Committee tolerated that as its member he took care of it and brought it to ceremonies. However, they never authorized the use of the banner at private events, much less did they transfer the ownership rights. Written demands for its return, including one sent by a lawyer, have not yielded any results. The intention of the Committee is to place the banner in the Polish Airmen Memorial Room at RAF Northolt in accordance with the wishes of the Foundation’s trustees. (…) On 21 October (2023 – editorial note) at the general meeting of the members of the Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum (PISM), chaired by Bildziuk, his wife Danuta was nominated as the president of the institution. Danuta Bildziuk will therefore be simultaneously the secretary of the ZLPwWB (Polish Airmen Association in Great Britain – editorial note), chaired by her husband, and the president of PISM, of which her husband is a member,” the author of the text indicates in an alarmist tone.
The MFA representative, for a change, addressed this issue: “Mr. Jacek Orchel, co-founder and board member of the Polish Airmen’s Family Foundation in London, informed the MFA about disturbing events in the Polish community in Great Britain related to Mr. Artur Bildziuk, founder of the Polish Airmen’s Association in Great Britain, including the misappropriation by Mr. A. Bildziuk of the Polish Airmen’s Association Banner and commemorative badges of Polish squadrons, and the lack of transparency in financial settlements in the organization he founded. J. Orchel provided notes and press articles on this topic (including a short excerpt from the article mentioned in the interpellation)” – stated Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski.
Jacek Orchel, mentioned in the response, in correspondence with “Najwyższa Czas!” He also described an incident from June 29, 2022, when he was verbally and physically attacked by Artur Bildziuk in front of dozens of people at a reception at the Polish Embassy in London, which caused quite a scandal in the Polish community. The Polish diplomat’s quick intervention prevented further escalation of the conflict, but the matter was not taken up later, despite an official letter from the injured party. According to our London informants, it is an open secret that the current authorities of the Sikorski Institute are preparing to privatize its assets. When we check the official English register to see who sits on the PISM authorities, we will see that almost the entire Board has changed in the last two years, and the new people are related by family or professional links to the former Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, Jan Vincent Rostowski. The President of the Institute, Danuta Bildziuk, together with her husband, has previously been accused of misappropriating property from another emigration institution, as described above. It is worth adding that the Institute’s assets are estimated at 85 million pounds, or almost half a billion złoty (sic!). Is the Polish State really tied in its hands and can only passively observe?
The Sikorski Institute in London received several questions by email asking for a position on various matters described in this article, but the response sent – interestingly, written in English! – consists largely of formalisms and ready-made formulas that do not lead to much. It is only worth emphasizing that the institution – as it itself admitted – forwards all reports and documents to the British government agency The Charity Commission. However, not a word was said about the Polish authorities…
Jakub Zgierski
The article was published on December 2 in the biweekly “Najwyższy Czas!”