Wkład Władysława Semkowicza (1878-1949) w rozwój polskiej dziedziny archiwalnej
The contribution of Władysław Semkowicz (1878-1949) to the Development of the Polish Archival Field

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the figure of Władysław Semkowicz (1878-1949), an outstanding historian and ardent social activist who contributed a lot to the development of the Polish archival field. He became involved in archival studies during his studies at the University of Lviv, when he was accepted as a deputy trainee in the National Archives of Town and Land Records in Lviv. From then on, W. Semkowicz spent most of his free time in the archives. He was a participant in the so-called Roman Expedition and researched archival resources in Lviv, Vilnius, Vienna, Wrocław, Berlin and Konigsberg. During the First World War, he evacuated with his family to Vienna, where, together with other Polish historians, he founded the Polish War Archives, which today can be considered one of the first Polish social archives. After the war, he started working at the Jagiellonian University, with which he remained connected until his death. W. Semkowicz took an active part in the formation of the Polish State after 123 years of partitions. He was appointed a member of the newly created Archive Council at the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Education and gave opinions on the draft Decree of February 7, 1919 on the organization of state archives and the care of archives. In the years 1921-1933, as a member of the Mixed Special Commission, he participated in negotiations regarding the recovery of Polish archival materials from Russia (USSR). During the Second World War, W. Semkowicz was employed in the State Archives in Krakow. In 1941, as a result of the decision of the Director of the Archives of the General Government in Krakow, Erich Randt, he was employed at the Institute of German Eastern Labor. During this period, he saved many Polish cultural goods by using sabotage for this purpose. This article analyzes the activities of W. Semkowicz in the field of archival science and is an attempt to prove his achievements in this field.

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