Pilecki Institute Inaugurates NYC Branch

This weekend the Pilecki Institute will inaugurate its new New York City branch, located at 92 Greenwich Street. The public is welcome to attend the Saturday opening, beginning at 4 pm. The program for Saturday’s opening is as follows:

4:00 pm – Debate: “Lessons from Nuremberg for the 21st Century”
            Guests: Steve Crawshaw, Mark Kramer, Igor Lukes, Jack El-Hai, Krystian Wiciarz
            Moderator: John Cornell

5:30 pm – Refreshments
            An opportunity to learn more about the Institute – visit its reading room and digital archive, and explore the exhibition dedicated to the Ładoś Group.

6:30 pm – Hearing through the audio series “Courtroom 600. Witnesses of Nuremberg”
            First episode: “Tadeusz Cyprian. An observer from Poland”.

7:00 pm– Refreshments

7:30 pm– A special occasion concert
            Performance by Urszula Dudziak and her band.

The Pilecki Institute in New York will function as both an interdisciplinary research center and a cultural and exhibition space. This marks not only a new chapter in the Institute’s activities, but above all an opportunity to introduce the Polish historical experience into the global discourse on freedom and human dignity.

“As Poles, we value freedom and actively participate in shaping a modern future and the global development of the world. At the Pilecki Institute USA we will cultivate the memory of the consequences of 20th-century totalitarian systems, which in today’s climate of political tensions and the resurgence of authoritarian systems should serve as both a warning and an inspiration in the pursuit of peace and democracy. We are also open to cultural, diplomatic and promotional projects, creating a platform for cooperation and synergy”, explained Piotr Franaszek, CEO of the Pilecki Institute USA.

The Pilecki Institute is named for the heroic World War II Polish army officer Witold Pilecki, who volunteered for an almost certainly suicidal undercover mission as a prisoner at Auschwitz. We published Pilecki’s most comprehensive firsthand report on his Auschwitz mission in English for the first time, under the title The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery.

After the war ended, Pilecki volunteered for another undercover mission—this time he went back into communist-controlled Poland to provide information to his army superiors. He operated for about two years before he was arrested, tortured, given a show trial, and executed by the Polish communist government.

Click here for more details about the Pilecki Institute and its new NYC branch.

We reported on the move to open a New York branch of the Pilecki Institute in February 2024, when they first signed a lease in NYC.