Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?

28-29.11.2019

Genealogy, one of the main auxiliary sciences of history, has become a phenomenon in recent decades in the study of humanity and its history on many levels. In the era of digital information and easy access to archives, actually anyone can create a family tree, although this requires the acquisition of certain skills, typical especially for historians. In the West, Anglo-Saxon countries, genealogy is treated as a separate scientific discipline, devoting its courses and seminars at Universities.

The reason for this phenomenon is the "fashion" for searching for one's own roots and identities, expressed by the construction of family trees and reconstruction of family history. This can be seen especially in the USA, whose citizens increasingly outsource archival and library queries to genealogical companies (also Polish ones) - all in order to unravel as many secrets as possible and to faithfully reconstruct the image of the family past. "Fashion" for practicing genealogy can be seen in Poland too – constant development of genealogical societies and portals, or record databases all over the country.

Scientific Circle of the PhD Students of History together with association Twoje Korzenie w Polsce, in cooperation with the Centre for Documenting Deportations and Resettlement of the Pedagogical University in Krakow and the The Polish Underground Movement Study Trust in London organized the first genealogical conference in Kraków, combined with genealogical workshops entitled Where Do We Come From? What are we? Where Are We Going? The event took place on November 28-29, 2019, in the main building of the Pedagogical University in Krakow. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss, gather and confront the current scientific and practical arrangements, the work methodology of a genealogist, as well as to show genealogy as an interdisciplinary phenomenon. 

A few words of summary of the 1st Krakow Genealogical Conference:

✔36 speakers

✔5 main topics blocks

✔18 hours of lectures

✔Many great guests from all over Poland

✔ Countless discussions (after panels and behind the scenes)

We are working on the I Krakow Genealogical Conference publication which sums up the event and includes all the lectures also in English. More info coming soon.