Since 1947, the Polish Underground Movement Study Trust (also known by its Polish name Studium Polski Podziemnej, or PUMST) has preserved, organized, and shared the history of Poland’s wartime underground. It is a London-based research and archival institution focused on the Polish Underground State and the Home Army (Armia Krajowa) during the Second World War.
Origins and Purpose
PUMST was founded in London in 1947, in the immediate aftermath of the war, by veterans and leaders of the Polish underground resistance. Among its founders were figures such as Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki, Antoni Chruściel, Tadeusz Żenczykowski, and Tadeusz Pełczyński — men who had direct involvement in the leadership or operations of the underground state.
Its mission was, and remains, to collect, catalogue, protect, and make available primary archival material relating to the Polish Underground State, the Home Army, and related wartime structures. It also promotes historical knowledge, supports researchers and families, and seeks to ensure that the stories of resistance are not lost to time.
Collections and Activity
At PUMST you’ll find one of the most important holdings on the Polish underground outside Poland. Its archives include more than 90 “fonds” (collection groups), ranging from small files to major series spanning many metres of shelf space.
Its library houses books, periodicals, and documents on the Underground State, the Home Army, and related resistance movements.
While PUMST’s museum holdings are more modest, they complement its archival collection—photographs, artefacts, and small objects that help tell the visual and material story of resistance.
One key goal is the digitisation of archival materials, making more of the collection accessible online and facilitating remote research requests.
Governance and Structure
In 1988, PUMST formally merged (amalgamated) with the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum (PISM) in London, becoming a semi-autonomous component of that larger institution.
Though merged, PUMST maintains a distinct identity and mission, preserving its focus on the underground state archives and research.
It is registered in the UK as a charity — in the Charity Commission register under number 1197744, headquartered at 11 Leopold Road, London W5 3PB.
Charity Register
Its charitable objects include promoting the study of Polish history and culture, especially Poland’s resistance during occupation, and preserving and making available primary source archives.
Why It Matters
- Custodian of memory: Many participants in the Polish Underground State are no longer alive. PUMST ensures their letters, reports, photographs, and documents survive.
- Research support: Historians, students, and descendants frequently rely on PUMST’s holdings to reconstruct wartime operations, personal stories, or local resistance networks.
- Bridge to homeland: For Poles in diaspora, especially in the UK, PUMST is a cultural and historical anchor, a place to connect with the complex fight for Poland’s freedom.
- Public education: Through publications, public lectures, and catalogues, PUMST helps bring underground stories to wider audiences, beyond academic circles.