Last night, we enjoyed a fascinating look at “PGSNYS maps for Polish Genealogy,” presented by PGSNYS Trustee, Hank Kozlowski. Hank shared how he inherited his position as the “Man with the Maps” from the late Walter Kloc, who acquired a large number of useful and interesting maps during his lifetime, which were kindly bequeathed to PGSNYS by his family. Hank’s professional experience with maps, blueprints, and surveys made him the ideal candidate to carry on Walter’s work. As Hank explained, PGSNYS maps fall into main four categories:

• German maps published by the Institut für Angewandte Geodäsie (IfAG) in the “Karte des Deutschen Reiches” (Map of the German Empire) series
• Austrian maps published by the k.u.k. Militärgeographisches Institut
• Polish maps published by the Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny (WIG)
• Polish maps published by the Główny Urząd Geodezji i Kartografii (GUGiK)

PGSNYS has a significant number of maps from each of these collections. Hank’s collection also includes a variety of poster maps mounted on foam boards, travel maps, gazetteers, and other resources for Polish genealogy.

Following the presentation, in-person attendees had a chance to peruse Hank’s maps, and research assistance was provided by PGSNYS members.

The meeting recording is now available for members to access.