The Baptists were a religious minority in Poland, making it more difficult to know when and where records of this faith might be available. The Baptists came from East Prussia to the territory of Congress Poland in the mid 19th century. This group, as with many religious minorities, found much persecution but they still managed to continue despite many trials that they faced. The first Polish Baptist baptism took place in 1858 in Adamow. The area of Łódź had the highest concentration of Baptists.
The first real Baptist missionary efforts in Poland began in 1870. In that year the first Baptist was recorded in Warsaw records, although in 1860 some were transported there and imprisoned for their beliefs. In 1874, Warsaw’s Baptist membership numbered between 60-70.
For more information on Baptists in Poland, see the article by Iwona Dakiniewicz in the summer 2011 issue of Rodziny, the periodical of the Polish Genealogy Society of America.
Using the Polish State Archives Pradziad website, it is easy to sort record types by religion. By doing this, you can search for only the Baptist religion, as well as other religious groups, making it easy to find out which records still exist for that particular religious group throughout Poland. There is an English version of the Pradziad database. Included with each parish listing, the fond number and archive contact information is given to help you with your Baptist (or other religious group) research in Poland.
The Baptist church records in Poland article in the FamilySearch Wiki gives the localities of the Baptist congregations as found on the Pradziad database. The article includes the available Baptist records in Polish State Archives and has been organized by archive and includes the archive contact information. These records are not found in the Family History Library.
The Family History Library has a German book, Geschichte der Baptisten in Polen, 1852-1932, by Eduard Kupsch (call number 943.8 K2ke, and microfilm 1183574, item 6). The book provides information on parishes in Congress Poland, Posen, Pomerania, and Volhynia . The author gives tables with the numbers of baptisms in the various congregations, as well as membership numbers and parish funds. He gives individual histories of the many congregations within Congress Poland, including dates that the congregations were founded in each village, and a timeline of Baptist events in Poland. The book mentions some individual members, and includes photos of the early pastors, church buildings and some members for many of the congregations. For those searching for Polish Baptists, this book may prove to be very helpful.
