“Kultura” is often described as “the most important émigré monthly.” Yet behind it stood more than just a journal editorial office. It was an institution that shaped modern political, cultural, and social thought in exile. That is why the Polonica connected with “Kultura” have a special status. They constitute the material trace and history of the people who created this extraordinary place.

A journey along the trail of Parisian “Kultura” should begin with a visit to the house in Maisons-Laffitte, which was the journal’s last headquarters. It was there that Jerzy Giedroyc lived, published, edited, and printed the periodical. It is now located at 91 Avenue de Poissy. Administratively, this is Le Mesnil-le-Roi, although in common usage, by force of habit and metonymy, people still say “Maisons-Laffitte.” The building now bears a plaque unveiled in 2015 (the first appeared in 2006, on the centenary of Jerzy Giedroyc’s birth, and the second in connection with the international recognition of the archive’s importance). It houses the “Kultura” archive, inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World register, as well as a venue for meetings and seminars. Before the Institute became established on avenue de Poissy, its first seat in France was on avenue Corneille. Earlier still, the Literary Institute operated in Rome alongside the 2nd Polish Corps (registered as Casa Editrice “Lettere”). A key site was the Officine Grafiche Italiane (OGI) printing house in Rome, Via Cesena 14.

In December 2025, a plaque dedicated to Giedroyc was unveiled in Kyiv with the inscription: Jerzy Giedroyć / (1906–2000) / founder of the Paris-based “Kultura” / the most important / centre of Polish / political thought / in exile / after the Second World War. / A great friend / of Ukraine, who changed / the way Poles think / about Ukrainians, Lithuanians / and Belarusians. The text also appears in Ukrainian.

Today, in various cemeteries outside Poland, one can also find the graves of the founders and key women and men who created “Kultura” and the Literary Institute.

Giedroyc family tomb (Jerzy Giedroyc 1906–2000; Henryk Maria Giedroyc 1922–2010; Tatiana Giedroyc 1911–2003; Leda Giedroyc 1919–2002)
After 2000
Municipal cemetery, Le Mesnil-le-Roi (France)
Section E, grave 18

This is one of the “nodes of memory” of Maisons-Laffitte: the shared grave of the Giedroyc family in a cemetery near Paris. Jerzy Giedroyc, founder and long-time editor of “Kultura,” turned the Literary Institute into an instrument of long duration, more a laboratory of political imagination than an ordinary editorial office. (Kultura Paryska)
Grave record with location and photographs in the “Polish Historical Graves in France” service (Tombeaux Polonais)

Tomb of Andrzej Bobkowski (1913–1961)
After 1961
Cementerio General, Guatemala City (Guatemala)
Family grave of Dr Julio Quevedo

Bobkowski collaborated with “Kultura” from its very first issue; his burial in Guatemala is noted in Institute biographical records.

Tomb of Maria Czapska (1894–1981) and Józef Czapski (1896–1993)
After 1981
Municipal cemetery, Le Mesnil-le-Roi (France)
Inv. no.: Section D, grave 122

Józef Czapski was a co-creator of the “Kultura” circle and one of its key authors; Maria Czapska published in “Kultura” (including texts from 1947 onward).
Grave record with location and photographs in the “Polish Historical Graves in France” service (Tombeaux Polonais)

Tomb of Witold Gombrowicz (1904–1969)
1969
Cimetière de Vence-Ville, Vence (France)

Gombrowicz’s relationship with “Kultura” was one of the key channels for the late reception of his writing: publication, circulation, and the institutional framing of fragments of the Diary and debates on modernity.
Entry in the Find a Grave service (Find A Grave)

Tomb of Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (1919–2000)
After 2000
Cimitero di Poggioreale, Naples (Italy)
Croce family chapel, Quadrato degli uomini illustri (Distinguished Persons’ Quarter)

Herling-Grudziński was a close collaborator of “Kultura.”

Tomb of Zygmunt Hertz (1908–1979) and Zofia Hertz (1911–2003)
After 1979
Municipal cemetery, Le Mesnil-le-Roi (France)
Section D, grave 106

The Hertzes belonged to the Literary Institute team; in practice, they kept “Kultura” running, from logistics to everyday editorial work.
Grave record with location and photographs in the “Polish Historical Graves in France” service (Tombeaux Polonais)

Tomb of Konstanty Aleksander Jeleński (1922–1987)
After 1987
Municipal cemetery, Saint-Dyé-sur-Loire (France)
Central avenue (Tombeaux Polonais)

Jeleński, essayist, literary and art critic, and translator, was one of the important co-creators of “Kultura’s” intellectual profile, especially in the field of art and modern criticism. (Kultura Paryska)
Grave record with location and photographs in the “Polish Historical Graves in France” service (Tombeaux Polonais)

Tomb of Józef Lubański (1906–1993)
After 1993
Sutter Creek Catholic Cemetery, Sutter Creek, California (USA)
Inscription: American Polish soldier for freedom and independence of Poland

Lubański was the driving force behind the English-language project Fragments—effectively the only sustained attempt to publish “Kultura” in English, connected with Giedroyc through correspondence.

Tomb of Józef Mackiewicz (1902–1985) and Barbara Toporska-Mackiewicz (1913–1985)
After 1985
Columbarium / burial place at St Andrew Bobola Church, London (United Kingdom)
Inscription: “Józef Mackiewicz 1902–1985. Writer. His ashes may be transferred only to Vilnius, to Rossa”

Tomb of Juliusz Mieroszewski (1906–1976)
After 1976
South Ealing Cemetery, London (United Kingdom)
Division HH

Mieroszewski was one of “Kultura’s” most important political publicists, helping shape its language of thinking about Europe, including the famous ULB line.
Entry in the Find a Grave service (Find A Grave)

Tomb of Zofia Romanowiczowa (1922–2010) and Kazimierz Romanowicz (1916–2010)
After 2010
Municipal cemetery, Jours-lès-Baigneux (France)

The Romanowiczes (Libella / Galerie Lambert) functioned within the “Kultura” ecosystem as close collaborators.

Tomb of Leopold Unger (1922–2011)
2011
Kraainem Communal Cemetery, Kraainem (Belgium)

Unger was a regular contributor to “Kultura” from 1970 onward, writing among other things the column “Seen from Brussels” under the pen name “Brukselczyk.”

Tomb of Aleksander Wat (1900–1967) and Ola (Paulina) Wat (1903–1991)
After 1967
Cimetière des Champeaux, Montmorency, Tombeaux Polonais