Financing and reconstruction of post-Teutonic castles after World War II. Nidzica, Kętrzyn, Giżycko – a selection of sources

The article presents the state of preservation of selected Teutonic castles after World War II, as a basis for considering the financing and restoration of several of them. Conservation and archival documentation is analyzed, supplemented by excerpts from interviews with former provincial conservationist Lucjan Czubiel. The role of the conservation office in the restoration of the castles was discussed, as well as the activities of the Monument Conservation Workshop. As a result of the research, it was possible to answer the questions: what were the difficulties of the Polish state in rebuilding these huge historic buildings? Why were these, and not other, objects chosen for funding? What procedures had to be met? What factors determined the effectiveness of the reconstruction and for what purposes were the castles used?