Polish Siberians in Western Australia
In September 2011, a group of staff from the Centre for Documentation of Deportations, Expulsions and Resettlements and members of the Student Academic Circle of Historians of the Pedagogical University of Cracow led by Dr Hubert Chudzio reached out to Polish Siberians in Perth, Australia. The UP mission was invited by the Union of Siberians in Western Australia to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the institution. The aim of the expedition was to record audio and video testimonies from the participants in the events described above and to collect as many documents and artefacts as possible relating to the Siberians fate. Twenty-five interviews were recorded, amounting to more than 50 hours of priceless memories. Thousands of copies of archival photographs and documents were made. The mission also brought back a number of artefacts, which have gone to the Documentation Centre for Deportations, Expulsions and Resettlements. The photographic record of the UP mission’s work in Australia was used to prepare the exhibition “Polish Siberians in Western Australia”.
