With General Anders on the road to freedom. 80th Anniversary of the Sikorski-Mayski Pact
On 15 September 2021, the General Władysław Anders Museum opened its first temporary exhibition entitled. “WITH GENERAL ANDERS… ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM. 80th anniversary of the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement”. The exhibition was presented in the Archaeological Museum in Cracow and is based on the archival collections of the Centre for Documentation of Deportations, Expulsions and Resettlements of the Pedagogical University in Cracow.
Four issues were presented at the exhibition. The first is the tragic fate of Poles during their stay in the Soviet Union, both those who managed to leave Stalin’s state and those who, for various reasons, remained and continued to endure the hunger, cold and degradation of the Soviet system for years to come. Subsequent parts of the exhibition show the story of Polish refugees after they left the Soviet Union. The second section deals with civilians in Iran (with particular emphasis on the stay of Poles in Isfahan). The third presents the fate of Polish soldiers in the Middle East and during the Italian campaign, while the fourth presents the everyday life of civilians in Polish settlements on African soil. All the exhibits presented at the exhibition and the photographs depicted on the boards (with few exceptions) come from the Archives of the Centre for Documentation of Deportations, Expulsions and Resettlements of the Pedagogical University in Cracow. These materials were donated to the CDZWiP Archive by Siberian from Poland, as well as from Great Britain, Australia, the USA and Canada.The exhibition was co-organised and hosted by the Archaeological Museum in Kraków. Our sincere thanks go to the director, Jacek Górski, PhD, and the museum staff, especially Anna Piwowarczyk and Bogumił Pilarski. We would like to thank the Governor of Malopolska, Mr Łukasz Kmita, for supporting the project. We are honoured that the ceremonial opening of the exhibition was attended by the most important guests – Siberians from Krakow and Katowice, as well as the Director of the Krakow Monuments and National Heritage Department of the Małopolska Voivodeship Office, Joanna Florkiewicz-Kamieniarczyk, the Plenipotentiary of the Mayor of the City of Krakow for Senior Citizenship Policy, Dr Anna Okońska-Walkowicz, the Head of the Branch Office of the National Remembrance Institute in Krakow, Dr Michał Masłowski, and the Rector for Science of the Pedagogical University, Dr Michał Rogoż. The exhibition has been moved to Fort Skotniki 52 ½ N, the seat of the UP Centre for Documentation of Deportations, Expulsions and Resettlements, where it will be open to the public again.
