News

Between 12 and 14 June, our Museum was a venue to hold meetings with culture and history within the framework of the Book Festival in Opole. For three days our seat at 3 Minorytów Street, welcomed guests of the Festival, who took an opportunity of participating in the opening of an exhibition, in literary debates and discussions or an art workshop, which composed a coherent tale of a man caught in the cogs of Great History.

The Festival weekend began on Friday with the opening of the temporary exhibition under the title “All inclusive. The Odyssey of Lieutenant Andres 1939–1947”, prepared by Warsaw-based House of Meetings with History. The exhibition presents unique photographs taken by Lt. Stanisław Andres, a soldier of the Second Polish Corps. It acquaints visitors with the everyday reality on the combat trail leading from the USSR, via the Near East into as far as Italy and Great Britain. The creators of the exhibition and, at the same time grandsons of the Lieutenant, Michał and Tomasz Wójcik, were telling about it with a great enthusiasm and flair.

The following hours of Friday afternoon were full of narrative non-fiction literature and moving biographies. At 3 p.m. there was held a meeting with journalist and feature writer Agata Puścikowska, the author of the book Lotniczka. Opowieść o Janinie Lewandowskiej, jedynej kobiecie zamordowanej w Katyniu [An Airwoman. A story of Janina Lewandowska, the only female murdered in Katyń]. The meeting was run by Maria Bula and Dr Anna Czerner of the Research Department of the Museum. Then, at 4.30 p.m., the public met historian Michał Wójcik. The discussion, run by Dr Piotr Stanek, Head of the Research Department of the Central Museum of Prisoners of War, concentrated on the latest publication by the invited author, under the title Duma i wstyd. O historii i potrzebie pamiętania [Pride and shame. On history and the need to remember] – a book-length interview with Professor Tomasz Szarota.

The Saturday program combined history, artistic creativity and interesting literature. The workshop on blueprint, which was run by Opole-based art photographer Sławoj Dubiel, raised a great deal of interest. It made a direct reference to the exhibition opened the day before. Its participants got familiar with one of the oldest photographic techniques and were able to make their own copies in the characteristic deep shade of blue. The weekend meetings with authors in the Museum ended with the talk with Łukasz Garbal, an expert on Polish studies and writer-biographer. The topic of the discussion was his book under the title Wańkowicz. Życie na kraterze [Wańkowicz. The life on a crater], which earned him a nomination to this year’s “Nike” Literary Award.

Sunday was the last day of the Festival at the Central Museum of Prisoners of War and offered an excellent opportunity to individually visit the newly-opened exhibition (“All inclusive…”) by persons who had not been able to come to its opening. It is worth adding that throughout the days of the Festival the visitors were able to drop in at our stall, talk about history and purchase our Museum publications or gifts.