Chief Architect Jacek Droszcz |
In an article I wrote for Puls Polonii about Marian Rejewski, I stated. ‘Polish people unjustly suffered much death and destruction during and after WWII, and the stealing of Polish heroism and ingenuity is intolerable. Why should Poles be deprived of heroes? Why should their accomplishments be misappropriated? Why shouldn't they have people to look up to, to try to emulate and be inspired by?’ My travels to the US and Europe comprised visits to museums, battlefields, monuments and galleries that commemorate the triumph of liberty over tyranny.
I am very aware of the disproportionate contribution made by people of Polish heritage in man’s constant struggle for liberty, so I was pleased when my friend Halina Mlynczak asked me to be her guest for the ‘laying the foundation stone’ ceremony she had been officially invited to attend for the superbly designed World War II Museum in Gdansk. The design submitted by Gdynia architectural firm ‘Kwadrat’ was by far the best of 328 entries from 42 countries submitted in the competition organised by the Museum’s founders and it was awarded the 80 000 Euro first prize by the international panel of judges.
I asked Jacek Droszcz, the chief architect of the project, ‘why the building’s leaning appearance?’ he replied ‘we envisioned a construction that symbolised World War II, one that could be interpreted in different ways. For example, from one perspective it can be imagined as collapsing civilisation but with a different frame of reference it can be seen as a Phoenix rising from the ashes. A large part of the museum will be below ground which can also be interpreted symbolically in different ways – the horrors of war overcome by the light above, hope and rebirth, a linking of heaven and earth. We wanted to create not only a functional building but also one that is an expressive sculpture – dynamic, aesthetic and interesting.’
I listened, learned and agreed.
Front row, left to right: Jacek Droszcz (Chief Architect),his mother,Felix Molski,Halina Mlynczak (Father lost in Katyn, Siberian Deportee)and Irena Wlodarczyk-Kazmierska (Felix's cousin) |
The site has a surface area of 1700 square metres. When completed, perhaps in 2014, the main halls will offer almost 7000 square metres of exhibition space for the presentation of three narratives:
• The road to war
• Horrors of war
• Long Shadows
The Museum is organised functionally thus:
• Exhibitions
• Education
• Research
• Libraries and Archives
• Information and Publicity
• Liaisons with other organisations such as with the Task Team for the History of the Soviet Union under the German occupation
In addition, there are departments handling Accounts, Administration, Fund Raising Etc.
A speech by Pawel Machcewicz, Museum Director |
At long last, in what will arguably be the leading World War II Museum in the world, the full and true picture of the heroic history of Polish resistance to the attempted world-wide expansion of both Nazi and Soviet tyrannies will be presented. A history which, to this day, has largely been ignored, distorted, falsified or trivialised will now see the light of day. Norman Davies, chairman of the Museum’s advisory Board since 2009, when interviewed at the time of the international panel’s verdict in 2010 commented:
“I heard on the television this morning a presenter said ‘historians know all about the Second World War. All the problems have been resolved.’ It’s not true. Many things about the Second World War are still not resolved. Worst still, the great public is unaware of many of the opinions established by historians.”
Exactly! The great public could do a lot worse than read Professor Norman Davies publications regarding Poland and World War II.
Prime Minister D. Tusk at the Sherman tank |
Museum site |
Felix Molski & Halina Mlynczak |
Many overseas visitors to the museum will, for the first time, have the opportunity to learn about:
• the true story of the cracking of Enigma;
• the Nazi-Soviet pact to annihilate Polish intellectual leadership symbolised by Piasnice and Katyn
• the Siberian deportations
• the ordeal behind the forming of Anders army and its later glory
• the Arnhem controversies
• the sources of the best intelligence for the allies
And a hell of a lot more! Much cognitive dissonance can be expected!
Some of the Museums exhibits were on display at the ‘foundation stone ceremony’. They were all good, however, the highlight for me was the Enigma exhibit due to my interest in the Polish breaking of it and how important this was to the winning of World War II. Later, I was privileged to visit the building site and was most happy when chief architect, Jacek Droszcz told us all that we could keep our hardhats as a memento of our visit.
Museum exhibit |
Museum exhibit - Maja Berezowska's drawing |
Panel Judge - Wieslaw Czabanski |
The address and contact details of the Museum are:
Muzeum II Wojny Światowej w Gdańsku
ul. Długa 81/83, 80-831 Gdańsk
tel. +48 58 323-75-20, fax +48 58 323-75-30
NIP 5833049286, REGON 220710576
sekretariat@muzeum1939.pl
Here is a link to the Museum’s website (currently only in Polish)
www.muzeum1939.pl/
Just one more reason to visit Poland again.
Felix Molski
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