Lower Silesian Congress of National Remembrance

EXHIBITION "TRAILS OF HOPE. ODYSSEY OF FREEDOM" AND HISTORICAL MEMORABILIA DISPLAY. During the Congress of the National Future in Wrocław, participants will have the opportunity to view the exhibition "Trails of Hope. Odyssey of Freedom," prepared in 2022 and presented, since its inauguration at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, in over 50 countries around the world. The exhibition and accompanying educational activities visited six continents, following in the footsteps of Polish soldiers from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, through the Caucasus, Palestine, North Africa and Italy, and Great Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as well as civilians and veterans from South Africa and Zimbabwe to the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina. "Trails of Hope. Odyssey of Freedom" is an educational and commemorative project aimed at disseminating the message of Poland's commitment to the liberation of Europe from totalitarian regimes, both German and Soviet. "Trails of Hope" is a story about the fate of the Second Polish Republic and its citizens during World War II, guided by the idea of restoring freedom to a world enslaved by the German Third Reich and its allies. The exhibition presents the most recent history of Poland in a variety of forms – from traditional boards to modern 3D and multimedia displays. Over a million people have already seen the exhibition. Media around the world wrote about it. Thanks to this, the story of Polish heroes could resonate across various geographic latitudes. The exhibition "Trails of Hope. Odyssey of Freedom" is accompanied by a display of historical memorabilia showing symbols of Polish military units participating in combat during World War II, as well as fragments of uniforms and everyday objects documenting the lives of soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces and civilians traveling the freedom trail from leaving the territories of the Soviet Union to the freedom trails of emigration. The exhibition will include: Basia's Diary – Wanda Barbara Kociuba, who was one of thousands of Polish children who traveled from exile in Siberia to Iran and Lebanon; a page from Janina Krzeczkowska's diary, written on birch bark and containing entries from her stay in "inhuman land"; a cap from a Polish Navy uniform from the Henryk Kołodyński archive; and artwork by students of the Polish school in Kidugalli, Tanzania, from 1944-1946. The memorabilia come from the IPN Archives and private collections.

In the IPN's New Technologies Zone, you will discover immersive historical education and combine history learning with the pleasure of watching films, playing games, and using applications. This creates entirely new possibilities in talking about the past and revolutionizes the nature of learning through play. All games and applications from the IPN's New Technologies Office will be available on-site, presented on gaming computers and modern VR (virtual reality) headsets: "Warsaw Rising" – a strategic game with turn-based combat. The title depicts the fate of the Warsaw Uprising. The player's task is to survive all 63 days of the Uprising. "Aviators - war in the skies" - the latest educational game from the Office of New Technologies. It contains action, arcade, logic, and adventure elements. Diverse gameplay is intertwined with the educational nature of the production. The whole tells the story of the achievements of Polish pilots who took part in World War II. The game is available on PC and VR. "Cipher Game" - the first educational project of the Office of New Technologies. The production has been included on school reading lists. Set during the Polish-Bolshevik War, it tells the little-known achievements of Polish cryptologists. The player's task is to break Bolshevik ciphers and establish radio communication. You can play "Game of Ciphers" on PC and VR. "Testimony of HELP" - an immersive film created using VR technology. It tells the story of the Ulma family, who gave shelter to Jews during World War II. This moving material presents events from the perspective of six-year-old Basia - the daughter of Józef and Wiktoria. Szybowcowa "87" - a virtual VR tour of a communist-era apartment that housed a secret printing house of "Fighting Solidarity." There, you can duplicate copies of the independence press, eavesdrop on radio conversations with Security Service officers, or watch "Dziennik Telewizyjny." Experience history and learn through educational games and apps. All Congress participants are welcome to the zone. See more information about projects of the IPN's New Technologies Office.

Former Polish ambassadors invited to the debate will discuss their experiences in initiating historical diplomacy initiatives. Drawing on their own experience, as well as the experience of the countries where they served, they will answer the following questions: How can we engage civic, academic, and artistic communities in the service of the Polish raison d'état? What is historical diplomacy? What should the tasks of historical diplomacy partners be, and what are the necessary conditions for its implementation? What does historical diplomacy look like from the inside? What does Polish historical diplomacy accomplish very well? Is there anything it lacks compared to the experience of other countries? If so, how can this be changed? Is public (open) diplomacy a valuable complement to professional diplomacy? Public diplomacy encompasses activities ranging from strategic to policy implementation, which, by shaping social attitudes and public opinion abroad, aim to gain understanding and support for the Polish raison d'état. Public diplomacy plays a crucial role alongside traditional diplomacy, and its activities are directed at foreign institutions, organizations, and societies. Utilizing soft power mechanisms in public diplomacy, including the promotion of Polish history (historical public diplomacy), culture, the Polish language, science and innovation, and education, builds a positive image of Poland abroad and fosters good international relations. Historical diplomacy involves disseminating knowledge about Polish history, particularly its connections with world history or the histories of other nations, and about Polish scholars, artists, politicians, and professionals in other areas of social life. Their achievements are often well-known, but their connection to Polishness is not always recognized. In particular, those individuals and events that naturally build relationships based on shared experience are valuable. Emphasizing Poland's contribution to the history of other nations serves to build bridges of understanding and friendship and demonstrate that without Polish experience, their fates could have turned out differently. Public diplomacy is engaging. Actions undertaken by non-governmental entities are becoming an increasingly important instrument in implementing public diplomacy tasks. Civic organizations play a particularly important role in this process. As a strategic partner of the Polish state in creating Polish social capital, they are increasingly building networks of active and multi-level international relations. Thanks to the broad participation of civil society organizations, civic diplomacy, by building mutually beneficial relationships with partners abroad, facilitates the achievement of the state's goals on the international stage and contributes to shaping Poland's image. Citizen diplomacy is open to all citizens, including social activists active in the Polish diaspora, who wish to engage in mutually beneficial, in-depth dialogue with citizens of other countries. By focusing on disseminating knowledge about Poland's national heritage, historical citizen diplomacy can contribute to shaping a positive image of the country.

SCREENING OF THE PILOT OF A SERIES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF POLAND 1917 – 1990 EPISODE 3: "POLISH DIASPORA" The pilot of a series about the history of Poland in 1917 – 1990 will be shown at the Congress of the National Future in Wrocław. The aim of the series, addressed to foreign audiences and the Polish diaspora, including the next generation of Poles living abroad, is to increase awareness of the recent history of Poland, the social and cultural processes taking place at that time, which dominated for most of the 20th century and contributed to the shaping of the national community in its present conditions. The five parts making up the series of films about the modern history of Poland concern strictly the period from 1917 to 1990 and the phenomena shaping the existence of the nation: The shaping of the national community in the conditions of changing Polish statehood in episode 1 - "STATE"; The development of the local community making its presence felt in the life of the city, the size and diversification of social capital in episode 2 - "CITY"; The causes, scale, diversification and shaping of the living conditions of the Polish community in exile in episode 3 - "POLISH DIASPORA"; The achievements of Polish spiritual and material culture in the entire period from 1917 to 1990, in episode 4: "POLISH STORIES"; The experience of grappling with two totalitarianisms of the 20th century and how this encounter gave rise to the unique phenomenon of Polish Solidarity in episode 5: "TWO TOTALITARIANISMS - SOLIDARITY"; The supplement "MEMORY AND IDENTITY" is intended to show how the axiology of Polishness in the period from 1917 to 1990 is seen through the eyes of a contemporary, young Pole, grandson and great-grandson of heroes of Polish history from that period. Episode 3 of the series "POLISH DIASPORA" will be shown as a pilot. In 1918, as a result of the Great Emigration, a period of national uprisings in the 19th century and economic emigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, approximately 8 million Poles lived outside the borders of the country, which was recovering from the partitions. Between 1918 and 1938, approximately 2 million people left the country. World War II and the six years of occupation forced further crowds of Poles to leave the country, including soldiers who, after the defeat in 1939, made their way west to continue fighting for a free Poland. Four waves of deportations of Poles deep into the USSR, carried out in 1940 and 1941, affected approximately 350,000 people. Not all were able to return to the country, which was ruled by Moscow's appointees, after the war. As a result of the shifting borders after World War II, approximately 2.5 million citizens of the Second Polish Republic found themselves abroad. Polish emigration during the communist era was both political and economic. In 1989, the total number of Poles and people of Polish descent living abroad was estimated at approximately 12 to 15 million. This meant that 25-30 percent of Poles lived in exile or in areas that became outside Poland after World War II. Since nearly one-third of Poles, current emigrants and their descendants who retain a connection to Polishness, live outside the country, the third episode of the series will explore the formation of the Polish diaspora, the causes and scale of subsequent waves of emigration, the richness and diversity of life within the diaspora, and manifestations of concern for preserving national identity. The largest concentrations of Polish emigrants, the material and social conditions of life in exile, emblematic figures of the Polish diaspora shaping its image in the contemporary world, and Poland's "soft power" in the realities of the countries and societies where they settled. Each episode, including the supplement, will be presented as a story approximately 5 minutes long. Each part of the film will be presented using AI technology. It will be enriched with paintings, photographs, graphics, maps, works of art, historical memorabilia, and memoirs depicting the realities of the national community's fate, as well as a soundtrack containing, among other things, fragments of musical pieces illustrating the story. The computer animations will utilize photographs, images, graphics, and historical memorabilia from the IPN Archives and other archives and museum institutions.