Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum Special Exhibitions
The exhibition shows the history of the so-called Berling’s Army, the fate of its soldiers and that of their families. Materials were obtained from the Museum of the Polish Army in Warsaw, from soldiers’ families, and from Gen. Berling’s family. (Currently available only in Polish).
The exhibition presents the history of the Polish 1st Armoured Division, through texts and photos selected from a book published by the Division in 1947. Additional photos were obtained from private collections. (Currently available only in Polish).
This Electronic Book contains the story of the Polish Second Corps, as told through the lives of 16 of its members. Reviewing these 16 lives – through text, recordings, and photos – will provide a glimpse in to myriad experiences of the soldiers and support staff that made up this heroic military formation.
This film was compiled by Krystyna Tomaszyk (author of “Ashes”, Wellington, New Zealand) from the photographs of her mother, Krystyna Skwarko, Director of Polish Schools in Esfahan, Iran, where up to 2,500 Polish children evacuated from Soviet exile, lived between 1942 and 1944.
Border Protection Corps was a military formation in times of peace, founded in 1924 in the face of growing banditry and violence inspired by the Soviet secret services in border areas.
“In terms of the number of troops, Belarusians were the second (after Ukrainians) nationality in the Polish Army, taking into account the recruits coming from ethnic minorities. Their participation ranged from 4% to 10% of army manpower in the 2nd Republic.”
“In spite of the fact that we were homeless and without a country, we brought with us our Polish culture, traditions, and the values our parents taught us. It was for this reason that the ancient city of Isfahan (…) was often referred to as the city of Polish children…”
Zbigniew & Waclaw Kurzweil
The exhibition shows an original memoir written by Waclaw Kurzweil, as well as sketches and paintings by Zbigniew Kurzweil, both of whom were from Stanislawow and were deported to Siberia on 13th April 1940. They both eventually joined Gen. Anders army and ended up living the rest of their lives in England.