Several hundred people protested Friday against changes to the main exhibition at the World War II Museum in Gdańsk. “What would we be if we did not express our opposition to the erasure of heroes like Captain Witold Pilecki, Father Kolbe and the blessed Ulma family,” said the president of the Institute for National Remembrance, Dr. Karol Nawrocki.

The museum management, headed since April by Prof. Rafał Wnuk, announced on Tuesday about the planned and implemented changes to the main exhibition, which will return to the state starting in 2017. This means, among other things, the removal from the exhibition of portraits of captain Witold Pilecki, Father Maksymilian Kolbe, as well as large-format photos of the Ulma family.

Protests against the construction of the Second World War Museum

On Friday, a demonstration against the changes was held in front of the Second World War Museum building in Gdańsk. Several hundred people took part in it. Many of those gathered carried red and white flags.

READ MORE: REPORT. Residents of Warsaw and Gdańsk defended the Captain. Witold Pilecki, Saint Father Maksymilian Kolbe and Blessed Ulma Family

The demonstration was attended by, among others, the president of the Institute of National Remembrance, Dr. Karol Nawrocki, who emphasized that “the truth about a man is what makes him a man, and the truth about a nation is what makes him a nation.”

There is no other truth than the truth of the past. Only the truth of the past exists. There is no truth in the future. Who would we be if we did not express our rejection of the erasure of heroes like Captain Witold Pilecki, Father Kolbe, and the blessed Ulma family. Who would we be if we did not speak out about those who speak so much about us as a national community, who are ready to sacrifice for others. A national community ready to defend the values ​​that are most important to us?

– he says.

“This museum does not belong to Paweł Machcewicz, Rafał Wnuk and Janusz Marszalec”

Director of the Gdańsk branch of the Institute of National Remembrance, Dr. Marek Szymaniak, said that the exhibition at the Second World War Museum is one of the largest exhibitions in Poland, Europe and the world about the war.

That is why it is so important that the theme of the Polish experience of World War II is heard clearly. The omission of Polish heroes from this exhibition by Rafał Wnuk, Janusz Marszalec and Paweł Machcewicz significantly impoverishes this story, not just destroys it.

– he pointed out.

As he said, “there was no agreement on the dismissal of the Ulma family, father Maksymilian Kolbe and the captain. Witold Pilecki of the Polish Museum, which is under the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

This museum does not belong to Paweł Machcewicz, Rafał Wnuk and Janusz Marszalec. We stand in front of this museum and exhibition in the common interest of all Polish people. Today, Polish people are defending their heroes, which is why it is so important for us to gather today in Gdańsk, in front of the place where Polish historical memory and identity were brutally violated.

– he emphasized.

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olnk/PAP/wPolityce.pl