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On 23 August we mark the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes, a day of reflection on the tragic consequences of the reign of totalitarian regimes in Europe. The date is not coincidental – on that day the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed in 1939, which initiated collaboration between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, what led to unimaginable suffering for millions of people.

The European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes was established by the European Parliament in 2008. This is an initiative of the European Network of Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS), an international organisation that promotes the study of European 20th-century history.

Every year, as part of the educational campaign entitled 'Remember: 23 August', a series of activities is conducted with the aim to remember the victims of regimes as well as showing the results and meaning of the past events to contemporary Europeans. One of the elements of commemorations is the presentation of the spots dedicated to the persons who suffered during wars. This year they are Johann Trollmann, a German boxer of Roma origin who was murdered by a camp kapo, and Emílie Machálková, a Czech Roma, survivor of the Holocaust and promoter of Roma culture. During previous editions, there were presented the figures of Władysław Bartoszewski and Kazimierz Moczarski among others.

A distinctive element of the campaign is a pin badges bearing the inscription ‘Remember. 23 August’ with an added black ribbon that can be obtained today in many museums in Poland. It is a symbol of the suffering of millions of people and can also be an addition to the discussion about the consequences of actions of those governments that have sought to control and eliminate all expressions of freedom and diversity of opinion, as well as about the meaning of freedom today - especially in view of ongoing armed conflicts.

Łambinowice is also marked by a tragic history, where victims of two totalitarian regimes suffered and died. Between 1939 and 1945, one of the largest POW camp complexes in Europe - the Lamsdorf stalags - operated there, and some 300,000 soldiers of the anti-Hitler collation were housed during its existence. They were forced to perform hard labour, often starved and persecuted, they were loosing their health and often their lives. This is also evidenced by the numbers - one in seven of the prisoners-of-war held there perished. After the end of the war, between 1945 and 1946, Łambinowice became a place of suffering for some 5-6 thousand German civilians, incarcerated in a camp administered by the Polish communist authorities. As a result of poor living and sanitary conditions, illnesses and mistreatment, about 1-1.5 thousand of them died.