Temporary exhibitions

The exhibition is dedicated to the ways of spending Christmast – the uniquely important holiday in the Christian culture – in POW camps. To the soldiers interned in them it was an exceptionally hard time, full of longing, memories and sentiments. The exhibition shows the way in which, independent of the conditions, POWs – mainly Polish ones – endeavored to live through it. It makes a presentation of genuine memorabilia or their copies, including also reconstructed elements of the fittings of the POW bunkhouses.

Manner of displaying: 10 large-format charts of 200 x 75 cm mounted on free-standing frames and 5 frames of 100 x 70 cm holding museum items. A Christmas tree and a suitably decorated table can add to the arrangement of the exhibition on the spot. The exhibition area: 20-30 square meters.

The exhibition comprises a unique series of a few dozen portrait sketches of POWs, which were made by Georgyi Ivanovich Danilov in Stalag 318/VIII F (344) Lamsdorf (Łambinowice). They show a high level of expertise and artistry. The collection presents chiefly Soviet POWs, treated in the worst manner by the Germans. Despite the fact that soldiers of the Red Army made the largest – numbering over 200 thousand – POW community detained in that camp, there have been relatively few objects left in relation to them. Therefore, G.I. Danilov’s collection remains a most suggestive testimony to that time. Apart from their documentary importance, the sketches also have a high artistic value. Their author, before going to the front and then finding himself in captivity, had studied art at Moscow Institute of Fine Arts for two years.

Manner of displaying: 80 portrait sketches inside frames of 50 x 40 cm to be mounted on walls and the title chart. The exhibition catalogue includes the introduction in Polish, English, German and Russian. The exhibition is available primarily in the form of copies. The exhibition area: 40 square metres.

The aim of the exhibition is to preserve the memory of the tragic events connected with the existence of the isolation camps in Łambinowice. It consists of two parts. On the one hand, it offers a peculiar source of knowledge on the history and the contemporary role of the Site of National Remembrance established in Łambinowice, by presenting the background history of the place and the camps which were located in this area. On the other hand, it shows the many-sided activity of the Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War – the institution which takes care of the Site. Accordingly, visitors get familiar with the working of the Museum archive, scientific and educational activity as well as learn about different forms of commemorating victims of war crimes.

Manner of presentation: two free-standing modules consisting of 8 information charts of 200 x 90 cm. The exhibition is available in the Polish and the German languages. The exhibition area: 20 square metres.

Following the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, a group of about 17 thousand insurgents were brought to German POW camps. The exhibition brings closer their vicissitudes from the moment of their laying down arms to that of regaining freedom. What is important, this group numbering several thousand people, consisted not only of men, but also women and children who were treated on equal terms with the former. Thanks to the exhibition, visitors can realize the fact that never before in the history of captivity had there been found a group of prisoners who would differ so greatly as regards their ages, sex, social and educational backgrounds.

To the majority of insurgents, their stay in the POW camps was a new and unusually hard experience. It meant separation from the nearest, isolation, often forced labor and facing brutal treatment from the camp personnel, hunger, dirt and cold, and – towards the end of the war – also the necessity to take the extremely vital decision whether to return to the mother country or stay in exile. The exhibition, by means of unique photographs, documents and letters, presents the camp reality which the Warsaw insurgents came to share.

Manner of displaying: 12 large-format charts in free-standing frames of 200 x 75 cm. There is a guide to the exhibition. The exhibition area: 30 square meters.

The exhibition presents the history of the book and readership in POW camps run by the Wehrmacht. It points to the factors which made the circulation of books possible there, how POWs organized it, how they coped with the censorship, what books they read and what activities accompanied their reading. Genuine memorabilia (books, library regulations, cards and identity cards, notices, signboards, photographs, notes) help the visitor to realize the scale of this phenomenon, and – first of all – to comprehend the exceptional significance of the written word to people staying in isolation for a longer period of time.

Manner of displaying: charts to be mounted on walls or on free-standing frames. There is a guide to the exhibition. It is possible to loan museum exhibits thematically connected with the display (shown inside frames and in showcases). The exhibition prepared in its chart version (mounted on frames) is available to schools. Arrangement of the hall can include creating an interior of a camp library. The exhibition area: 30 square metres.

POWs’ artistic creativity presents with itself a most interesting phenomenon and the Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War carefully collects and documents all its instances. The exhibition consists of a collection of pictures, the authors of which were POWs (also anonymous) interned in German camps designed for officers and private and non-commissioned soldiers during World War 2.

The works on display were executed with the use of regular painting techniques (oils, watercolor, gouache) and those combining painting and drawing (pastel, colored drawings). They present, first of all, the faces of POWs, scenes from the life of the interned, camps and the environs, some are of the satirical character, there are also compositions from nature. The major part of the works were made in oflags, where the conditions to develop this kind of activity were more favorable than in stalags. The works are of great historical value, since they testify to the lack of acceptance on the part of the oppressed of the fate which had befallen them and are an expression of freedom.

Manner of displaying: 87 pictures mostly of 50 x 40 cm to be mounted on walls or on free-standing frames. There is a guide to the exhibition containing the introduction in Polish, English, German and Russian. Exhibition area: 40 square metres.

The exhibition is devoted to Polish POWs in the Soviet captivity, in particular, to the vicissitudes of the interned in the three special camps run by the NKVD: Kozelsk, Starobilsk and Ostashkov and to the history of getting to know the truth about them. Some of the POWs survived the captivity and joined the armies led by Anders or Berling.

The exhibition comprises 10 parts. It opens with pre-war photographs of prospective POWs. Then, the visitor follows their route to captivity, the stay in camps, circumstances of discovering the Katyn crime, its concealment and political manipulations and the difficult process of seeking the truth. It was prepared on the basis of rich archival collections of many institutions and private people. It consists of the following: maps, photographs and press publications, enriched with recorded accounts from witnesses to those events.

Manner of displaying: 15 large-format charts of 200 x 75 cm in free-standing frames. The exhibition and the guide are printed in Polish and English. Exhibition area: 40 square meters.

How was it possible for the POWs detained in camps to be able to take up theatre activity? This question is answered by the exhibition, where we can see, among others, surprising photos of POWs-actors, sketches of costumes or scripts of staged plays. Organization of theatre plays being on a high – regarding the camp conditions – artistic level, allowed POWs to forget about the hard camp reality even if for a short while only.

The exhibition comprises documents, photographs and items connected with theatre activity, which with a big effort, yet also great success was carried out by real enthusiasts of the theatre – Polish POWs in the time of World War 2. The attention is drawn to their inventiveness, engagement and professionalism, as well as the vital role of this domain of life in surviving in the captivity.

Manner of presentation: 4 large-format charts of 200 x 150 cm and 15 charts of 100 x 70 cm to be mounted on walls or in free-standing frames. There is a guide to the exhibition. Exhibition area: 60 square meters.

The exhibition presents the vicissitudes of Polish POWs in the German and the Soviet captivity seen through the case histories of the following individuals: Józef Czapski, Józef Kobylański, Stanisław Krzyżaniak, Zofia Książek-Bregułowa, Henryk Łagodzki and Zbigniew Wajszczuk. Their profiles were selected since they come to represent all the most typical groups of Polish POWs, that is privates, officer-cadets and officers interned in the Wehrmacht and the NKVD camps at that time.

Beside the participants of the September Campaign of the 1939 Defensive War, the exhibition shows also Warsaw insurgents, beside regular soldiers – reserve soldiers, beside men – women and children. The photographs, documents and memorabilia which were collected tell the life histories of the chosen heroes, beginning with the time before 1939 and spanning World War 2, which is presented to the broadest extent here, and their vicissitudes following the war.

Manner of displaying: 6 free-standing modules, each of 4 square meters. The exhibition was prepared in three language versions and is accompanied by audio recordings and a guide. Exhibition area: 60 square meters.

The exhibition, due to the means of communication used – satirical drawings made by POWs – offers an insight into the creators’ brave attempt at their conscious and purposeful recording the picture of captivity in a distorting mirror. The irony towards themselves and mockery of those who were in position to decide not only on the amount of soup the POWs were to be given, but also on the life or the death of the latter, paradoxically make the visitor take a serious approach towards the hilarious scenes of the everyday camp life, which were often drawn by an expert hand and rendered with strong lines, fairly often colored with a crayon that was miraculously procured.

The drawings feature POWs in a variety of situations: from their morning toilet, through preparation of meals, work or artistic activities until going to sleep. All the works were ordered into eight thematic sections, each of which is headed by an introduction in Polish and English. The exhibition is accompanied by a multimedia display of original photographs from the years of World War 2 and a relevant publication.

Manner of displaying: 27 charts of 100 x 70 cm with holes to be mounted on walls. There is a publication of the educational character provided in Polish and English. Exhibition area: 18 square meters.

The exhibition consists of carefully selected photographs of two Polish artists-photographers: Sławoj Dubiel and Sławomir Mielnik. They constitute a photographic documentation of the open-air spectacle under the title Żyć za wszelką cenę [To live on at any price], which was prepared by Teatr Eko Studio of Opole and shown at the Site of National Remembrance in Łambinowice. The script for the play was based on the memoirs of Sergey Voropaiev and also on those of other POWs detained in the Lamsdorf camp during World War 2.

The play shows the drama of the Soviet POWs not only suffering from penetrating cold and devastating hunger, but also coping with the fact that their mother country had disowned them and acknowledged to be traitors. Consequently, the POWs’ goal then was to survive at all costs. Thanks to the recorded scenes which present the everyday life of the Soviet POWs interned in Stalag 318/VIII F Lamsdorf during World War 2 and also short fragments of the script found in captions under the photographs, the visitor to the exhibition can get to know a handful of details relating to their vicissitudes.

Manner of displaying: 8 charts of 100 x 70 cm with holes to be mounted on walls. Exhibition area: 10 square meters.

The exhibition is devoted to relatively little known, yet – at the same time – a most interesting fragment of the history of Polish sport and physical education, which Polish POWs took part in. The sundry genuine items, documents and photographs which used to be part of the POW camp life and which are on display in their original form or in the form of copies (large-format boards, clip-frames) testify to the exceptional attitude and fortitude of the Polish soldiers, as well as to the vital role the sports activity played in their lives in captivity.

The rivalry in the sports arena allowed the POWs to forget about their enforced separation and distance from their families or longing for freedom. The visitor is able to see documents issued by POW sports organizations, posters and photos taken during camp competitions, prizes for winners and fragments of memoirs.

Manner of displaying: 5 large-format banners of 200 x 100 cm, 10 charts bearing text, size 70 x 50 cm and 13 frames of 100 x 70 cm holding museum items (copies). There is a guide to the exhibition. Exhibition area: 30 square meters.