Storm after changes at the Museum of the Second World War. “Tusk’s government removes the profiles of heroes”

The management of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk informed about the changes that were introduced in the main exhibition. “The dispute over the exhibition was one of the great public debates on history taking place in Poland in recent years, a dispute over the understanding of Polish patriotism, a clash of two visions of talking about the past: reflective and apologetic. It also had a clear political background,” the release stated. It was added that the changes introduced during the PiS government “distorted the meaning of the story created by the authors”, and the current ones are intended to “restore the coherence of the entire exhibition”.

“We are returning to the original version of the script and the vision of the authors of the ‘System of concentration camps’ and ‘The road to Auschwitz’ sections of the part of the exhibition entitled ‘The Threat of War’,” explains the museum management. As we read further, the introduction of a display case dedicated exclusively to Roman Catholic clergy and the hanging of portraits of Father Kolbe and Rtm. in the central points of this space. Pilecki “disturbed the anthropological character of the narrative”, while placing a large-format photograph of the Ulma family in the “Road to Auschwitz” section broke “the artistic composition and narrative coherence of this part of the exhibition”.

“We intend to restore coherence to the entire exhibition, and we are announcing further steps in this direction. We believe that although, according to the Court, the changes to the exhibition were relatively minor, every visitor has the right to view the exhibition in its original form and independently assess whether it serves the Polish policy of memory well,” the museum states.

PiS politicians are outraged

PiS politicians see the matter completely differently. Anna Krupka stated that “Tusk’s government is removing figures of heroes from museums.” “Scandal! You will not erase the memory of great Poles! We will not allow it!” – she added. Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also spoke. “Removing from the permanent exhibition of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk figures such as Saint Maksymilian Kolbe, a martyr and victim of Auschwitz, Captain Witold Pilecki, a concentration camp prisoner sentenced to death by the communists, or the blessed Ulma family who saved Jews during the war, is an expression of indecency and lack of respect for the heroes of Polish history,” he said.

“Patriotism, courage and sacrifice made by these outstanding Poles have been grossly disregarded. This will be the historical policy of our country now? Throwing national symbols into the garbage?” – he said.