Otwarcie wystawy stałej Krakowianie wobec terroru 1939–1945–1956. Podsumowanie i wnioski z realizacji projektu

Abstract

THE OPENING OF THE PERMANENT EXHIBITION PEOPLE OF KRAKÓW IN TIMES OF TERROR 1939–1945–1956. SUMMARY OF THE COMPLETED PROJECT AND CONCLUSIONS

The paper presents a summary of the works which had  led to the revitalization of the Pomorska Street branch of  the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków (MHK) and  the launching of a new, multimedia permanent exhibition  titled People of Kraków in Times of Terror 1939–1945–1956  on 2 June 2011. The exhibition shows the mechanisms of  terror and the scale of violence employed, as well as attitudes  of the people of Kraków in the face of repression  used by the two totalitarian regimes. By narrating the fate  of selected individual persons and presenting their personal  choices we preserve the memory about them, and about  the tragic period in the history of our city they happened  to live in.  The author of the paper who had been involved in the  preparation of this exhibition as its curator and project  manager (until July 2010) discusses all the stages that were  accomplished during the realization of the project, including  a report on the financing schedule for the years covered  by it, the goals achieved and the methods used.  The opening of the new exhibition at the Pomorska  Street branch marked the completion of the second stage of  the construction of the Memory Trail of MHK. The creation  of this exhibition and its inclusion in the Memory Trail  was not only supposed to rescue the names of the victims,  their fates and the tragic events in which they participated  in the years 1939–1956 from oblivion. The organizers of  this project considered it equally important to remind the  audience what this place in fact was during the Nazi German  occupation, and how much fear the very name “Pomorska”  aroused among the local people.  As a revitalized branch of MHK, Pomorska Street receives  very positive feedback from visitors who describe it  as an important landmark on the historical map of Kraków,  a place that becomes embedded in one’s memory for a long  time and one that provokes reflection. The greatest distinction  and reflection of the positive assessment of the project  by museological circles was the fact that for creating the  exhibition People of Kraków in Times of Terror 1939–1945–  1956 the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków was  nominated for the Sybilla 2011 Award in the prestigious  32nd Museum Event of the Year Competition organized by  the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.