28.07.2021
COLLECTED CONTENT: Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom - a commemorative and educational project on General Władysław Anders and his soldiers
Wojtek was a Syrian brown bear adopted by the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company in the 2nd Polish Corps commanded by General Władysław Anders. He carried ammunition boxes and pulled a supply cart during the Battle of Monte Cassino. He was promoted to the rank of corporal for his services to the Polish Army.
On 10 November 2022, the Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives in Athens (USA) hosted the opening of the IPN exhibition "Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom." The exhibition is part of the celebration of the Polish National Independence Day and the American Veteran's Day, which falls on November 11. The opening was also attended by representatives of the local Polish community.
On 4 October 2022 in Tashkent, the IPN President Karol Nawrocki, Ph.D. and Director of the Agency "Uzarchiv" Ulugbek Yusupov signed a memorandum of cooperation between the Institute of National Remembrance and the National Archive of Uzbekistan. The ceremony was attended by Polish Ambassador to Italy Anna Maria Anders.
The IPN exhibition entitled the "Trails of Hope. Odyssey of Freedom," dedicated to the efforts of the Polish Armed Forces during the Second World War and the fate of the civilian population evacuated from the Soviet Union with General Anders’ Army was launched today at the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. A delegation from the IPN headed by the Institute’s Deputy President Karol Polejowski, Ph.D. D.Sc. took part in the event.
Thanks to the visit of the IPN delegation to Canada and as a result of close cooperation with the Polish Consulate in Toronto, the "Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom" exhibition was presented in Roncesvalles during the Polish Festival on 17—18 September 2022. The exhibition was displayed in the Parish Hall of St. Casimir's Church in Toronto, which is located on the main Roncesvalles Avenue, where the festival was held.
The opening ceremony took place . The Deputy President of the IPN, Professor Karol Polejowski opened the Institute’s exhibition dedicated to the journey of over 116,000 Poles, civilians and General Anders’ soldiers, as well as the combat trail of General Maczek’s 1st Armored Division. The event took place at the St. John Paul II Polish Cultural Center in Mississauga.
The year 2022 has been declared the Year of the Three Generals. One of them, General Stanisław Maczek, is an exceptional figure for the Polish-Belgian relations. In September 1944, the 1st Polish Armoured Division under his command liberated the northern part of occupied Belgium, leaving a lasting debt of gratitude among the inhabitants of the liberated Flemish towns and villages.
The IPN President Karol Nawrocki and key members of the Institute leadership took that latest project – commemoration of thousands of Poles who left the Soviet Union with General Władysław Anders in 1942 and then fought the Axis in the ranks of 2nd Corps – to Texas to present it to Poles and Americans there and promote the knowledge of the Polish input into WWII victory. The visitors met with the local diaspora and Consul Robert Rusiecki in the Polish Church of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Houston, the exhibit venue.
The IPN Deputy President Prof. Karol Polejowski, and Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau took part in the opening of the "Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom" exhibition at the ALZHIR Museum near Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan.
