Our country is fighting a fierce battle for its very existence. We know better than to take the homeland for granted. Side by side with our allies, we’re fighting for freedom. Their victory is our victory.

This message, ladies and gentlemen, sounds well-timed enough to come from today’s media – yet it's not the latest news from Kyiv. These are words that General Anders said almost exactly 80 years ago, on 19 March 1942,

said the IPN President Karol Nawrocki to the audience of Polish government officials and foreign diplomats at the launch of "Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom" at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

The project and the opening ceremony were held under the National Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda. The event was attended by government officials, ambassadors from countries whose territories were crossed by Poles during World War II, and representatives of veterans’ organizations and civil society.

Anna Maria Anders, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland in Rome, read out the order of General Wladyslaw Anders concerning the departure of Polish armed forces from the USSR.

During the ceremony, short presentations on the Institute of National Remembrance, the "The Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom" project and the accompanying exhibition were displayed.

The exhibition was opened in the courtyard of the Royal Castle and will be on display until 28 April 2022. At the same time it will be displayed at the Gdańsk Coal Market Square.

The aim of the project is to show the effort of the Polish Armed Forces during World War II and the fate of Polish civilians moving around the world at that time. The implementation of the project takes place in the years 2021—2025, and will cover a number of countries on several continents, where the exhibition will be presented. The exhibition will consist of two parts: a general one, telling the story of the Poles during the war struggles, and a local one, devoted to the history of Poles in a given country or region.

The project will be accompanied by a series of scientific and educational activities, including the publication of books, educational materials, and the organization of concerts, competitions, meetings and scientific conferences. The project also entails testimonies of Poles' wartime migration: photographs, documents, testimonies, as well as the restoration of forgotten memorials such as monuments or cemeteries scattered around the world. 

The project "Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom ", is a form of commemoration of the fate of hundreds of thousands of Poles who fought for the independence of Poland and other countries occupied by the German Reich. They made a real contribution to defeating Germany, and also proved to the whole world that they were ready to fight for freedom amid extremely tough military and political conditions.

The Main Partner of the Exhibition: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Republic of Poland.

Media Patrons: Polish Radio, TVP Historia, TVP Polonia, Polska Press Group, Historia Do Rzeczy, wSieci Historii, Przystanek Historia, Rzeczpospolita, Wszystko Co najważniejsze.

Video recording is available  below and on the IPNtvPL YT channel.

See also:

Read more about the "Trails of Hope. The Odysey of Freedom".