PR dla Zagranicy Nick Hodge 23.04.2014 12:42
A range of exhibits from the forthcoming Museum of World War II in Gdansk has been unveiled in the Baltic city.
Miniature plastic figures sculpted from toothbrushes by inmates of the Nazi German concentration camp of Ravensbruck. Photo: PAP/Adam Warzawa
Some 30,000 objects have already been gathered for the museum, and journalists were given a glimpse of some of the most precious pieces in a sneak preview on Tuesday evening. The collection takes in such unusual artefacts as miniature sculptures carved from toothbrushes by inmates at the Nazi German concentration camp in Ravensbruck (pictured above).
Also included is a tray marked with a Star of David found amid the ruins of the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw, after the Nazis liquidated the area in May 1943 (pictured left)Photo: PAP/Adam Warzawa .
Another invaluable exhibit is a sculpture of Christ that was shot by a Soviet soldier in a Silesian church in 1945. A large bullet-hole remains.
The firsts shots of World War II were fired at Gdansk (then the free city of Danzig) on 1 September 1939, when German warship the Schleswig-Holstein – technically on a courtesy visit – opened fire on the Polish garrison at the Westerplatte peninsula. Prime Minister Donald Tusk, himself from Gdansk, first presented the idea of building the museum in December 2007, and the project was given the green light the following year. Although it was initially hoped that the museum would open its doors this year, at present, 2016 is considered to be a more realistic date.
Album created by a Polish inmate of an officers' POW camp in Murnau for his wife. Photo: PAP/Adam Warzawa
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http://www.muzeum1939.pl/pl/o_muzeum/za ... sja_i_cele
Google translation
http://www.muzeum1939.pl/pl/o_muzeum/przyszla_siedzibaMission and goals
The idea of the creation of a museum depicting the fate of Polish in 1939-1945 on a broad European background showed Prime Minister Donald Tusk in December 2007. 1 September 2008, Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the position of the Plenipotentiary for the World War II Museum has appointed Professor. Dr.. hab. Paul Machcewicz and entrusted him with developing the concept of the museum. November 26, 2008 by a decree of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski cited World War II Museum. On the seat of the institution selected Gdańsk - the city where the war broke out.
"It is not true that historians know all about World War II. It is not true that all the problems of this period have been resolved. A large part of the population is not aware of the opinions adopted by historians ... That's why we need not only to studies of World War II, but also exhibitions, multimedia, measures that would allow the transfer of what we know about this disaster.'s why we need the Museum of World War II. " Norman Davies
Less than a year later, at Westerplatte, during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, Prime Minister signed the Act Erection museum and open air exhibition "Westerplatte Resort - Bastion - Symbol"
The mission of the World War II Museum in Gdańsk is to create a modern facility, which will be told the story of the war as the greatest disaster of the twentieth century. This task is still valid, because despite the passage of more than 70 years since the outbreak of the Second World War, there is no museum in Europe, which as a whole, demonstrate the course and nature of the conflict.
One of the main objectives of the museum is to show the world the experience of war Polish and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in many ways different and little known in Western Europe and non-European countries. The basic emphasis in the historical narrative will be placed on the fate of individuals, communities and nations. Military History will provide a background narrative of the everyday life of civilians and soldiers, the terror of occupation, with phenomena such as genocide, resistance against the occupier and a great politician. The aim of such treatment of the subject is to give the uniqueness of the experience of World War II, in which the victim suffered the greatest civilian population.
Polished Google translation
[/quote]Future home of the Museum
World War II Museum in Gdansk is being constructed on ul Wałowa, by the river Motławą, close to the historical center. It will be a symbolic architectural space and storage space - 200 meters from the historic building, the Polish Post Office in Gdańsk and three kilometers by water from the peninsula of Westerplatte, attacked in September 1939
The area of the future museum, covering an area of 1700 m 2 , touches on the west side Radunia Channel, and from the south opens up to a wide panorama of the Motława. it is currently on the outskirts of old Gdansk; soon it will be the center of the modern business district, located on the grounds of the shipyard.
Completion of the World War II Museum is planned for 2015. The Museum building covers an area of approximately 23,000 m 2 . The main exhibition area covers almost 7,000 m 2 . In modern fashion, the Second World War is presented from the perspective of contemporary high politics, and most of all - experience of ordinary people. The exhibition is intended to represent not only the fate of the Poles, but also the experience of other nations.
In addition to a permanent exhibition at the Museum will also be a thousand meters of temporary exhibitions. The Museum will also serve as a center of education, culture and science.