Delegation of the Museum of the Second World War visits Wellington

The New Zealand National Library in Wellington hosted an opening of the exhibition entitled “Fighting and Suffering”. The exhibition opening was accompanied by a public lecture “The Beginning of Evil. Fighting and Suffering” delivered by Mr Karol Nawrocki, PhD, Director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk.

The event met with great interest from the attending guests, who included among others representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in Wellington, historians, representatives of the Polish Diaspora and visitors with an interest in the history of World War II, as well as the history of Poland.
The event which took place in the auditorium of the New Zealand National Library, was opened by the National Librarian Bill Macnaught, and the guests were welcomed by His Excellency Mr Zbigniew Gniatkowski, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Wellington. This was followed by a public lecture entitled “The Beginning of Evil. Fighting and Suffering”, delivered by the Director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk. One of the issues discussed by Dr Karol Nawrocki were the roots of the tragic conflict:

This is where its philosophical dimensions, a passion for terror and war, a deathly loathing for certain social classes, nationalities and entire groups of society met on a practical level. The communists’ collaboration with the Nazis took on its most practical shape on August 23, 1939 with the signing of the Ribentropp-Mołotow Pact, which by means of 300 words in the main body and 4 paragraphs of a secret supplementary protocol destroyed the existing order in Central and Eastern Europe, at the same time becoming a milestone leading up to World War II. Both totalitarian regimes - Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia - partitioned or invaded 6 then independent countries. The attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, marked the beginning of a major world military conflict.  

The presentation was followed by an interesting and lively questions and answers session. It was moderated by Prof. Roberto Rabela (Emeritus Professor, Victoria University of Wellington), whose father - Jerzy Rabel - fought in the Warsaw Uprising and for his heroism and courage was awarded the War Order of Virtuti Militari. The public lecture delivered by dr.Karol Nawrocki was accompanied by the opening of the exhibition “Fighting and Suffering”, which to date has been held in more than 150 venues world-wide.