Location: Level -2
Duration: Completed
On February 7th, 2023, the fourth anniversary of Jan Olszewski's death, a vernissage of the exhibition dedicated to Prime Minister Jan Olszewski; ‘Looking People Straight in the Eye ...’ took place at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk.
The exhibition introduces the figure of a scout from the so-called Gray Ranks of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association, a defender in political trials during the People's Republic of Poland (PRL), and a politician who led the first post-World War II Polish government elected by the Sejm through free elections. Individual information panels present Jan Olszewski's biography from childhood in a railway family, a family connected for generations with the tradition of independence, to the words spoken on his deathbed: "I am not obliged to surrender."
Reminders of the most important facts of Jan Olszewski's life are accompanied by quotes from his speeches. We learn how he perceived the world and what guided him in his life choices. The whole presentation is complemented by photocopies of documents and photographs, largely from the private archive of the hero, published for the first time.
Addressing those gathered at the vernissage, the Deputy Director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk – Dr. Marek Szymaniak said:
„Prime Minister Jan Olszewski is very close to the Museum of the Second World War because he was an active participant in the fight against the German occupier. As a scout from the Gray Ranks, he participated in the Warsaw Uprising (...) In the 1950s, the future Prime Minister actively participated in the defense of soldiers of the Home Army, representatives of the democratic opposition, workers (...) He was a delegate of the prosecutor in the famous trial of the murderers of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko (...) He was a very brave and thoroughly good person, guided in his life only by the doing good to other human beings.”
Artur Kłus, co-creator of the exhibition and head of the notation section in the Department of Notation and Multimedia Developments at the Bureau of National Education of the Institute of National Remembrance Branch in Warsaw, also spoke:
„If someone survived the occupation, they could consider themselves lucky – as summarized by Jan Olszewski. He twice miraculously escaped death in 1944 during the shelling of Praga with the heaviest German artillery. His experiences from those years always remained important for Jan Olszewski; he always remembered his peers who were less fortunate than him (...) He was a fervent anti-communist, guided by the conviction that the ultimate goal should be clearly defined and singular – independence.”
A letter from the co-author of the exhibition, who could not be present at the ceremony, the president of the Jan Olszewski Archive Foundation – Dr. Justyna Błażejowska, was also read out:
„Based on his own and, more broadly, family experiences, he rectified lies about the attitudes of Poles and the course of the German occupation. Coming from a railway family, he defended the good name of Polish railway workers falsely accused of participating in the Holocaust (...) I thank the Director and the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk for all the activities commemorating the late Prime Minister.”
Among the honorary guests were: the president of the ‘Ponarska’ Family Association – Maria Wieloch and the Chief of the Bureau of National Education of the Institute of National Remembrance Branch in Gdańsk – Krzysztof Drażba. Before the solemn vernissage, the deputy directors of MSWW – Dr. Marek Szymaniak and Waldemar Szulc laid wreaths under the plaque commemorating Jan Olszewski, located in the conference room named after the Prime Minister on level -3 at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk.
The exhibition was prepared in cooperation with the Institute of National Remembrance and the Jan Olszewski Archive Foundation.
Gallery
