Fot. Ł. Rosielewski

Summary of the 82nd anniversary of the outbreak of World War II at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk.

On September 1st, 2021, the 82nd anniversary of the outbreak of World War II took place at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk. The celebrations began in the morning at Westerplatte, where the Marshal of the Sejm, Elżbieta Witek, together with the director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, Dr. hab. Grzegorz Berendt and Dr. Karol Nawrocki, president of the Institute of National Remembrance, handed the Westerplatczyk Family organisation an official identification document. The identification document was received by Ms. Katarzyna Bodak, granddaughter of the brother of the senior lawmaker Ignacy Zatorski.

 

Later, at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, there was a ceremonial opening of an exhibition entitled "" When the days are fulfilled ... burials of the Polish defenders of Westerplatte." The exhibition presents the profiles of nine of the defenders of the Military Transit Depot at Westerplatte who fell during the battle which lasted between the 1st and the 7th of September 1939. The exhibition is one of the elements of the process of restoring the memory of the heroes. Individual biographies are accompanied by selected items that were discovered on the remains of the fallen Polish soldiers found during archaeological research conducted at Westerplatte in 2019. At the same time, representatives of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk took part in the unveiling of a plaque commemorating Scoutmaster Jan Ożdyński at 2-4 Dyrekcyjna street, in Gdańsk. Later, at the buildings of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, a meeting with a group of the Westerplatian families took place. At the same time, a delegation from the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk took part in the ceremonial unveiling of a plaque commemorating Poles tortured and martyred in the first days of World War II, in Gdańsk at 24 Kładki Street. Then, representatives of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk took part in a Holy Mass at Obroncow Poczty Square. Poland. The next point of the ceremony was the laying of flowers in front of the Witold Captain Pilecki monument by the management of the Museum. Then, in the afternoon at the Museum of the Second World War, a scientific lecture by acting director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, dr. hab. Grzegorz Berendt titled "Aggression of the Third Reich against Poland before the Tribunal in Nuremberg" along with a presentation by acting director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, dr. hab. Grzegorz Berendt and the president of the Institute of National Remembrance, Dr. Karol Nawrocki titled "The progress of works on the construction of the Museum of Westerplatte and the War of 1939."

 

One of the last events during the celebration of the 82nd anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Gdańsk was the participation of representatives of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk in the ceremonies at the Cemetery of the Victims of Hitler's Terror - Monument to the Heroes of Zaspa. As part of the celebration in the square in front of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, there was also a presentation of the updated project "Digital Westerplatte" on VR goggles.

 

The celebrations ended with a music show '7 x Westerplatte', which took place in the square in front of the Museum of the Second World War under the honorary patronage of the Vice-President of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sporta, Professor Piotr Gliński, which was broadcast live on TVP1 and TVP Gdańsk.