Guests arriving for the 5th Gathering of Directors of Schools and Institutions and Presidents of Associations named in commemoration of those deported to Siberia were given a very warm and fascinating welcome by the students of Municipal Middle School No. 2 in Bolesławiec.
For the guests, the “paratheatrical” group under the supervision of Ewa Ołenicz-Bernacka prepared an exceptional and very difficult historical poetry-and-music lesson entitled “Can One Live Without This Love?”. The students spoke about patriotism and love for their own home, land and country. They recited nineteenth-century poems by the great national poets and memoirs of Siberian exiles. Notes from a brutal, bitter and murderous history. Finally, Kacper Kukawski appeared, rapping a sincere and contemporary declaration of love for Poland. His song aroused genuine delight among all the spectators gathered there—both teenagers and older people.
“I thank the teachers and students for allowing me to feel like a proud Polish woman here today,” said Beata Sulska. “Can one live without this love? Can one live without love at all? No. It was love that brought us all here,” added the head of the Social Affairs Department in Bolesławiec.
Interactive Memorial Chamber at Municipal Middle School No. 2
Everyone gathered was deeply impressed by the rich program and the modern, lively Interactive Memorial Chamber. In the school corridors, the young people additionally staged scenes depicting the lives of those deported to Siberia. There was straw on the floor and bunks; the difficult living conditions of the deportees were shown, while the young actors took on the roles of Siberian exiles.
The Middle School named after Poles Deported to Siberia can boast an Interactive School Memorial Chamber. The project to create the chamber as a bridge connecting generations won a competition organized by the BZ WBK Foundation. The middle school received a grant in the “I Live Here, I Change Here” competition. Our project was one of 247 carried out thanks to the bank’s ideas. A total of 2,861 applications were submitted to the BZWBK Foundation. The total value of the grants awarded exceeded PLN 1.5 million.
The Interactive School Memorial Chamber is a place where youth meet experience. It has been equipped with modern multimedia equipment and includes a mini film studio; young people are eager to visit it. The chamber serves as a museum and regional education center for all schools in the city and Bolesławiec municipality. The process of creating the Memorial Chamber—students’ search for, discovery of and learning about mementos belonging to their grandparents and great-grandparents—strengthened their sense of connection with their family, region and homeland.
Representatives of BZWBK bank, regional director Tomasz Turczyński and Adam Połomski, director of the third branch in Bolesławiec, thanked the organizers for the invitation and for the completed project supported by the Foundation.
“I thank the headmistress and the organizers for creating this project,” said Tomasz Turczyński. “The Foundation was able to help you and the local community of Bolesławiec. I am pleased that, together with you, we can also preserve the identity and culture of this region.”
Very moved was Maria Niemczuk of the Siberian Exiles Association in Bolesławiec, who emphasized how important remembrance and its cultivation are to the Siberian exiles of Bolesławiec.
At the end of the visit to Municipal Middle School No. 2, Maria Subik thanked the sponsors and co-organizers of the event. The following accepted the thanks: BZWBK bank representatives Adamowi Połomski and Tomasz Turczyński; the Municipal Communal Economy Enterprise and its president Władysław Bakalarz; the Bolesławiec City Council and Mayor of Bolesławiec; the Parents’ Council, the main sponsor of all activities, represented by Paweł Skorupka; the Siberian Exiles Circle in Bolesławiec; BOK-MCC director Ewa Lijewska-Małachowska; and GOKiS director Janusz Cieśla.