Based on collected stories, documents, source materials and photographs, Franciszek Kwaśniak familiarized the numerous attendees with the extraordinary and difficult fate of Poles whose destiny took them to Bosnian soil, where they lived from 1898 to 1946. The co-author of the book “The History of Poles in Bosnia (1895–1946)” was born on 30 August 1940 in Graz, Austria. From 1941 to 1946, he lived in Gumjera, Prinjavor district, in the former Yugoslavia. In 1946, he came to Poland with his parents and settled in Ocice.
In a warm atmosphere, the participants readily shared their memories and chatted with Mr Franciszek over cake.
The members of the Association of Returnees also thanked the people who helped them organize their trip on 26–28 June this year to Valpovo near Osijek, where they took part in commemorations of the 125th anniversary of the first arrivals of Polish settlers from the eastern territories of Galicia to Croatian Slavonia and Baranja.
The event was organized by the Association of Returnees from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends and the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre–International Ceramics Centre. The event is being carried out as part of the “Save from Oblivion” project, co-financed by the Municipality of Bolesławiec במסגרת an open call for proposals supporting the implementation of public tasks by non-governmental organizations.
