The programme is co-financed by the Municipality of Bolesławiec. Jan Bujak will be the guest speaker. He is the author of the “Galicians and Serbs” book series, which is the result of many extraordinary meetings and conversations with people who told him about their experiences in Bosnia and Lower Silesia, shortly after their arrival in 1946. Mr Bujak will also talk about people who have since passed away but whom he managed to interview: Piotr Burniak, Bolesław Kryłowicz, Władek Torba, Franciszek Szajwaj, Karol Koman, Anna Hasiak from Osijek and other protagonists of those times.
Jan Bujak, the son of Antoni and Aniela, was one of those who came to Lower Silesia after the Second World War. He was two years old at the time. He could not remember Bosnia, where he was born. However, he knew it well from the stories told by his parents, grandparents and acquaintances. In Poland, he graduated from a teacher-training college and then from the Agricultural Academy in Wrocław. He also studied at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. For many years, he worked as an educator in Olszyna Lubańska, Rakowice Wielkie and Jelenia Góra. He was a teaching adviser and the director of a secondary school. He received many distinguished awards for his professional work and social activities.
Several years ago, Jan Bujak decided to preserve the history of Polish settlement in Bosnia. He carefully collected stories, documents, source materials and photographs. On their basis, the extremely interesting “Galicians and Serbs” book series was created, covering three periods of the emigration of Poles from Galicia to Bosnia and their re-emigration to post-war Poland:
Part One: Jędrek and Zosia (1887–1919) – covers life in Galicia, emigration and the early years on Bosnian soil up to the end of the First World War.
Part Two – In Bosnia: Wicek and Ania (1919–1940) – depicts idyllic life in a Bosnian village among Serbian neighbours, many years of working the land and gathering its abundant harvests.
Part Three – The War and Departure for Poland: Antoni and Aniela (1940–1950) – the fate of Poles in Bosnia during the Second World War and their re-emigration to post-war Poland, to Lower Silesia.
“Saving from Oblivion – 70 Years Since the Return of Poles from Bosnia” continues the project launched last year as a series of open meetings aimed at conveying our history to younger generations in an engaging way. In connection with the anniversary taking place in 2016, the meetings are held as anniversary events. There are five separate meetings from April to November, featuring a variety of formats: lectures, book launches, presentations of historical materials and publications, with invited guests: Tadeusz Jurkowski, Jan Bujak, Tomasz Jacek Lis, Marek Szajda and Anna Bober–Tubaj, in turn. The meetings are held with the support of the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre – International Ceramics Centre.
