One of the items on the agenda of the Bolesławiec City Council session held on Wednesday, 20 July, was a vote on a draft resolution concerning a cooperation agreement between the Urban Municipality and the City of Zbarazh in Ukraine. Barbara Smoleńska, a teacher at the General and Vocational Schools Complex named after Maj. Henryk Sucharski and head of the Bolesławiec Society of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands, spoke: “For many years, I have cooperated with the City of Zbarazh, which is known to many Poles because it was described by Sienkiewicz in With Fire and Sword. Many residents of Bolesławiec, including members of our society, were born either in Zbarazh or in towns in Zbarazh County.
“Why Zbarazh?” B. Smoleńska continued. “There are many traces of Polish heritage there: a church, a monument to Mickiewicz and numerous Polish inscriptions in the cemetery.
The president of the Society of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands is also the coordinator of the exceptional campaign ‘Save Your Great-Grandfather’s Grave from Oblivion’, which we have written about many times in these pages. “For young people, a trip to the land of their ancestors is a very important history lesson. There are Polish families there, after all. It can be said that more and more families are now tracing their Polish roots. These people need our help,” she stressed.
Barbara Smoleńska also mentioned the ‘Save from Oblivion’ project, carried out by the Bolesławiec Museum of Ceramics and Municipal Gymnasium No. 2 named after Poles Deported to Siberia (the society joined the initiative).
“If cooperation with Zbarazh continues, we hope that there will be more and more mementoes and documents from those areas, because official cooperation greatly facilitates unofficial visits. An association of Poles is being established there, and our society could cooperate with it. The Bolesławiec Museum of Ceramics could, in turn, establish cooperation with the local Ministry for the Protection of Monuments. It is possible that this cooperation between the Urban Municipality of Bolesławiec and the City of Zbarazh will cover many areas and involve many parties,” the head of the organisation noted.
B. Smoleńska also added that the mayor of Zbarazh had become so involved in the Lower Silesian campaign to save cemeteries that this year his officials devoted one day to working in the cemetery, leaving only the secretary at the municipal office.
“The residents of Zbarazh need contact with Poland and very much want the Polish language. During the ‘Save Your Great-Grandfather’s Grave from Oblivion’ campaign, older people in particular say that Poland has come to them,” the president stressed. “Official twinning cooperation is needed above all by the younger generation. The aim is to strengthen the ties between Poland and Ukraine and dispel misunderstandings.
The councillors adopted the resolution unanimously. We will return to the subject.