On 6 September 2024, a meeting of “Witness of History” laureates with a group of young people from all over Europe participating in the PEACE LINE project took place at the History Point in Warsaw. The event was organized by the IPN Office of International Cooperation.
A group of 30 young people from the PEACE LINE project was welcomed by the Deputy President of the Institute of National Remembrance Prof. Karol Polejowski. The Director of the IPN Office of International Cooperation Agnieszka Jędrzak outlined the mission and tasks of the IPN focusing on the issues of preserving the memory of the victims of crimes committed by the Germans and Soviets in the 20th century.
Pawel Kosiński, Ph.D. of the IPN Office of Historical Research gave a lecture about German and Soviet war crimes. He presented the history of Poles who were subjected to both Soviet and German totalitarian regimes, and discussed the issue of legal settlements between the perpetrators of the crimes in the 20th century.
The highlight of the visit were meetings with witnesses of history who were active in underground resistence structures in the People's Republic of Poland. Artur Klus of the IPN National Education Office introduced the oppositionists.
One group of the meeting participants listened to Teresa Bochwic, an anti-communist opposition activist and journalist. She told the story of her family in the context of the Polish history. Teresa Bochwic referred, among other things to the events of March 1968, the establishment of the Workers' Defense Committee (KOR) in 1976, the outbreak of the “Solidarity” movement in 1980 and further underground activity after the introduction of Martial Law in December 1981.
The second group met with Marek Glowacki, a graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology, opposition activist, initiator of the "Solidarni" Resistance Groups, repressed and imprisoned by the communist authorities during his studies. Among other things, Marek Glowacki outlined the realities of the time of communist rule in Poland in the 1980s. He presented how his life path was shaped at that time and how his social and political awareness gradually matured. Of particular interest were memories of actions organized by the resistance groups, such as placing a radio on a building adjacent to the prison in Rakowiecka St. in order to broadcast news to prisoners.
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As part of the PEACE LINE project, young people between the ages of 18 and 26 travel along various routes through Europe. They visit museums, war cemeteries and other places of remembrance to learn about two world wars and the division and unification of Europe.