The Institute of National Remembrance has inaugurated the Lower Silesian Congress of National Remembrance, taking place on 21–22 September 2026 at the Centennial Hall in Wrocław. The two-day event brings together history, education and remembrance, presenting Poland’s 20th-century history through exhibitions, discussions, educational activities and modern forms of presenting the past.
For two days, the Centennial Hall serves as a venue for exhibitions, panel discussions, film screenings, theatre performances, educational workshops, historical games and presentations of modern technologies. The programme is addressed to a broad audience, including young people, families, educators, researchers and all those interested in Poland’s history and contemporary approaches to historical education.
A key element of the Congress is the exhibition “Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom”, one of the IPN’s major international educational and historical projects coordinated by the IPN Office of International Cooperation.
Through large-scale multimedia projections, sound, archival materials and contemporary exhibition technologies, the exhibition presents the wartime experiences of Polish soldiers and civilians whose fate took them far beyond the borders of occupied Poland. Their journeys through countries and continents, marked by deportation, exile, military service and the struggle for freedom, form an important part of the history of the Polish nation during the Second World War. At the same time, the international geography of these experiences reflects the broader historical significance of the Polish wartime experience.
The presentation in Wrocław is another stage in the international dissemination of the “Trails of Hope” project. Launched by the IPN in 2022, the project has so far been presented in more than 50 countries across six continents. By bringing the exhibition to locations connected with the wartime journeys of Polish soldiers and civilians, the project places Polish history in its broader international context.
The Congress offers visitors an opportunity to explore a wide range of other IPN initiatives. These include the New Technologies Zone, presentations of documents and historical objects from the IPN Archives, the Places of Remembrance Zone and information on the Institute’s search and identification activities. Visitors can also see an exhibition of photographs by Chris Niedenthal and take part in interactive projects combining historical content with multimedia and new technologies.
The educational programme includes activities for different age groups, including historical board games, comics, stop-motion animation workshops and activities devoted to the history of the Second World War and the Polish anti-communist opposition. In this way, the Congress combines traditional forms of historical education with contemporary methods designed to encourage active engagement with the past.
The international dimension of the Congress is reflected also in its discussion programme. The event opens with a panel discussion featuring former Polish ambassadors devoted to the role of historical diplomacy. Another discussion addresses the contribution of Polish diaspora organisations to the preservation and transmission of national memory, bringing together representatives of Polish communities from the United Kingdom, Italy and Argentina.
On the second day of the Congress, a debate devoted to historical policy will examine the subject from both regional and international perspectives, providing an opportunity to discuss the role of historical memory in contemporary public life and international relations.
The Lower Silesian Congress of National Remembrance continues the series of Congresses of National Remembrance organised by the IPN in cities across Poland. The initiative brings together research, education and remembrance, while providing an opportunity to present history through a variety of contemporary forms and to engage different generations in discovering and understanding the past.