Marking the 70th Anniversary of Escape from the USSR
At the start of World War II, over 1 million Polish citizens of Catholic,
Jewish, Ukrainian and Belorussian ethnicities from eastern Poland were
killed, repressed or deported to prisons, forced labour camps (GULAGS) and "special settlements" in Siberia, Kazakhstan and Soviet Asia. Hundreds of thousands escaped in April 1942 to join the Polish military in exile to fight Nazi Germany or to spend the war in civilian refugee camps in India, Africa, Mexico and elsewhere around the world.
After the war, with half of Poland handed over to the USSR with Allied
consent and with the rest of Poland under Soviet occupation, they had no
homes to return to and their stories were suppressed and denied. Yet they kept up their fight for freedom and survival in permanent exile in the West.
Meet with Australia-based Stefan Wisniowski, international President of
Kresy-Siberia to:
- Discuss true-life experiences with the exiled Survivors and their
descendants
- Hear about new exhibitions in the Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum
- Hear from local 3rd Generation professionals Amanda Chalupa and
Jonathan Durand on their work to preserve these family histories
- Learn how you can help to preserve and protect these important
histories.
Introduction by Tadeusz Żyliński, Consul General of the Republic of Poland.
Survivors, their families, and all interested in this little-known chapter
of World War II history are invited. Families are asked to bring photographs and documents to be scanned and preserved in the Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum
www.Kresy-Siberia.org.
Survivors are also sought to record their testimonies for future
generations.
Chez Les Voisins
