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Traces of History
Poland
Martyna Ceglińska
Born 1991 in Toruń, Poland
Student (Landscape architecture and interior design, Science and Business Centre, Toruń)
“No one will regain it... we shall not allow it to be forgotten” (2010)
Poland became independent in 1918 and had incorporated as new territories some parts of today’s Ukraine. This new land was extensive and thinly populated, but the soil was very fertile and the area was considered a perfect place to be inhabited. Many of the soldiers that fought for Polish independence received land and propriety here and started a new life. This was also the case for one of the author’s great- grandfather, that settled down with his wife right after the war. In 1940 the situation changed dramatically. The Soviets decided to displace the Polish people, that had occupied the new territory, in Ukraine and force them to work in labour camps with very little food and under the constant threat of death. After the end of the war the surviving Polish ethnics could come back to Poland and start life all over again. The central character of this story, the great- grandfather disappeared and never returned.
For her contribution to the Polish history competition Martyna was awarded the first prize.
Monika Moeller
Born 1988 in Szczecin, Poland
High school student (High school; Szczecin)
"Unusual, but actually common events in 1945 in Stettin / Szczecin - and the protagonists of those days" (2005)
The author's contribution is a chronicle of daily life in Szczecin just after World War II. It was a time of great upheaval and major change in the city. After the German surrender, Poles returned to power and set about getting daily life back in order in the war-torn city of Szczecin. One particularly important aspect of their task was to reconstitute the Polish relationship with the Germans as former invaders, and with the Russians, in their new role as "new Polish allies."
As Monika Moeller writes: "This part of our history is often used by politicians to this very day in a way that incites new confrontations. In order to understand this part of history, we should take a look at it through the eyes of 'ordinary people.' Poles must recognize that many innocent Germans, who were not even active supporters of the National Socialist regime, were driven from their houses and property, and sent off 'somewhere.' For their part, Germans have to understand that those Poles who moved into German homes after the end of the war had themselves been expelled from eastern Poland, regions today in Ukraine. We all have to learn to avoid making generalizations and to focus more on the experiences of individuals when we look at history. In many cases, 'experienced history' differs from what we read in history books."
Monika Moeller received a second prize for her work in the National Polish History Competition of 2004/2005, whose theme was: "Daily Life in A Time of Change 1944/1945." She also contributed two successful research projects on the local history of Szczecin to the competitions in 2003/2004 and 2005/2006.
Slavomir Parus
Born 1986 in Szczecin, Poland
Student (Law; Szczecin University)
"The Final Days of German Stettin / Szczecin. The establishment of a Polish administration and its influence on daily life in a period of change, 1944/1945" (2005)
In this group project Slavomir Parus and his classmates focused on the problems of post-war daily life in their hometown, Szczecin. Within the framework of their research, the pupils conducted numerous interviews with eyewitnesses, consulted rare documents and used material from the city archive and various photographs. The authors tried to obtain the broadest possible view of public life in their hometown in 1944/1945, including the role and presence of the military, the conditions of industry education, housing and health care. In his section of the project, Slavomir personally focused on general questions of local politics at the time, as well on relations between Polish, German and Russian soldiers.
Slavomir Parus and his classmates earned a second prize for their contribution to the Polish National History Competition of 2004/2005, whose theme was: "Daily Life in A Time of Change 1944/1945."
Monika Drozdzewicz
Born 1987 in Poland
Student (Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in the Humanities (College MISH), Specializations: Polish philology, Scientific Information and Book Studies, Warsaw University)
„Borderland Nights and Days" (2006)
Monika Drozdzewicz, former participant in EUSTORY´s Summer Academy "Looking back into the Present: Conflicts in the European Past and their Echoes in the Present" in Berlin 2006, was carrying out research about the community of Nowodziel in Bialostocczyzna, a region located in the border area of Poland and Belarus (belonging until 1991 to the USRR). In the early 20th century the national affiliation of the region changed, belonging either to Poland or the USSR. After the Second World War again a new demarcation line was set and parts of Western Poland (including Nowodziel) were allocated to Belarus.
In her work the author dealt especially with the difficulties and inconvenience the partly unwanted separation caused for the inhabitants of the borderland in their daily lives, but she also addressed the emotions resulting from a later "reunification" of Nowodziel with Poland. She further approached the problem for the interstate relationship between the governments of Poland and Belarus, resulting from the modified, post-war demarcation line and the newly established, national minorities on both sides of the border. In this context she also discussed the issue of nutrition supply, agriculture-related difficulties and emerging problems with reconstructing the school system in Bialostocczyzna, due to the partition.
In her analysis the young researcher examined archived documents and conducted interviews with a contemporary witness of the separation in 1944.
Monika Drozdzewicz won the second price of the national history competition „History at Hand" 2004/ 05 concerning the subject "Everyday Life in Time of Turning Point 1944 - 45".
