The year 2019 is a special year for us, people involved in Polish-German dialogue and associated with Krzyżowa, a year rich in symbols. For the Krzyżowa Foundation 2019 is first of all year of the 30th anniversary of two events, which became the cornerstones not only for its creation - but also for the values on which it has been constituted.

30 years ago, on June 2-4, 1989, an international conference was held in Wrocław, organized by the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia, under the title ’A Christian in society‘. It was then, on the eve of the June elections, in the mood of waiting for a change, which will affect not only Poland, but the entire Central Europe, that the participants made a decision to make efforts to create an international meeting place in Krzyżowa. A place that will become a space for free, open dialogue for young people, especially from Poland and Germany.

The above mentioned activities, initiated by the groups that for many years supported the Polish-German dialoque, became the reason for which it was in Krzyżowa, not elsewhere, that on 12 November 1989 was held a Polish-German mass, which was remembered as the Reconciliation Mass.. In a Europe divided into two hostile blocks, which remembered the tragedy of the Second World War, the religious ceremony during which the Polish Prime Minister and the German Chancellor stood side by side was an event in itself.. With a single gesture, which went beyond the formal rituals belonging to the ceremony, this (political) event became a symbol - a promise of a new opening in relations between neighbours, which were divided by a tragic history.

Today, at the beginning of 2019, these events, the conference of the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia and especially the Reconciliation Mass, through their 30th anniversary, are in the center of Krzyżowa’s interest. Both of them are moments without which the Krzyżowa Foundation would not have been established.

The most important challenge that we have to face this year, as well as in every year that follows, is that the essence of the anniversary commemoration should not focus solely on the celebration of the round numbers.. The essence of the rituals of remembrance should not only be to remember the past, but above all to raise critical questions about what the importance for us, living here and now, has dialogue, understanding and reconciliation in a Europe torn apart by populism. We also want to ask how the knowledge of the past, but also the tradition of successive anniversaries shapes us as the next generation of Europeans. A generation that, brought up in peace and prosperity, cultivates the memory of the Second World War, the German crimes against Poles and the difficult Polish-German reconciliation to learn from it the necessary lessons from it.

The unwillingness or inability to take responsibility to protect the common good, radical individualism and populism always leads to divisions, tensions and confrontation. The only proven remedy for these problems is education and dialogue with the Other. That is why these anniversaries are so important for us, for Krzyżowa. We want the legacy of Polish-German reconciliation to be an inspiration and a stimulus for us to build a better future. For us and for those who come after us.

Prof. Ph.D. Waldemar Czachur
Chairman of the Council of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe