At the beginning of October, the Managing Director of our Foundation, Robert Żurek, and the Head of Communication and International Cooperation, Paulina Maloy, held a series of meetings with Krzyżowa Foundation partners in Warsaw. We are grateful for the time and discussions with Ms. Agnieszka Kowalska, Director of the European Policy Department, Dr. hab. Sebastian Płóciennik, Member of the Board and Director of the Polish-German Cooperation Foundation, Mr. Michał Braun, Director of the National Freedom Institute, and his Deputy, Ms. Adela Gąsiorowska.
We were also honored to meet with the Deputy Minister of Education, Joanna Mucha, from the Ministry of National Education.
Meanwhile, preparations are in full swing for the 35th anniversary of the Reconciliation Mass in Krzyżowa this November! To discuss key points, our Managing Director, Dorota Krajdocha, and Director of Development and Innovation, Aleksandra Królak-Wąsowicz, met with Bartłomiej Strózik, Mayor of Świdnica Municipality.
We look forward to the upcoming collaborations and meetings!
Read more: October Filled with Meetings with Krzyżowa Foundation Partners
The 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, which falls in 2024, as well as the 35th anniversary of the Reconciliation Mass at Krzyżowa, provide an excellent opportunity to familiarise German audiences with the historical experiences of Poles and Poles and to sensitise them to the differences in Polish and German memories of these events. These are special events, as they focus on both the extremely negative experiences of Europe, especially of the Polish-German neighbourhood, which should not only be a warning but also a point of constant reflection. As well as the positive ones, which should still inspire us today to think about the strength of civil society and models for our mutual relations.
Read more: New project || From Conflict to Reconciliation. Poland in its relationship with Germany 1939-1989.
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In May 2024, at first glance, it seems difficult to imagine a less favorable international context for celebrating the 20th anniversary of Poland's membership in the EU than the conditions still prevailing just beyond the eastern borders of both the EU and Poland. The ongoing full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, which has been raging for over two years, and the troubling political developments in Georgia under Russian influence, provide an opportunity to reflect on the significance of the European integration process for Poland – and vice versa.
Looking back to Poland's accession to the EU in May 2004, it is important to remember that this moment marked both an end and a beginning. It effectively closed the so-called post-communist period, during which Poles – along with Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Slovenians, and later Bulgarians and Romanians who joined the Union three years later – underwent a deep political, economic, and social transformation that enabled them to join the common market and community formed over half a century earlier during the Cold War's geopolitical division of the European continent. In this context, the frequently cited phrase "return to Europe," as seen on the cover of the May 1, 2004 issue of the weekly magazine Polityka (no. 18 (2450)), aptly reflected the satisfaction of many Poles with the achievements of the few years that had passed since the start of the systemic transformation in 1989.
Read more: 20 Years of Poland in the European Union: A Different Perspective on the "Return to Europe"
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