Introduction
The Krzyżowa Foundation was established as the Cold War was winding down, as part of the reconciliation between Germany and Poland, which itself was part of the general reconciliation in Europe. During World War II, an anti-Nazi opposition group made up of representatives from across German society, and later referred to as the Kreisau Circle, had met on the von Moltke estate in the lower Silesian village of Krzyżowa, By risking their lives, the members of the Kreisau Circle worked on plans to reconstruct Germany and Europe on the basis of democratic and Christian moral values. In the late 1980s, members of the democratic opposition movements in both Poland and East Germany would later pick up on these meetings of the Kreisau Circle in Krzyżowa. Their own resistance to their own communist dictatorships also involved joint activity across different social groups, even across different nation states. So one of the resistance activities the members of these democratic opposition groups engaged in was participating in personal, free versions of Polish-German dialogue. As the Cold War was dying in the spring on 1989, a group of Poles, Germans from East and West Germany, Americans and Dutch - picked up on the World War II local history in Krzyżowa, and wished to create a meeting center there. Their initiative was very lucky, One of its results was that on November 12, 1989-- just a few days after the fall of the Berlin Wall --Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Chancellor Helmut Kohl participated in a Polish-German Reconciliation Mass, with held in Krzyżowa. In a dual sense, Krzyżowa had come to represent reconciliation among different social groups as well as opposition to totalitarianism. Krzyżowa had became a symbol of the general European reconciliation after the Cold War.
Mission
Krzyżowa is because of both the diversity of the people who meet here as well as their openness to dialogue. By taking advantage of the spiritual legacy of the Kreisau Circle, the heritage of the democratic opposition in Central Europe,as well as the successful reconciliation between Poland and Germany, the “Krzyżowa” Foundation is actively engaged in activities related to the peaceful co-existence of nations, social groups and individuals. We consider bringing young people together particularly important. The purpose is to develop a spirit of responsibility and openness to others. The Foundation supports both, understanding between people and the development of European civic society
Values
The “Krzyżowa” Foundation is faithful to the following values:
- The Foundation is an independent non-governmental organisation registered in Poland, which acts in the public interest.
- The Foundation contributes to making Europe a place where the rights of man and principles of democracy are observed.
- The Foundation creates a space for dialogue, understanding and reconciliation in which mutual respect is of utmost importance.
- The activities undertaken by the Foundation are inclusive, inter-cultural, inter-religious and ecologically sustainable in nature.
- The Foundation is an active part of European civic society. It supports skills necessary to assess matters critically, to being willing to take action, and to be motivated to involve oneself in society.
- The Foundation respects and supports the involvement of its employees in its work, as well as people whose social activity involves working for the Foundation itself.
Vision
The “Krzyżowa” Foundation , is committed to furthering reconciliation among the nations of Europe, which it furthers by offering a recognised center that provides young people and adults with knowledge of foreign cultures and of the means of overcoming cultural barriers. The Foundation presents Krzyżowa’s historical legacy of reconciliation and of opposition to totalitarianism as answers to contemporary challenges. It also provides a venue for dialogue about different historical experiences about the differing interactions of individuals or societies with their histories as well as dialog about the current social-political issues of our continent. At the same time Krzyżowa develops new methods of teaching, which include artistic work. We perceive European integration as a continuous process and we further it in a responsible manner, taking into account joint values and history. For us, Europe is something more than the European Union, so we actively support dialogue with the Eastern neighbours of the European Union. This constitutes an important contribution to an even better understanding between the inhabitants of our continent.
The activities of the Foundation are characterised by involvement, innovation and creativity. Europeans are kindly invited to cooperate with Krzyżowa and as a part of Krzyżowa.
The above text was created in the year 2016 by the Council of the Foundation, in a dialogue with the employees of the Foundation, as many years after the establishment of the Foundation, the need for a new definition of its mission and vision for the future was realised.
