Press releases

MINSK, 6 July (BelTA) – The exhibition titled as Belarusians in the Polish Army 1939-1945 from Igor Melnikov’s Private Collection will open at the National History Museum of Belarus on 7 July. The expo will provide new details of the history, director of the museum Oleg Ryzhkov told media, BelTA has learned.

“Today, thanks to cooperation between the Polish embassy and Belarusian scientists we are learning something new from the history of the Second World War, which seems to have been studied all over. The exposition provides an opportunity for two nations, Poles and Belarusians, to become closer to each other, since out grandfathers fought against the Nazis together,” the director of the museum said. The organization of such historical exhibitions allows for studying unknown pages in the history. Such projects help cultivate patriotism and self-consciousness, Oleg Ryzhkov added.

Creator of the exhibition, Candidate of Historical Sciences and Researcher Igor Melnikov shared his findings: “Our compatriots fought against the Nazism from the very first day of the Second World War. Everyone knows it. For example, Belarusians made part of the 20^th infantry division of the Polish Army. It is also known that Belarusians stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Poles in the battle for Great Britain.” The exhibition provides much more facts about it.

An estimated 70,000 Belarusians were part of the Polish Army in September 1939. “Soldiers from Western Belarus stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Poles fighting against the aggressors to the very last minute. They divided nothing in the fight for the Motherland. They fought together with us against Hitler’s Germany,” said Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Belarus Konrad Pawlik.

The exhibition displays a lot of materials about Belarusians in the Polish Army that fought against Nazis during World War II, about deeds of Belarusians, the activity of the special operative grouping Polesye and the Pinsk Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy. The exposition also showcases numerous unique photos and items of that time.

The exhibition is organized by the Embassy of Poland in Belarus.