The exhibition was established on the initiative and under the Honorary Patronage of Małgorzata Gosiewska, Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of the Polish Parliament, and Ruslan Stefanczuk, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Ukraine. The ceremonial opening of the exhibition was attended by the President of the Republic of Poland, Mr Andrzej Duda. The exhibition was organised, among others, by the Association of the Historical Group „Zgrupowanie Radosław” and the Polish National Foundation supported its exhibition in Poland and in 25 other countries.

The exhibition consists of 16 pairs of photographs depicting destroyed Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising, together with Mariupol and the surrounding towns of Kiev, which were methodically bombed by the Russians in 2022 during the war in Ukraine.

„We are living in an iconographic culture, which is the reason for PFN’s support of the exhibition titled ‘Warsaw-Mariupol - cities of ruins, cities of struggle, cities of hope’, a public display that reveals by analogy the similarities between the destruction of Warsaw and Mariupol, planned genocide of the civilian population and systematic destruction of national heritage. The dramatic photographs and visual materials provide a shocking story behind the wartime tragedy of the cities’ inhabitants. The internationalisation of the project allows both to recall and reveal before the global public the story of the tragedy and heroism of Warsaw, but also to point to the death of Mariupol in the 21st century. In modern times, one can hardly think about the Second World War without considering the key events from the perspective of the war in Ukraine,”

— Dr Marcin Zarzecki, President of the Board of the Polish National Foundation, stated.

The aim of the exhibition is making visitors aware that, despite the many years that have passed since the end of the Second World War, the actions of the current Russian aggressor constitute a repetition of the genocide associated with the world war. The exhibition makes it clear that both German totalitarianism and contemporary Russian imperialism are the same evil.

„Poland has suffered incredible aggression from ruthless totalitarian regimes. We were attacked by two criminal systems: the German fascism and the Soviet communism. The exhibition shows the tragedy of the Second World War, as well as the tragedy of the modern world, namely the extent of evil on the part of Putin’s Russia.

What we must remember is that this totalitarian system is destroying the civilised world. Russia continues in an insanely aggressive manner pursuing its evil plan, fulfilling its imperial goals through brutal wars. We hope that the message of this exhibition will also reach the consciousness of European elites, who have repeatedly neglected Russia’s imperial plans”

— Michał Góras, Vice-President of the Polish National Foundation, said.

The exhibition will be presented in 16 Polish voivodship cities and in Polish national institutes under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland located in 25 countries. The aim of the exhibition is, among other things, to recall the tragedy that befell Poland after 1939 and to draw the world’s attention to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the tragedy of the Ukrainian nation.

The photographs to be displayed were obtained from four sources: Ukrainian News Agency Ukrlnform, the Internet and paid photo services, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Warsaw Uprising Museum.

As part of the Zwiastun project, held on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, the exhibition ‘Warsaw-Mariupol - cities of ruins, cities of struggle, cities of hope’ was also visited by the soldiers of the NATO Combat Battalion Group.

Tłum. K.J.