Politicians call for a Siberian Remembrance Museum
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
29.12.2015 08:36
Three Law and Justice (PiS) politicians have signed a letter to the Culture Minister Piotr Gliński, calling for the government to support the construction of a new museum commemorating Poles who were transported to Siberia.
Many Poles from the region were sent to Siberia. Photo: sybir.com.pl
The proposed museum would be located in Białystok, north-eastern Poland, and is expected to cost around PLN 50 million (EUR 12 million). The Białystok city hall is hoping that the government could agree to fund at least half of the project.
Białystok’s current mayor is an independent, though has been supported by the Civic Platform (PO) party in the past and defeated the PiS candidate in the second round of the most recent city elections.
“Regardless of the political differences which separate us, we [the signatories] have decided that it is worthwhile to support this initiative,” explained the MP and former Voivodeship marshal Dariusz Piontkowski.
Meanwhile another of the signatories, the Deputy Internal Minister, Jarosław Zieliński, added that Białystok is a natural choice for the museum given that it already hosts the Polish Siberian March of Living Memory.
“It is tragic that for over two hundred years our history has, to a large degree, been linked to Siberia,” Zieliński commented, adding that the three are already scheduled to meet with Minister Gliński to discuss the issue.
The proposed museum, originally an idea of the Army Museum in Białystok, would cover the 1940-1941 period during which it is estimated that over a million Poles were deported to the east by the Soviet authorities.
It is expected that the museum would also have an exhibition on the earlier deportations of Poles. The first Poles were sent to Siberia by the Russian authorities in the 18th century, with large scale deportations beginning in the 19th century following the Polish uprisings. (sl/rg)
Source: PAP