Education Poland Project #34365

Kresy-Siberia "Keep Their Memory Alive"

by Fundacja Kresy-Syberia

Project Report | Sep 17, 2020
Inspiring us to keep going through the tough times

By Stefan Wisniowski | Kresy-Siberia Foundation President

Kresy-Siberia Wall of Tribute

Thank you for your generous support of the Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum www.Kresy-Siberia.org and its mission to research, remember and recognize Poland's citizens fighting for survival and freedom in eastern Poland’s “Kresy” and in forced exile during World War II.

As we continue to endure the challenge of COVID and the way it has upended our lives, we can appreciate how many of our family's lives were upended too by the hardships, repressions, deprivation and disease they faced during World War II. Preserving the memories of their hopes and experiences can give us hope as well for better times in the future.

Check out the new Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum rebuild

Thanks to your support, we've been able to continue the vital rebuilding of the Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum. We're doing this to improve visitor interactions, repair system issues, fix security and ensure its future health. You can still view all of the museum content on the older site at https://kresy-siberia.org, but the transition means that it's no longer accepting edits and new submissions.

So please visit the new museum website at http://new.kresy-siberia.org and let us know what you think! Not all of the materials have been transferred yet, but you can add new information and photos, and we'd love your feedback on the progress to date.

Donate today and magnify your gift!

GlobalGiving is running a special fundraising campaign to support the Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum as one of its certified charities. For every donation up to US$50 made through GlobalGiving between now and midnight (New York time) on September 18th, GlobalGiving will boost your gift by another 50%. Please make your gift go even further by giving during this campaign.

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Thank you again for your ongoing and generous donations of money, time and materials, which all contribute to strengthening our special mission of research, remembrance and recognition.

With gratitude and best wishes to you and your families,

The Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum team

Kresy-Siberia Hall of Images

Kresy-Siberia Hall of Testimonies

Kresy-Siberia Historical Galleries

Links:

New Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum

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May 18, 2020
Honouring their struggles through terrible times

By Stefan Wisniowski | Kresy-Siberia Foundation President

1940-41 Soviet mass deportations to forced labour

In these challenging times, it gives many of us strength to remember the wartime repressions, deprivation and disease that our families faced, as well as the powerful hope for the future that got them through their adversities.

Virtual Museum in lockdown as rebuild goes into user testing

Despite physical lockdowns all around the world, thanks to your ongoing financial support, we've been able to continue the vital rebuilding of the Virtual Museum to improve visitor interactions, repair system issues, fix security and ensure its future health. We're now transferring all of the information and materials to the new website and starting user testing.

While all the previous content can still be viewed, the current Virtual Museum website is now in 'LOCKDOWN' for new materials. If you do want to add any material, e-mail us at admin@kresy-siberia.org and you can be one of our new website testers!

2020 Conference on hold

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to cancel our physical GENERATIONS REMEMBER 2020 conference planned for Warsaw in September on this 80^th anniversary of the 1940 mass deportations. However, being a virtual organization for many years, we're exploring possibilities to meet online using Zoom or another social media platform. Please let us know at conference@Kresy-Siberia.org if you'd be interested in joining or making a presentation at an online gathering.

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Thank you again for your ongoing and generous donations of money, time and materials, which all contribute to strengthening our special mission of remembrance.

With gratitude and warm regards,
The Kresy-Siberia Foundation team

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Jan 28, 2020
Continuing the Kresy-Siberia mission

By Stefan Wisniowski | Kresy-Siberia Foundation President

80th Anniversary of Soviet mass deportations

Dear Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum donor,

As we mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet mass deportations from eastern Poland's "Kresy", we thank you for your generous ongoing support of Kresy-Siberia. Here is our quarterly report on how your donations are being put to work in running and strengthening the Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum www.Kresy-Siberia.org and our other efforts to research, remember and recognize Poland's citizens fighting for survival and freedom in eastern Poland’s “Kresy” and in forced exile during World War II.

Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum website rebuild underway

We are half-way through a full upgrade to our Virtual Museum website to improve online visitor interactions and bring the computer programming up to date. Though this requires an investment of over $60,000, it will repair existing system issues, improve our security against future hacking and ensure the preservation and ongoing health of the Virtual Museum into the future. We aim to relaunch the new website by September 2020. The Museum Galleries home page has been completed and the Rooms are now being redesigned (see screen-shots).

Our worldwide discussion group is still growing

Our Kresy-Siberia Group discussion group (now hosted on Facebook) continues to grow, reaching 2,030 members in January and attracting over 4,000 Likes. This friendly and supportive worldwide online community brings together Survivors, Descendants, and others interested in learning and sharing these histories. Please refer friends and family to join the Kresy-Siberia Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/KresySiberiaGroup.

60,000 Kresy-Siberia Group messages since 2001 preserved

We have also succeeded in preserving over 60,000 messages shared between Kresy-Siberia Group members over nearly 20 years from 2001 to 2019 on our original Yahoo group platform. This invaluable treasure trove of research information was threatened with deletion forever, when Yahoo closed its service. Our searchable message archive is now accessible to registered group members at https://groups.io/g/Kresy-Siberia.

Survivor Testimonies to be recorded

If you know of any Surviving Sybiraks, residents of pre-WW2 eastern Poland or WW2 Veterans who can be film interviewed anywhere in the world, please let us know right away at foundation@kresy-siberia.org so that we can arrange to preserve their wartime testimonies while we still have time.

80th Anniversary luncheon in Balham, London England

We are marking the 80th anniversary of the first mass deportations of Poland's citizens to Soviet forced labor in February 1940 with a traditional Polish lunch, with all proceeds supporting the Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum. The luncheon event will be held at the White Eagle Club in Balham, London and will include a glass of wine and dessert and a cultural/historical program. This will include songs with our well-known Polish opera singer Iwona, book talks and signings by popular authors Roger (“First to Fight: The Polish War 1939” https://www.spectator.co.uk/.../poland-was-no-walkover...) and Karola ("Are My Roots Showing?" https://www.facebook.com/writingkarola) as well as a display of one of our member's family's journey from Poland to the UK.

Get tickets at: https://kresy-siberia.org/museum/balham/

2020 Conference planning underway

Thank you to our volunteer members Marcin, Maciej, Marek, Iwona, Grace, and Greg for their work in putting on a very successful conference and reunion last September in Warsaw. Sybirak, Kresowian and Combatant Survivors as well as 2nd and 3rd generation Kresy-Siberia members came together from countries from as far away as Australia and the USA as well as from England, Sweden, and Poland itself.

The all-volunteer committee has started organizing our Kresy-Siberia 2020 “Generations Remember” Conference in Warsaw on 17-20 September at the History Meeting House (Dom Spotkan z Historia). This year we will mark not only the 80^th anniversary of the first mass deportations in 1940 but also the centenary of the Battle of Warsaw”, where the Poles beat all odds to defeat the Russian Bolsheviks in the “Miracle on the Vistula”.

The conference will be a great opportunity to meet other members as well as Survivors living in Poland, to hear interesting speakers, and to participate in memorial ceremonies on September 17, the “National Day of the Sybiraks”. Start making your travel plans now and stand by for a detailed program and registration information shortly.

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Thank you again for your generous donations of money, time and materials, which all contribute to the survival and strengthening of Kresy-Siberia’s special continuing mission.

With gratitude and warm regards,
The Kresy-Siberia Foundation team

New Museum Galleries section

New Museum Gallery 2 - Soviet Tyranny

New Room 2c - Soviet Mass Deportations (1940-41)

Links:

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