Exhibits
LEONARD PISZKIEWICZ
Poland — 1939-45:
Occupation – Resistance – Liberation –
History From the Combatants’ Viewpoints
This Display Class exhibit was assembled from surviving artifacts of the World War II occupation of Poland by both Germany and the Soviet Union. While many books have been written on the overall effects of the conflict, this exhibit attempts to show examples of covers, cards, revenue-stamped documents and other selected items that illustrate the effects of the occupation on the three groups of individual people involved in the conflict — the Polish people, the German military and civilian occupiers, and the Soviet military occupiers/liberators.
The story is presented chronologically in three phases showing “snapshots in time” of aspects of life during the conflict. Events that occurred in World War II in Europe can be viewed in three separate phases based on military events during the war: 1939–1941 — Invasion and counterinvasion; 1942–1943 — Soviets drive German armies back to the Polish border; 1944–1945 — The end of the Third Reich.
A few rare items worthy of particular note, about ten in number, are indicated by a small Polish flag on the exhibit page.
