Bilingual special exhibition in German and Polish at the German Emigration Center explores the border-crossing aspect of migration history.
From October 12, 2024, the new special exhibition at the German Emigration Center Bremerhaven will showcase moments in German-Polish history that crossed borders. Those for whom the complex relationship between Poland and Germany is also part of their life or family history will have their say. The exhibition is bilingual – in Polish and German.
The relationship between Poland and Germany is historically fraught and has undergone many developments that have shaped the countries to this day – this history is shown in the exhibition as an example on the occasion of Poland’s accession to the EU 20 years ago, in 2004. The border between the two countries became more permeable and fluid than it had been for a long time. Now it is changing and hardening again with the political development of migration and border policy in Europe.
The exhibition „Über die Grenze muss man nicht weit.“ (“You don’t have to go far across the border.”) Polish-German stories – 1871 to the present day (Polish title: “Droga przez granicę jest krótka.” Polsko-niemieckie historie od 1871 r. po dzien dzisiejszy) goes back 150 years into the past step by step: from the open borders of the European Union, to the solidarity with Solidarność trade unionists that overcame borders, to the brutal occupation of Poland during the Second World War and the history of Masur:innen in the German Empire. Moving maps show historical border lines, official photos and private snapshots, video interviews and very personal memorabilia vividly illustrate people and their stories. The exhibition also shows how people are shaped by their shared history and actively shape German-Polish relations or try to preserve their local traces.
Curator Marie Grünter explains how current social issues such as borders have influenced the design of the exhibition: “At the moment, you can get the impression that one crisis is replacing another and there is not much you can do about it. It was important to us to use participatory question stations to encourage people to reflect on their own role in the past and present: Which events in German-Polish history are important for our actions today? What consequences, for example, does the Second World War have on how I evaluate discussions in our democracy today? What do I wish for the future in Germany as an immigration society – and how can I myself contribute to fulfilling this wish?”
“Your History” project
The exhibition was created as part of the exhibition and education project “Deine Geschichte” (Your History), funded by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland. In four participatory special and traveling exhibitions, various ways of exhibiting German migration history and presenting migration as part of German history are being tested.
“You don’t have to go far across the border.” Polish-German stories – 1871 to the present day
„Droga przez granicę jest krótka.” Polsko-niemieckie historie od 1871 r. po dzien dzisiejszy.
The special exhibition can be seen daily from 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the German Emigration Center until January 5, 2025 (except on December 24). Admission is included in museum admission.
Further information at www.dah-bremerhaven.de.
Press contact
Hilka Baumann, Tel.: 0471 / 90 22 0 – 208
Magdalena Gerwien, Tel.: 0471 / 90 22 0 – 205
presse@dah-bremerhaven.de
