History Revealed: An Interrupted Childhood, Part One

An Interrupted Childhood: Histories of Polish WWII Survivors in MN, Part One
History Revealed Series
Program Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023
Video on YouTube

In partnership with the Minnesota Polish Medical Society and in conjunction with a photographic exhibition in Landmark Center, March 5-April 30, 2023.

The stories of three Polish survivors of WWII will be shared – oral histories of their experiences as refugees, and that of other Polish immigrants to Minnesota. In conjunction with the Kalejdoskop Polski, MN photo exhibition, “An Interrupted Childhood” shown at Landmark Center and at the Minnesota State Capitol.

WWII shaped the course of Polish history in the 20th century and redefined its borders. It started in September 1939 when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union jointly invaded Poland. The two invaders effectively dismembered the country. Poland suffered immense losses; nearly six million Polish citizens, including three million Polish Jews, were killed.

The stories of WWII survivors Adam, Anatol, Leonard, Magdalena, Maria, Walter, and Wiktor are part of the project “An Interrupted Childhood: Polish WWII Survivors in Minnesota” and three of those stories are shared in this presentation, part one of a two part series.

Exhibition Organizer & Curator Katarzyna Litak, MD, is our presenter for this program. Dr. Litak is Minnesota Polish Medical Society President, and Kalejdoskop Polski, MN project manager, exhibition designer, and curator. She conducted oral interviews for the project. Originally from Poland, she continued medical training at the University of Minnesota. She is also a practicing physician.

Making Minnesota: Natives, Settlers, Migrants, and Immigrants
The Ramsey County Historical Society, in partnership with the East Side Freedom Library, the Ramsey County Roseville Library and other community organizations,  presented a series of programs and events that will center on the experiences of indigenous people, African Americans, and immigrants in Ramsey County from the 1800s through the current day. programs which focus on the too often lost, erased, forgotten or misrepresented histories and stories of Ramsey County and the state of Minnesota. We expect these presentations to enrich and complicate our understanding of the development of the county and the state that we call home.

Past History Revealed Programs
More videos of some of our past History Revealed programs are available on the RCHS YouTube channel.
Ramsey County Historical Society Youtube Channel

To purchase titles from the History Revealed series, or other books of interest, see our partner, Subtext Books at https://subtextbooks.com/