A German house. Controversy over commemoration of the Polish victims of the Second World War
A German house. Controversy over commemoration of the Polish victims of the Second World War

Author(s): Kamil Frymark, Anna Kwiatkowska
Subject(s): Politics, Civil Society, Public Law
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: German-Polish House; Germany; Poland
Summary/Abstract: Commissioned by the German state, a German-Polish House is to be built in Berlin. This concept is the result of a debate lasting several years about whether it would be legitimate for the German capital to see the creation of a monument to the victims of crimes perpetrated against the Polish nation during the Second World War. In line with the currently valid concept, the initiative will be based on three main elements: commemoration (creation of an ‘artistic element’), the construction of a museum housing a permanent exhibition and temporary displays, and educational projects. The substantive aspect will focus on the Nazi German aggression against Poland and its brutal occupation in 1939–45. The project will be carried out by two German institutions: the Foundation of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which prepared the House’s concept, and the German Institute of Polish Affairs, which is responsible for the initiative’s operational aspect and the preparation of educational programmes. Political supervision of the project is carried out by the Federal Chancellery represented by Secretary of State Claudia Roth (the Greens).

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