“Recovered Territories”
Wrocław, the capital of Lower Silesia, is a city with an extremely rich and multicultural history. For over 1000 years of its history, it has changed hands from one nationality to another. Interestingly, there have also been returns to the former rulers.
Serviette (1948) by unknownCity Museum of Wrocław
This is what happened after WWII
Wrocław found itself again within the borders of Poland. As it had belonged to Poland for 350 years and these were very important years for the formation and development of the city.
the post-war Polish authorities decided to exploit this fact for propaganda purposes. The lands which, after 610 years, were once again within Poland’s borders, were called “Recovered Territories”, and the return of these lands to Poland was called “Return to the Motherland”.
Exhibition of the Recovered Territories
To encourage Poles to settle there, a lavish “Exhibition of the Recovered Territories” was organized in 1948. The exhibition lasted from 21 July to 31 October 1948.
Three arches (1948) by Stefan ArczyńskiCity Museum of Wrocław
As the exhibition was organized by the state authorities, the city received 113 million zlotys for this purpose.
Before the exhibition itself, preparations were busy
the facades of buildings were painted, German inscriptions – those of the previous owners of Wrocław – were removed from the public space, the removal of rubble from the city centre gathered pace, 147 km of pavements and 209 k of road surfaces were repaired.
Squares and parks were tidied up and 20,000 trees and shrubs were planted.
The exhibition itself was prepared on a grand scale and with numerous visitors from all over the country in mind. That is why well-known artists of the time were involved. These included Xawery Dunikowski, Henryk Tomaszewski, Eryk Lipiński and others.
Tap to explore
Visitors could see the exhibition in three locations. In the People’s Hall (today the Centennial Hall) and its immediate surroundings, in the nearby areas across the street (today part of the Zoo) and in selected areas of the city centre.
Tap to explore
As the exhibition was problem-based, it presented the Recovered Territories from the economic, social and political, as well as industrial and commercial point of view.
Paper knife (1948) by unknownCity Museum of Wrocław
Not surprisingly, visitors mainly viewed exhibitions on the destruction of Wrocław, its population, the unity of Silesia, and the textile, porcelain, food and lunch meat industries.
Miniature bathtube (1948) by unknownCity Museum of Wrocław
The most spectacular exhibits
...were three openwork arches standing in front of the People’s Hall, symbolizing the 3 years of development of the Recovered Territories, a tower made of galvanized buckets, a reconstructed fragment of a mining gallery with miners from the Wałbrzych mines, and a spire.
The Spire (Iglica), a tall steel tower designed by Stanisław Hempel, is the only element of the Exhibition of the Recovered Territories that stands in the city space to this day and has become a symbol of Wrocław.
Tap to explore
The opening of the exhibition had a ceremonial character, with the participation of the President of People’s Poland, Bolesław Bierut.
World Congress of Intellectuals in Defence of Peace (1948) by Andrzej CzelnyCity Museum of Wrocław
World Congress of Intellectuals in Defence of Peace
Among them were guests from abroad – participants of the World Congress of Intellectuals in Defence of Peace. One of them was Pablo Picasso.
He viewed the exhibition and summed it up: “I have much admiration for your engineers and artists who have created this great work”.
Ashtray (1948) by unknownCity Museum of Wrocław
What remains of the exhibition, apart from the Spire, is... the blue colour of Wrocław trams. The trams serving tourists visiting the exhibition were painted blue and... that's how they stayed.
Presented souvenirs from Exhibition of the Recovered Territories you can see in Historical Museum at the exhibition "1000 years of Wrocław".
Krystyna Jarysz
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.