The Polish Soldier 1914–1945. The Jan Partyka Collection

For the young generations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the words Poland, Nation and Homeland were a religion and a calling. In their passionate young minds, stories of former glory and the victories of kings and commanders became mixed with bitterness over the loss of Polish statehood, while a yearning for freedom burned within their hearts. Those generations, living through the difficult period of struggle for independence, form the focus of the exhibition “The Polish Soldier 1914–1945. The Jan Partyka Collection” at the Regional Museum in Rzeszów. The core of the exhibition concerns objects accumulated by Jan Partyka, a well-known Rzeszów collector, supplemented with items from the Museum collection (primarily firearms). Four exhibition rooms present different stages in the struggle for an Independent Homeland. Each room showcases permanent items, such as military decorations, commemorative badges, emblems and the memorabilia of soldiers from the Rzeszów region who participated in the struggle for independence. Display cases in each room present equipment, weapons and uniforms from different periods. The most valuable exhibits are a rogatywka (four-pointed cap) from 1919 and Polish commando uniforms from the period of the Italian Peninsula campaign, a rarity on the collectors’ market. The largest part of the exhibition is devoted to World War II, in particular the Polish II Corps, due to the relatively high availability of memorabilia of soldiers from this unit. The historical items are supplemented by installations presenting, for example, trenches of the Polish Legions in Volhynia in World War I or the headquarters of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division at the time of the battle for Monte Cassino. The exhibition is complete with multimedia and a wealth of pictorial materials presenting the history of the Polish Army over a span of thirty years. This collection will certainly appeal to military enthusiasts and anyone interested in this period of Polish history. The exhibition is also recommended for youths, as learning history exclusively from textbooks might cause them to lose sight of its meaning and significance. Come and take a look around.

Rafał Kocoł

Tłumaczenie: Biuro Tłumaczeń i Szkoła Językowa Skrivanek