Warsaw. Seniors will tell “Zetek” about the war. Action and application “Memory Factory”

World War II remember from the perspective of a child and this memory is to help to keep today's youth. Because young people are to record great grandparents and create a “memory factory”. There is a special application for this and a lot of emotions around the action of the Warsaw Uprising Museum.

Jan Ołdakowski, director of the Warsaw Uprising Museum, talked about what the “Remembrance Factory” should look like on TVN24.

– “Remembrance Factory” is a project of the Social Remembrance Archives, the Social Archives of relations and memories of World War II. The name of our institution can be misleading, and it is about the action that will cover all of Poland and all memories from 1939 to 1945 – explained the director. He added that it is addressed to young people, especially to students for whom prizes are also provided. It is about people who find seniors in their surroundings, i.e. those who are, for example, 90 years old and were about 10 years old when the war was over and remember what was happening then.

Generation's conversations from the first seniors

– Adults were recorded for decades (during the war – ed.). They wrote down memories of the war: camp prisoners, soldiers. And today only the youngest live – those who were several years old during the war. And we want to persuade everyone to memories, because everyone who downloads the application on their smartphone can with its help record such a memory, make some corrections in it, create a soundtrack and send to us – explained Ołdakowski.

The director of MPW pointed out that this is “a very responsible action”. “We sail memories of children from World War II,” he appealed. He added that the purpose of the campaign is that seniors who have very valuable and often dramatic memories would transfer them to the MPW archive.

– It won't work, without peers of these seniors from the war. So without those young and youngest, but also young with a spirit, because everyone can record it – he emphasized. And he assessed: – We know that for seniors it will be a kind of therapy if they decide to do so. Entrusting your memories and transfer to the archive. But on the other hand there will be children, young people from the Z generation. They are very sensitive to emotional matters.

According to Ołdakowski, such a conversation can be difficult, which is why MPW has prepared for this purpose textbooks and psychology tutorials. In his opinion, “Zetki” have a chance to meet people who “it was difficult in life”, and at the same time their generation also believes that they have difficulties, although “differently”. – It seems to me that this action can be therapeutic, bring satisfaction for both sides: those recorded and recording – he assessed.

Valuable memories will go to the archive

Ołdakowski pointed out that it is worth asking about things that are important to seniors. It is both older family members, but also about people we meet every day, for example on shopping. – Something different is important for everyone. Sometimes it's a trivial thing. Sometimes there is a happy end, and sometimes a dramatic situation. But they are somewhat holy for them, in some way very valuable and we mean that these valuable memories that are not a history textbook, because this is not a record of great battles, this is not a record of some geopolitics. This is a record of what the child saw, what she felt – he noted.

We have already informed about the action in detail at tvnwarszawa.pl. What is it about? May 8 is 80 years since the end of World War II. On this occasion, the Warsaw Uprising Museum prepared “Remembrance Factory”, a nationwide campaign to record the last witnesses of those events. The center of the Digital Memorial Archives will be a working website and a tool to fill it with a simple application. The museum encourages everyone, but above all young people, to record war stories, great -grandmothers and great -grandfathers, neighbors and neighbors, and extended family members. It is not about armed actions or great politics, but the consolidation of banal events, ordinary scenes, which for some reasons have been remembered by these people, and accompanying emotions.

Part of the project is a competition for pupils and pupils (12-20 years) under the slogan “it is recorded? Because it should”. From among the video calls sent, the most interesting will be selected. Their authors and authors will be awarded, among others Kindle readers, codes for Amazon, PowerBanki, speakers, vouchers for free trips, access to Onet Premium or Empik Go codes. There are also prizes for schools.