Explore the Incredible Story of Anders’ Army in Our New Multimedia Guide
Anders’ Army, founded 80 years ago during World War II, is a unique phenomenon in world history. To mark the anniversary of the founding of this extraordinary formation, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute invites you on a multimedia journey: ‘Artists in Arms: Arts & Culture on the Trail of Anders’ Army, 1941-1945’.
Anders’ Army was made up of citizens of the Second Polish Republic (the official name for Poland in the Interwar period): former soldiers of the Polish Army, gulag prisoners, civilians, amongst them a large group of artists and people of culture. Fate brought them trauma from the loss of loved ones, the hardships of the war trail and post-war wandering, and finally life away from their homeland.
Artists in Arms: Arts & Culture on the Trail of Anders’ Army, 1941-1945 is made up of a series of interactive feature articles about the army’s war-torn route from detention in Buzuluk, Russia to fighting in Monte Cassino, Italy, and further – to Paris, London and Rome. Readers can follow the army’s intercontinental journey to learn about the art, music, literature and performances they created along the way.
At the launch of Artists in Arms, Barbara Schabowska, the director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, stated:
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Culture and art, confronted with a crisis of human values, played a fascinating role in the extraordinary history of Anders’ Army. In this multi-threaded story, we follow how, under these extreme conditions, culture and art brought hope, consolation, gave respite and entertainment, showed a different, better world.
The concept, editorial process, and implementation of Artists in Arms were helmed by Mikołaj Gliński and Patryk Zakrzewski, both writers on the staff of Culture.pl – the Adam Mickiewicz Institute’s international web portal dedicated to Polish culture. Of the project, Gliński commented:
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I believe that 80 years on, the odyssey of Anders’ Army remains an important lesson for us today. On the one hand, it was impressive crisis management on the part of Polish command. But it’s also a lesson in human solidarity that goes beyond national borders. Without it, without the help of so many people from Iran to Mexico and New Zealand, this giant exodus of people would not have been successful. For me, this story also shows the amazing role of art and culture in truly extreme circumstances: from entertainment to patriotic and therapeutic. Last, but not least, Anders’ Army inscribes itself well in the patterns of Polish history: that of heroic but in the end pyrrhic victories, leading to another wave of forced emigration. The latter however became an important source of new creative forces in the global history of Polish culture.
Geared towards an international audience, the Artists in Arms project provides in-depth, yet accessible knowledge about the history of Poland and Poles during World War II through culture and art. Users can choose from three language versions: English, Polish and Russian. It uses unique archival materials from the collections of the Sikorski Institute in London, while its visual style, created by the studio rzeczyobrazkowe, combines the pre-war aesthetics of collage with contemporary design.
Tytuł (nagłówek do zdjęcia)
Discover an extraordinary history
Interested in learning more about Anders' Army? Here are some of our book recommendations and inspirations behind the Artists in Arms project:
- Anders' Artists: Rescued from Inhuman Land by Jan Wiktor Sienkiewicz, Warsaw 2017
- Anders' Artists: On Stage by Jarosław Koźmiński (ed.), Warsaw-London 2018
- Anders' Artists: Little Poland on the Thames by Jarosław Koźmiński (ed.), Warsaw-London 2019
- Almost Nothing: The 20th Century Life and Art of Józef Czapski by Eric Karpeles, 2018
- Trail of Hope: The Anders Army, an Odyssey by Norman Davies, 2015
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