Museum of Diplomacy and Polish Emigration
ul. R. Berwińskiego 4
85-044 Bydgoszcz
Tel. (52) 346 23 18
muzeum@ukw.edu.pl
www.muzeum.ukw.edu.pl
Free admission
Mondays – Fridays: 10 am – 4 pm
Director: Prof. Marek Zieliński
Staff: Aleksandra Jankowska PhD

The grand opening of the Museum of Polish Diplomacy and Emigration at the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz took place in 1999. The museum operates within the Faculty of History and is located in a historical villa with nearly 140 sq. metres of exhibition space. The core of the collection consists of a donation from Wanda Poznańska
(1898–2003), wife of Karol Poznański (1893–1971), consul general in the interwar period, first in Paris (1927–1934), and then in London (1934–1939). Wanda Poznańska donated archival documents relating to the Polish diplomatic service, family souvenirs and a fine collection of paintings by some of the greatest Polish artists of the 18th–20th centuries, such as Jan Piotr Norblin, Michał Płoński, Teofil Kwiatkowski, Julian Fałat, Teodor Axentowicz, Olga Boznańska, Włodzimierz Terlikowski, Leopold Gottlieb, Feliks Topolski and many, many others. The museum collects souvenirs related to the Polish émigré community. There is a gallery of battle dress donated by veterans of the Second
World War – soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps – as well as uniforms belonging to the Association of Polish Army Veterans in the USA, together with a collection of journals and books and other printed matter published abroad before 1989, which was donated by the Polish community of Chicago. One rarity worth mentioning is a unique ‛silence
cabin’, originally from the Polish Consulate in Cologne. The room, with transparent walls, once served for conducting secret negotiations. A collection of almost 250 souvenirs gifted to Polish diplomats during foreign visits is also of great interest to visitors. The museum collects, studies and makes available archival documents relating to the Polish
foreign service, the Polish Government in Exile and Polish émigrés. The museum archives also have a copy of the Treaty of Riga (1921), private and official letters from personages such as Helena Sikorska, Władysław Raczkiewicz and August Zaleski, multiple consular commissions and letters of credence, as well as photographs of consular and embassy
staff. An important aspect of the museum’s activities is its involvement in the university’s teaching process. Opening the museum to students gives them a wonderful opportunity to develop their academic and research
skills, as well as to learn some practical skills regarding the functioning of a cultural institution.
Aleksandra Jankowska PhD