Przeszłość powraca w teraźniejszości. Wspomnienie mojego Stanisławowa
The past returns in the present. Memories from my Stanisławów

Summary/Abstract: This article consists of two parts. In the first one, among other things, I cite John Arnold’s statement that history cannot be predicted, “it remains impenetrable and perhaps precisely because of this it excites”. In this context, I mention the heroic struggles of the Ukrainian people in the war against the Russian Federation. I write about the everyday life of those who fought, the destroyed towns, villages and traumatic experiences. I highlight the help of Poles to Ukrainians seeking refuge. I mention the year of 1945, when a train of expatriates going to the Western Territories, to the German Oppeln (Opole), became the metaphor of the fate of Poles (especially from the Eastern Borderlands). The second part of the paper is entitled “Mój Stanisławów” (“My Stanisławów”) and deals with the personal connections to one of the major urban centres of the Eastern Borderlands. In 1945 staying there for Poles was a family risk, but it also meant accepting Soviet citizenship (not to mention the threat from the Ukrainians). I also recall contacts with people who, like me, were born in this city. They include Karolina Kaczorowska, the recently deceased (21 August 2021) wife of Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last President of the Republic of Poland in exile. Like two banks of a river, the cities of Opole and Stanisławów connect and fill my whole life.

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