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© 2024 Anna Liminowicz
Zamalowane okna( Painted-over windows )
Destruction, the memory of the war and resettlement is always with the people who survived them. Their experience often remains an undiscovered secret not only for strangers, but also for their loved ones, including their children.The parents did not tell, the children did not know what to ask, by the time they grew up, it was often too late for mature conversations.
In search of answers, I look to Masurian houses that witnessed difficult events in the years before and after World War II. These are meetings with Germans, Masurains, Poles and Ukrainians. Worlds of different alphabets and traditions. Worlds of difficult memories and painful experiences related to forced resettlement and its consequences. Through the windows of Masurian houses, you can see the land of lakes and wild nature, which the inhabitants can cope with, and whose goodness is used by seasonal tourists. Germans who come to Masuria also want to know this nature.They come to understand the past of their fathers and grandparents. They want to understand themselves better. Sometimes they manage to find an evangelical cemetery hidden in the forest or talk to the children of people who during World War II were forced to work on the farms of German families. Today, these conversations take place without regret or hostility, but they are also very emotional. They share a fondness for shared childhood places.
By law, the first generation of Poles, born in Masuria, often discovers the secrets of their origin only around the age of 40. Usually such a discovery weighs heavily on their emotional baggage. They have to deal with the redefinition of their identity, the mysteries associated with it, symbols.
All these secrets envelop, bind people together and creep into their dreams like ivy into abandoned houses. This cannot be seen from the outside. Sometimes it is not enough to be born in such a house to know what the painted-over windows hide.
Poland 2017-2021