Unique collections from the First Republic relating to the Sejm and nobility assemblies, documents from the times of the Duchy of Warsaw and the Kingdom of Poland, previously unseen exhibits illustrating the work of the Sejm in the interwar period, as well as objects from the period of the Polish People's Republic and the Third Republic - all this will be housed in the new Museum of the Polish Sejm. - The project is one of the initiatives related to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of regaining independence. says Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński.
The Museum of the Polish Sejm will present parliamentarism as one of the key elements of the tradition of the Polish Nation and State. It will show the durability of parliamentary customs and democratic solutions. The main idea of the new institution will be the education and popularization of civic, patriotic and pro-state attitudes. The Museum will also collect and preserve exhibits, and among its tasks it will also conduct scientific work on the history of the Sejm and the broader context of Polish parliamentarism.
According to the plans, the Museum would house several thousand unique exhibits, not only those already collected, for example, in the Department of Museums of the Sejm Library (a unit that for three decades has been collecting parliamentary artefacts), but also archival materials, the selection of which will be carried out by a special team of historians appointed soon by the Chancellery of the Sejm. - We will also try to encourage all Poles to search for and share their Sejm-related finds with us. The 100th anniversary of regaining independence is a unique moment in our history. We want the widest possible involvement in this event. And while searching through home archives and nooks and crannies, it is not uncommon to come across real treasures - emphasizes Marshal Kuchciński.
The Museum will describe the history of Polish parliamentarism from the earliest times until today. The main focus of the exhibition narrative will be on the history of the institution and the fate of prominent figures associated with the Sejm. The Museum will describe the origins of the Sejm from the time of the proto-parliamentary assemblies, the Slavic rallies, the assemblies of the mighty and the knighthood, the places where the Sejm held its sessions, the significance of the nobility's Sejm, and the manner in which the General Sejm was convened and held its sessions. The monuments of Polish law, which are the legacy of the work of the Sejm, will also be presented, with the Act of Union of Lublin and the Constitution of May 3 at the forefront.
The period of partition will be illustrated as a time when political doctrine reinforces the conviction that a sovereign Sejm is indispensable as an institution guaranteeing the formation of civic culture in a future independent Poland. The history of the Sejm of the Duchy of Warsaw and the Kingdom of Poland will be illustrated, as well as the participation of Poles in the work of the parliaments of the partitioning states.
The Museum of the Polish Sejm will also present the significance of the Sejm and Senate of the Second Republic as a platform for the integration processes of the society of those times and for the crystallization of the public sphere. Special attention will be given to the Legislative Sejm, whose legacy created the political pillars of modern democracy.
The Sejm in the first postwar years and the People's Republic of Poland, in turn, is a façade that contradicts the principle of national sovereignty, state independence and democracy. The Museum will focus on presenting such moments from the times of the communist dictatorship that will show the determination of the political opposition to fight for independence and respect for civil rights and liberties. Quasi-parliamentary institutions functioning in exile will also be covered, as it is there that the tradition of Polish parliamentarism was preserved.
The Museum will present the Sejm of the Third Republic of Poland, which - despite the shortcomings and challenges associated with the course of political transformation - was able to create the outlines of a program to rebuild a free and sovereign homeland. The Museum of the Polish Sejm will illustrate the difficult and complicated but successful path of retreat from the totalitarian state and return to the Republic in which the Nation exercises power in a sovereign and independent state through democratic procedures.
The Museum of the Polish Sejm will be a modern place that will make attractive use of digital reproductions and interactive display media. Using a combination of classical ways of presenting historical sources and innovative audiovisual techniques, the visitor will become a witness to the materialization of phenomena and processes from the history of the Sejm. - The museum will show Poland as one of the homelands of parliamentarism on the European continent, in a certain period far ahead of other European countries in this respect - says Marek Kuchciński. Through the Museum we want to reinforce in the visitors the conviction that the Sejm is an institution inherently connected with the past, present and future of the Polish Nation and State.
