On 4 July 2023, the IPN headquarters in Warsaw were visited by representatives of Italian Office for the Protection of Culture and Memory of Defense [Ufficio per la Tutela della Cultura e della Memoria della Difesa] which operates under the Italian Ministry of Defense. The Office is in charge of developing initiatives, programs and collaborative projects both to improve the management and maintenance of the graves infrastructure, and to promote, particularly among the new generations, the dissemination of knowledge of historical events related to the memory of the war victims. It protects approximately 1060 memorial sites in Italy and 160 abroad. The meeting was an opportunity for the IPN to share experience in the area of commemoration of the victims of both German and Soviet totalitarian regimes. The visit at the Institute was organized by the IPN Office of International Cooperation.
The guests were welcomed by the Deputy President of the IPN Prof. Karol Polejowski, who presented the IPN mission and stressed the significance of preserving the memory of the victims and brave men who had fought for our freedom. The Director of the IPN Office of International Cooperation Agnieszka Jędrzak pointed out how important it is to bring the communist perpetrators to justice in order to and restore dignity to the victims. She also focused on the Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom project as a model for remembrance policy. She discussed the new immersive version of the exhibition, which was shown at the Congress of National Remembrance and is planned to be unveiled in Italy in 2024. The display includes Italian aspects connected to the fights of General's Anders troops at Monte Cassino, Bolonia and Ancona.
The Director of the IPN Office for Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom Adam Siwek presented the activities of the Office and spoke about our care of Italian graves in Poland as well as about Polish memorialization in Italy. He mentioned that on the territory of Poland there is around 100 sites with remains of Italian soldiers and civilians who were killed during the World War II.
Grzegorz Wołk, Ph.D. described the IPN central research projects on behalf of the IPN Historical Research Office and summed up the latest achievements of the Office.
The Head of the Italian Office for the Protection of Culture and Memory of Defense Diego Paulet concluded that reaching the young generation is the most important challenge as the memory will be preserved in the future by the youngsters. He underlined that both our institutions have a similar scope of activity and same goals in the area of culture and memory. All participants agreed it would be necessary to continue cooperation and to carry on joint activities aimed at historical commemoration and education, such as the Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom exhibition .
In the afternoon, a joint Polish-Italian delegation laid flowers on the graves of Italian soldiers in Warsaw.