05/08/2026
W Europejski Dzień Pamięci Ofiar Reżimów Totalitarnych zapraszamy na Głosy, które nie milkną - wernisaż wystawy i spotkanie oraz śledzenie materiałów przygotowanych przez European Network Remembrance and Solidarity, w których nasi partnerzy opisują niezwykłe losy Stefanii Perzanowskiej.
📅 On 23 August, we mark the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes. Organised by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS), this year's campaign tells the story of Dr Stefania Perzanowska - a Polish physician who organised and led a hospital for women prisoners inside the N**i German concentration camp Majdanek, with almost no medicine, equipment or sanitary conditions.
◾️ Her story is also one of a family devastated by both totalitarian regimes at once. While Stefania fought to keep her fellow prisoners alive at Majdanek, she had no knowledge that her husband, Dr Zygmunt Perzanowski, had already been murdered in Soviet captivity, one of the victims of the Katyn massacre.
Through personal stories, educational resources and historical reflections, we explore what it meant to hold onto medicine's ethical purpose under a system built to strip it away, and how the consequences of 1939 reached into a single family from opposite directions.
🤝 We're excited to run this year's campaign together with our partners, the State Museum at Majdanek (Państwowe Muzeum na Majdanku / State Museum at Majdanek), the Medical University of Warsaw (Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny), and the City of Vilnius (Vilniaus miesto savivaldybė), with media patronage from Dzieje.pl (dzieje.pl).
Why August 23?
🔗 This date marks the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in 1939, which triggered World War II and decades of oppression. Learn more about the day here: https://enrs.eu/august23
📖 We invite you to read "23 August 1939: The Day Europe Opened Pandora's Box" https://enrs.eu/article/23-august-1939-the-day-europe-opened-pandora-s-box
This article traces how the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact set in motion a chain of events that led to war, occupation, and the suffering of millions.
How to join?
Wear our commemorative pin. Share your thoughts online. Explore personal stories and educational resources.
🔗 Learn more here: https://enrs.eu/news/remember-august-23-2026