Cardiff's old library hosts fascinating new exhibitions

The current Anne Frank Exhibition being held at the Old Library has proven to be very popular and Cardiff Council is pleased to announce it is going to be supplemented by two more interesting historical showcases on the ground floor gallery.

These will consist of the Polish Consulate's 70th Anniversary Exhibition of the outbreak of World War II - “From War to Victory 1939 – 1989, Polish Way to Independence” - as well as the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 20th Anniversary of the first free elections in Poland after World War II.

The exhibitions will reflect about the meaning of the half century between the outbreak of World War II and the collapse of communism, linking the two dates and considering their meaning as cornerstones of the tragic history of the twentieth century.

Both Nazism and communism changed Poland to an almost irreversible degree, affecting its social, political and cultural life. Poland was the first European nation to oppose, in 1939, the spread of Nazism and communism, and was the first to remove their communist government from power in 1989.

The "From War to Victory 1939 – 1989, Polish Way to Independence" exhibition, running until November 27 is being held by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Manchester.

Vice-Consul Szymon Bialek said: "Our aim is to acquaint all the people with the fact that World War II started by the Germany’s invasion of Poland and the fall of the communist system in Europe also started in Poland. Without the events which took place in Poland in 1988 and 1989 - the Solidarity movement and free elections on 6 June 1989 - the Berlin Wall would not have fallen."

Meanwhile the new powerful and captivating exhibition, ‘Anne Frank + You’, will continue at the Old Library, The Hayes until November 29.

Cardiff Council and the Anne Frank Trust UK are jointly hosting this hugely successful multimedia exhibition which will powerfully bring the messages and voice of Anne Frank firmly into the 21st Century.

The exhibition is set to be visited by many school groups who will gain an insight into that period of history.

Executive member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Freda Salway, said: "The Anne Frank + You exhibition is going to be a poignant and fascinating experience for our young students. Anne Frank is a symbol of all those who lost their lives during the Holocaust, and her diary is just as relevant now as it was when she wrote it."