The Pomeranian Quay in Gdynia, next to the ORP “Błyskawica” ship is hosting an exhibition “The Great Road. Anders Army” prepared on the basis of archival materials from the collections of the National Film Archive. The exhibition promotes the return to the screens of the digitally reconstructed 1946 film The Great Road.
The exhibition shows the extraordinary story of the march of the Anders Army – 120,000 people who made 12,500 kilometres in 1334 days, wandering across three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa.
The exhibition has been subdivided into various stages of the Great Journey, starting with the history of the Poles in Lwów, through the outbreak of World War II, deportations to Siberia, the organisation of the Polish Armed Forces in the USSR, leaving to Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and Italy.
Filmmakers also went with the soldiers of the Second Corps. The documentary material they had recorded was used in the first Polish post-war feature film The Great Road, directed by Michał Waszyński.
The film was shot in 1946. It was the first post-war picture made at the Italian Cinecitta studio. The costs of its production were covered by the Polish army, led by General Anders. Waszyński’s film is a historical monument which contains valuable documentaries, in addition to elements of the plot. We follow the wartime journey of Polish soldiers of the Anders Army through the prism of the fate of a pair of fiancées from Lwów, separated in the turmoil of war.
The film starred by Jadwiga Andrzejewska and Albin Ossowski, but also Renata Bogdańska, General Anders’ fiancée at the time who plays one of the leading roles. The participation of the General himself is also an unquestionable asset of this work. The re-release of the restored film will take place in September in Gdynia during two film festivals.
In the film, we will see the attack of the USSR on Poland in 1939, deportations to Siberia, the signing of the Sikorski-Mayski pact, the departure of Anders’ soldiers to Iran, Palestine and Iraq, Egypt, the fighting in Italy and the battle for Monte Cassino.
Arkadiusz Słomczyński