Drawings by Polish children from the war inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register
A collection of over 7,000 unique drawings and notebooks created by Polish children in 1946 – moving testimonies of the crimes of the German occupation – has been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. The collection, kept in the Archives of New Records, has become part of the prestigious international register of documentary heritage, encompassing the world’s most valuable archival materials from several hundred countries. –– This is already the 19th entry from Poland and the 9th from the resources of the State Archives. This places Poland among the six countries in the world with the largest number of entries –– informs Dr. Paweł Pietrzyk, General Director of the State Archives.
On 17 April 2025, the UNESCO Executive Council announced the decision to inscribe the collection entitled “Drawings and notes by children from the war in Europe: 1914–1950” on the International Register of the Memory of the World Programme. Among the 17 collections from 8 countries were also drawings and notebooks by Polish children from the 1940s, stored in the Archive of New Records – unique and incredibly moving testimonies of the war experiences of the youngest witnesses of the German occupation in Poland.
The Polish collection, consisting of over 7,000 works, was created in 1946 as a result of a nationwide competition announced by the editors of the weekly “Przekrój” with the consent of the then Ministry of Education. Over 7,300 children aged up to 13 took part in it – the youngest participant was only 2 years and 3 months old. These works, created both spontaneously and under the influence of parents or teachers, became an exceptional document of collective war trauma, written by a child.
Images of war seen through the eyes of a child
The children depicted in their drawings, among others, scenes of executions, bombings, loss of home, evacuation, resettlement, hunger, death of family members, frontline operations, panic and chaos. There was also no shortage of images of joy at the end of the war. The works are of various sizes and formats – small, large, square, oblong, rectangular. They were drawn and painted on all types of paper: chalk, Bristol board, parchment, cardboard, and even wrapping paper. Various techniques and media were used, such as colored pencils, wax crayons, pens, ink, and watercolours. The colour palette was quite limited, with darker tones dominating.
Photos of drawings by Polish children.
Stefan Szuman, a pedagogue who studied the impact of World War II on the psyche of Polish children in the early post-war years, said at SEPEG (International Congress for Children Injured by War) in Warsaw in 1948: “I think that those who still do not know about what was happening in our country during the occupation or do not want to believe it, may be convinced of the truth by our children’s drawings.”
–– These are the testimonies of children who had no opportunity to express themselves in words, but left us with a moving image of the wartime reality. The authors are boys and girls from different social classes and regions of Europe connected by a common tragic war experience. The drawings are often the only traces left by these young people, especially those who disappeared during the Holocaust. Their works are a valuable source not only for historians, but also for psychologists, educators, artists. They are the voice of those who were often ignored by the world, and today this voice has been heard and appreciated in the international arena – emphasizes Dr. Paweł Pietrzyk, General Director of the State Archives.
International nature of the entry
The collection of drawings from the Archives of New Records was entered on the list as part of a joint application prepared by the Musée National de l’Éducation in Rouen (France) and the International Research and Archive Network for Historical Children’s Drawings from Meisenheim (Germany), in cooperation with partner institutions from Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Great Britain, Canada, Switzerland and Ukraine.
–– This is an incredibly moving documentary heritage, written by a child, which becomes a testimony of war more moving than many an official report or account. It is an honour for the State Archives to be able to store and make available such an extraordinary legacy of world memory. For us, this entry is also one of the most important examples of international archival cooperation in recent years. It has a special dimension – it not only documents history, but does so from a perspective that has been marginalised for too long. This is the common European heritage of children who survived the war – emphasises Dr Paweł Pietrzyk, General Director of the State Archives.
Poland’s documentary heritage on the UNESCO World List
By entering the collection of children’s drawings on the UNSECO List, the State Archives are strengthening their position as one of the leaders in the protection and promotion of documentary heritage. The UNESCO Memory of the World International Register currently includes 19 objects from Poland (including the autograph of Nicolaus Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, Fryderyk Chopin’s manuscripts, tables of the 21 postulates of the MKS from August 1980), including as many as 9 stored in the State Archives (including the act of the Union of Lublin from 1569). Poland is thus in the top world countries with the largest number of entries – alongside Germany, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain and South Korea.
–– This is proof that the State Archives store not only documents, but also memory – collective, deep, often painful, but extremely valuable for future generations. A heritage that belongs not only to us, but to the whole world – sums up Dr. Paweł Pietrzyk, General Director of the State Archives.
Photos of Polish children’s drawings
The full list of Polish entries on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register can be found on the website:
Children’s drawings and notes have exceptional significance today as educational and exhibition material. The Polish collection has already been widely presented as part of the international exhibition “Mom, I don’t want war!” – the exhibition visited over 30 cities in Poland and over 40 countries around the world, arousing emotion and reflection.
The website of the exhibition “Mom, I don’t want war!” (available in Polish, English, Ukrainian and Chinese): https://momidontwantwar.eu/
Source: State Archives