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On May 3, 1946, the anniversary of the Constitution may no longer be celebrated apart from official, modest state ceremonies. People, mainly students, gather in various places in the center of Krakow. The intention is to move to the Main Square. In the group of people walking towards it from ul. Łobzowska, there were unexpectedly American privates. The day before, they escorted important chests to Krakow, containing the priceless St. Mary's altar. Spontaneously they were grabbed on their shoulders by the chanting crowd: America !. The intervention of the Polish and Soviet services was almost immediate. The news spread quickly throughout the city, and the riots spread to the entire city center. The celebration on May 3 ended with the detention of approximately 1,000 people, including American soldiers. This not quite known Krakow episode showed the communists' attitude towards the most important Polish symbols and historical events. For over 40 years, it defined the attitude to the anniversary of the adoption of the May 3 Constitution, which was deleted from the calendar of holidays. The events of May in 1946 became the focus of the documentary film produced by the Museum of Polish History. Its most important hero is Adam Macedoński, a witness of those events, known in Poland for his uncompromising fight for the memory of the Katyn massacre. In the film, we move with him to the events in Krakow in 1946, and thanks to the historians appearing in the film, we get a broader background on that period. On May 3, 1946, "illegally" celebrations were held in many places in Poland. Everywhere there was a brutal intervention of the communist state services. Maciej Gawlikowski talks about the repressions against the participants of the "illegal" celebration of the anniversary of the Constitution in the 1980s. His account is reinforced with unique archival films. How did it happen that despite the fact that the Constitution was in force for just over a year, it survived in the memory of Poles in over a hundred years of captivity? Why has the anniversary of its adoption become such an important holiday in reborn Poland? - publicists and historians, headed by professor Richard Butterwick, try to answer these and other questions in the film. The document also includes artifacts related to the Constitution of May 3, 1791, which will be on display at the Polish History Museum.
The film was made by the author of many historical documentaries, Jarosław Mańka, in collaboration with the script, Marek Stremecki.
"Symbol of Independence. May 3 Constitution Day "(doc.), 30 min., Poland 2021, Produced by the Polish History Museum, Executive produced: Themeso Studio, Dir. Jarosław Mańka.