More information
Description
The aim of the project is to disseminate knowledge about the history of the LGBT+ movement in Poland, including the 1985-87 ‘Hyacinth’ operation, which led to the mass detention and interrogation of homosexual men. In Poland, two thirds of non-heteronormative people have experienced at least one violent incident motivated by prejudice. According to the May 2021 ILGA-Europe Ranking, Poland is considered as the most homophobic country in the European Union. In 2018-21, during the election campaigns, non-heteronormative people were attacked on an unprecedented scale. However, this was not the first such situation in modern Polish history. In 1985-87, Poland''s communist-era police (the Milicja Obywatelska) carried out the ‘Hyacinth’ operation which involved mass detentions and interrogations of homosexual men. Today, many LGBT+ organisations and movements are defending the rights of this community in Poland. However, there is a lack of individual memory, and collective and institutional memory is limited to a narrow circle of directly engaged people. As part of the project, we are launching a website containing digitised resources and an audiovisual archive of the LGBT+ movement in Poland. Outdoor exhibitions dedicated to the history of the LGBT+ movement in Poland will be opened, and a series of meetings on this topic will be carried out. We will also hold a scientific conference and make available a post-conference publication. Our partner in the project is the Lepsze Jutro Association, which is providing the scientific background. We dedicate the project to the memory of Roma Cieśla, our friend, who inspired us to explore the history of LGBT+ movements and document it.