Poland's Nuptial with the Sea 2020

The exhibition was open to the public from April 2020 to December 2021.
 
Wystawa nawiązywała do wydarzeń sprzed 100 lat, kiedy to gen. Józef Haller dokonał symbolicznych zaślubin z morzem. Najważniejszym obiektem tej ekspozycji była bezcenna pamiątka – obrączka z zaślubin z morzem. Generał otrzymał dwie obrączki w Gdańsku,  wręczył je dr Józef Wybicki, pierwszy starosta pomorski. Obrączki były prezentem ufundowanym przez polską ludność Gdańska. Jedną z nich gen. Haller wrzucił kilka godzin później do Bałtyku, drugą nosił 40 lat na palcu.

In our museum we keep the very one that the general wore on his finger for the rest of his life.  The ring has an engraving on the gold insert: Danzig/10. 2. 1920 Puck.  In the memoirs of General Jozef Haller we read such a description of that event: "A little rain did not disturb at all, and the Kashubians claimed that this is how God always blesses fishermen as they go out for good fishing. After the Mass, with cannon salutes and the playing of the Polish anthem, the Polish nautical flag rose to the mast. The Kashubian fisherman, who had hitherto guarded the coast with his only weapon, an oar at his side, handed over the guard to a Polish sailor.

Standing under the flag, I declared in a short speech that we have returned to the sea and the Republic of Poland is once again becoming the ruler on its Baltic Sea, as a sign of what-the nuptial of Poland with the Baltic-I throw a ring offered by the people of Gdansk, which will again be Polish.
Behind this ring ran on the ice sheet glistening under the waters several Kashubians, but none of them could grasp the ring, which faithfully joined the waters of the Baltic, and to my inquiry: - Why did you not grasp it? - they answered prophetically: we will have it in Stettin. I was very taken by this, because we sensed that Puck was not the full sea, but only a small window onto it..." Memoirs, Jozef Haller, London, 1964.

Some of the memorabilia, related to General Jozef Haller, Rev. Jozef Jarzębowski received from the general himself, with whom he was friends. Others were donated to the museum by the general's son Erik.
The exhibition was also meant to recall the history of the return of Pomerania to the borders of the Republic. Decisions to grant the Second Republic access to the sea were made in June 1919. The key issue was regulated by the Treaty of Versailles.

We also presented here the general's uniform and personal belongings among them shiny beautiful green agate cufflinks, gold tie clips, are decorated with beautiful filigree initials J and A - from the names of the general and his wife: Joseph and Alexandra, a watch, a crocodile leather trinket.
Some of the museum artifacts presented at this exhibition can be seen in the segment dedicated to General Jozef Haller in the Road to Independence Room