History is not only about battlefields and military movements. It is also about enormous human, material, cultural and identity losses. War leaves its mark not only in the number of victims, but also in the memory of generations. That is why it is so important that, in addition to spectacular reenactments, there is also reflection and reliable knowledge.

During this year's D-Day Hel event, the Institute of War Losses played a special role in this regard, preparing a rich programme of lectures devoted to various aspects of loss. The topics addressed important questions: how to understand the concept of war losses and how to measure them, whether the Red Army's entry into Pomerania was a liberation or the beginning of a new enslavement, and what happened to the Polish soldiers who travelled from the Siberian labour camps to Monte Cassino. The focus was also on losses that are less tangible but equally painful – those related to the loss of identity, memory and cultural continuity.

The culmination of the Institute's contribution was the main staging of ‘Landing on the Beach’, prepared by Dr Bartosz Gondek and Dr Daniel Czerwiński. The show, which attracted large audiences, was not only an impressive spectacle – it also became a history lesson, allowing for a better understanding of the drama of wartime realities.

Thanks to the involvement of the Institute of War Losses, this year's D-Day Hel gained a much deeper dimension than just a military reenactment. It is not only a remembrance of battles, but above all a reflection on the price that Poland and Poles paid in the 20th century.
The memory of losses is as important as the memory of victories.