Expelled! 28.10.1938

The History of the “Polenaktion”

Traveling exhibition by the Active Museum Fascism and Resistance in Berlin e.V.

At the end of October 1938, around 17,000 people were expelled from the German Reich to Poland in a mass action. They were persecuted as Jew individuals of Polish nationality. This so-called "Polenaktion" [Polish action] remains quite non-present in collective memory to this day. The exhibition narrates, for the first time, the story of the deportation in October 1938. Biographical panels recount the life stories and fates of those expelled from various cities and locations in Germany, while contextual panels provide explanations of the background.

The travelling exhibition is based on an exhibition on the history of the “Polish action” in Berlin, which was developed jointly by students from the Eastern Europe Institute of the Free University of Berlin and the Active Museum Fascism and Resistance in Berlin e.V. Since 2018, it has been displayed in various cities, including Berlin, Warsaw, Frankfurt am Main and Dortmund.

In collaboration with students from the Herder School and the former museum director, Dr. Frauke Dettmer, we have expanded the exhibition: On two panels, we now narrate the stories of two Jewish families from Rendsburg. They will now accompany the exhibition as it travels.