The Emigration Museum in Gdynia has begun to cooperate with institutions in Halifax. Canada has always been one of the largest and most important destinations for Polish emigration. The Museum has had the pleasure to host:

Dan Conlin – Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, Halifax;

George Borgal – Battle of the Atlantic Place (under construction), Halifax;

Martin Hubley – Nova Scotia Museum in Halifax.

The purpose of the visit was to seek inspiration from the permanent exhibition at the Emigration Museum in Gdynia as to ways and methods of presenting information, with special focus on designand technological solutions.

One of the main subjects discussed was the question of the Polish presence in and significant contribution to the Allied forces in the Battle of the Atlantic, as well as how to present this particular theme at the permanent exhibition in the emerging Battle of the Atlantic Place in Halifax. This also includes the participation of the MS Batory, which transported Wawel treasures to Canada during WWII.

The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax is a sister institution to the Emigration Museum in Gdynia. Between 1928-1971 the pier served as a „marine station”to over a million immigrants coming to Canada. The Pier 21 Museum’s exhibits are of enormous value to the Emigration Museum in Gdynia, especially the Oral History and Written Story Collections, which have to some extent provided inspiration for the Emigration Museum in Gdynia in the creation of one its flagship projects „The Emigrant Archive”. Both institutions are in the process of introducing Collective Access software which will allow for online cataloguing and accessing of museum collections, and they are planning close cooperation in this domain.