World history: Frédéric Chopin’s lost letters go on display in Warsaw

Warsaw’s Chopin Museum has put on show six letters written by the composer, which were considered lost during World War II.

Letters date from 1845 to 1848. Written in Polish, they were penned by Chopin in Paris and Nohant in central France and addressed to family members, who stayed in Poland.

The last time letters were put on display in public was in Warsaw in 1939. It was also the same year that Nazi Germany invaded Poland, sparking World War II. Like many priceless Polish cultural artifacts, the Chopin collection went missing during the occupation.

It was in 2003 that the museum staff was informed that letters were not destroyed. As a result the museum collection was discovered in Mexico. The museum was helped by the Polish art dealer who lived in Mexico. He acquired the documents directly from their owners, who wished to remain anonymous.

Letters and documents will be on display at the museum until April 25, 2011.

The Chopin Museum was opened at Ostrogski Castle in the 1930s. In the 2000s was launched museum’s reconstruction, and it reopened its doors to mark the composer’s 200th anniversary March 1, 2010.