While the weather outside can be unpredictable and the holiday season is in full swing, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on summertime memories from decades past. The Social Life Documents Cabinet of the University Library in Toruń invites you to visit the photo exhibition titled “Summer in the Polish People's Republic through the Lens of the Toruń Photographic Informer.”

The exhibition features 24 black-and-white photographs from the 1960s and 70s, showcasing various forms of summer leisure and activities in Toruń and the surrounding region—from city swimming pools and summer camps to river cruises on the Vistula and scenes of everyday life in urban and rural settings. Among the captured moments are a saturator (a carbonated water dispenser symbolic of PRL-era strolls) and a Bizon combine harvester, an icon of the harvest season.

The photographs come from the collection of the Toruński Informator Fotograficzny (TIF), which operated between 1962 and 1974 and was run by members of the “Iskra” Club under the Polish Youth Union. This collection laid the foundation for the photographic section of the Social Life Documents Cabinet, which today holds over 3,000 silver gelatin prints documenting the region’s social and cultural life.

The idea for the exhibition emerged in response to strong interest in the photographs displayed during the 2nd Toruń Archival Picnic and a warmly received social media post.

The exhibition is open until September 20, 2025, on the 3rd floor of the University Library, during regular library hours.

We also invite you to watch a short film produced by TV Toruń, which offers a closer look at the exhibition: Toruńskie lato w PRL-u – TV Toruń report.