A ONE-OF-A-KIND DIARY
“MAJDANEK 15. I - 17.V.43.”
BY JADWIGA ANKIEWICZ
During her imprisonment at Majdanek, from January to May 1943, Jadwiga recorded her observations practically day after day. She wrote in a notebook in a single line, with a pencil. She probably had these items on her during the round-up in Warsaw on 15 January 1943. To keep the diary for such a long time in hiding required both great ingenuity and determination from Jadwiga. It was strictly forbidden to have writing instruments behind the wires, and their discovery by the camp authorities entailed the danger of being beaten or even killed. It was also extremely important that none of the inmates disclosed to the supervisors that the girl was keeping records.
Jadwiga’s handwriting is small, and the letters are slightly rounded and inclined to the right. It is worth noting that there are no visible signs of haste despite the drastic situation of the writer. The language used by the author is very frugal, sometimes even harsh. Jadwiga did not write too often or effusively about homesickness and loved ones; she did not complain about her situation. It is also interesting that, despite the depressing reality, she did not omit situations which she perceived as humorous. We get to know a teenager, who notwithstanding the war, detached herself from the surrounding reality and was able to report on life behind the wires of the concentration camp. Extracts from the Journal relating to the description of the KL Lublin crew are particularly interesting. Jadwiga did not use camp names, but she assessed the female supervisors according to their behaviour, and one may be under the impression that she may even have taken a liking to some of them. She described this hostile world in a different way than those who decided to recount their tragic experiences after many years. At the time of her imprisonment, she was only 16 years old.
The State Museum at Majdanek presents its latest publication - “Majdanek 15. I - 17. V. 43 The Diary” - a unique testimony of the camp experience and the only original document entirely written in the German concentration camp. Its author is 16-year-old Jadwiga Ankiewicz, a young, everyday girl whose life and fate are symbolised by the tragic experiences of the young generation of Poles during the Second World War.
Jolanta Laskowska, Państwowe Muzeum na Majdanku