Stefania Romik returned to Zakopane. Due to exhaustion caused by the camp conditions, the mother and daughter were treated in the hospital for several months. It was while at the hospital that Stefania Romik made a dress for her daughter using two different pieces of material, a dark green and multi-coloured material with irregular spots.
Maria Podstawna said she decided to donate the family memento during the 73rd anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, in which she participated. “I did not attend previous anniversary meetings because I am prone to diseases. I preferred to watch it on television. However, this time around the weather was perfect. I have a fond memory of the anniversary and therefore decided that I will now attend it every year,” she said.
“I brought the dress with me to show it, but my friends and former prisoners persuaded me to leave it at the Museum as it is already in bad shape and the material is splitting apart in some areas. It is already 74 years old. I inherited it from my mother, but I think the Museum is now the right place for it,” she added.
“We should teach and tell the history of this place. My mother often met with pupils in schools and talked about her experiences. I, on the other hand, was only three months old - I only know my history from her stories,” emphasised Ms Podstawna.
The Director of the Auschwitz Museum, Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński, said that the Memorial is always the best place for various memorabilia and documents related to the camp history. “It is only here that they are legally protected, preserved and stored in the best possible conditions. But above all, they participate along with other collections and archival materials in the narrative history of the camp tragedy. Every object and document stored privately, unfortunately, remains in a sense beyond this history. For this reason, we are delighted with the attitude of many survivors and their families who - regardless of the great emotional attachment to various objects or documents - decide to donate their family memorabilia to the Museum, such as this unusual dress which dates back over 70 years.”
Maria Romik (second from the left) at the 73rd anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz