NEW OBJECTS HAVE BEEN ADDED
TO THE COLLECTION OF THE STUTTHOF MEMORIAL IN SZTUTOWO
Stutthof Memorial
Mr Andrzej Przyklęk, the son of former Stutthof camp prisoners Helena and Edmund Przyklęk, visited the museum with his family.
During their visit, Bogusława Tartakowska conducted the guests around the Memorial Site and was presented with some incredibly valuable camp memorabilia. This included documents issued following the end of the “death march”, a patch bearing Helena Przyklęk's camp number, and a cigarette case with an engraved lid that belonged to Edmund.
One particularly noteworthy item is a wool blanket that Helena received during the camp's evacuation, on which she sewed her camp number as a mark of identification.
The story of Helena and Edmund is poignant; they lived in Toruń and were arrested on 8 August 1944. Although Edmund's records have been lost, Helena's detention document reveals that her husband was accused of espionage. Helena herself was suspected of being aware of his alleged illegal activities without notifying the authorities.
Following the investigation and their time in the Toruń prison, they were both transported to the Stutthof camp in September 1944, where they were categorised as political prisoners and assigned the numbers 92317 (Helena) and 92471 (Edmund).
In the winter of 1945, Helena and Edmund participated in the camp's evacuation on foot. Shortly after their liberation, between 18 March and 1 May 1945, Edmund assumed the role of economic manager in a military hospital in Łęcze before being sent to a resettlement centre in Lębork. He eventually made his way back home. While the exact details of Helena's journey during the evacuation remain unclear, it is known that she returned home safely.
The Stutthof Museum would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Andrzej Przyklęk and his family for their visit to the Memorial Site and for the incredibly valuable addition to our museum collection. We assure you that we will take great care of these artefacts, just as the families of the prisoners have done over the years.
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