News

After a few years of our efforts, the Museum’s collection has been enriched by 257 copies of letters and postcards by Second Lieutenant Jan Gajdowicz, an officer in the 26th Light Artillery Regiment, to his wife Jadwiga from the years 1939-1945. The correspondence of the former prisoner-of-war was donated by his sons. It is worth mentioning that this took place in April 2023, with the first contact with the Museum being made by the donors as early as 2017.

This means – and not for the first time – that empathy and patient in relations with POW families is the right attitude on the part of an institution professionally dedicated to preserving and popularising physical heritage of the times of war and captivity. What is important, the correspondence given to the Museum by Wojciech and Marek Gajdowicz is of a great value for the heirs, what is manifested, among other things, by the way it was stored in the family home - neatly arranged in parcels and tied up with coloured ribbons.

It is known from preserved documents that Second Lt. Jan Gajdowicz, while a prisoner at oflag: II A Prenzlau, II E Neubrandenburg and II D Gross Born, completed a Higher Teachers' Course (in geography and nature), graduated from the Higher Pedagogical Teachers' Institute, Pedagogical-Social Studies and finished a Press Course. He was also involved in activities of the camp theatre - in 1943 he played a female role in Oflag II E Neubrandenburg in the "I have overcome the crisis" play. He was also a member of the Review Committee at Oflag II A Prenzlau. Jan Gajdowicz was an extremely active person: "I get up at 6 a.m., go [to bed - note: CMJW] at 10 a.m. I attend various lectures, read". After regaining his freedom (from August 1945 to January 1946), he stayed in the British occupation zone in Germany, where he worked as a teacher at the Polish centre for "dips" in Fallingbostel.

Many thanks to the Donors!