For many women, being in Siberia meant both forced, heavy, slave labor for less than a modest stipend, as well as their torment and obtaining daily food, being stripped away of femininity, and the struggle to maintain dignity and humanity.
Women often had to deal with another challenge, which was ensuring the safety of their children. They had to take care of not only their basic needs but also preserving their national identity, teaching them language and prayers.
One of such people was Małgorzata Młynarz, deported on April 13, 1940, from Dobra Wólka with her husband Zygmunt, children Zenon and Barbara, her mother Franciszka, and other family members. She was exiled to Airtau (Kazakhstan). The family returned to Poland in 1946.
The Sybir Memorial Museum’s exhibition includes a vest in which Małgorzata wrapped her just one-month-old daughter Basia. This is how Barbara described the drama of the deportation:
You could only take what you could hide in your hands. Mom took the sheepskin coat that I was covered with all the time, so that I would not be cold, that I would be as warm as possible.
The Mother’s Day special tour on May 26 will highlight the fates of women-mothers who ended up in Siberia in the 20th century. A member of the Permanent Exhibition Department of the Sybir Memorial Museum will show you around the permanent exhibition.
Tickets for the tour: regular 30 PLN and reduced 35 PLN, can be bought on the Museum’s website and at the ticket office ul. Węglowa 1 (1 Węglowa Street).
May 26 (Sunday)
9:45 a.m.
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