Over 4,500 – that’s the number of photographs currently held in the collection of the Sybir Memorial Museum. In the past six months alone, the collection has expanded by nearly 300 photos, and many more are still waiting to be processed. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our donors for their trust and generosity.

Each new acquisition is carefully handled by the Museum’s Collections Department team, who diligently preserve, catalogue, and document every item. Thanks to their work, we are able to share previously unknown stories through our “Treasures from the Storage” series.

This month, special attention is drawn to a collection of photographs and documents related to the Walkiewicz family. Before the war, the Walkiewicz family lived in Białystok and suffered persecution at the hands of both occupying forces. Leopold and Jadwiga were married in 1933. Leopold worked as an accountant at the Voivodeship Office in Białystok. Their daughter, Jadwiga, was born in 1936, followed by their son, Zdzisław, in 1939.

In June 1941, Jadwiga was arrested and deported to Siberia along with her children, while seven months pregnant. They were sent to the Lebiezhinsky sovkhoz in the Altai Krai. Their third child, Teresa, was born in exile. Leopold was not present at the time of the family’s arrest, which likely saved him from deportation. There is evidence suggesting he was involved with independence organizations operating in the General Government.

In 1944, he was arrested and imprisoned in the notorious Gestapo prison at Aleja Szucha in Warsaw, where he was murdered later that year. Jadwiga returned to Poland with her children in September 1945. It was only then that she learned of her husband’s tragic fate.