With deep sorrow we received the news about the death of our dear Friend and a memoirist and generous donor, who, apart from financial support, had donated many family mementos to our institution, including photographs, sketches and a military I.D. His contribution to our institution was invaluable, and his memoirs, which we had honor to publish, will remain in our memory forever.
Marian Stecyk’s memoirs, published in the book entitled “On the Rivers of Siberia. The Diary of a Boy 1940–1946”, published by the Sybir Memorial Museum, describe in very moving way the difficult experiences related to being deported to Siberia. The book is in three language versions: Polish, English and Spanish, to reach the widest possible audience. Marian Stecyk’s story and experiences were written down and saved from oblivion, and his memory will always be alive in the walls of our Museum.
Apart from the donated memorabilia, memories and a series of drawings documenting the fate of his family in exile, donations and Marian Stecyk’s support made it possible to implement scientific and popularisation projects. Mr. Marian wanted to document and describe the conditions in which Polish deportees lived and reach people living across different continents, Poles and the Polish community around the world with this knowledge. “Many children and grandchildren of Sybiraks barely speak and read Polish, some do not at all… And we need to reach them too! Sybiraks’ stories must therefore be published in different languages, and we must also take care of their international distribution and promotion,” he said. His passion for history and commitment to preserving cultural heritage were an inspiration for all of us.
Marian Stecyk was born on March 15th, 1930 as the second child of Michał and Michalina Stecyk in Kolonia Jesionów, Tarnopol Voivodeship. On February 10th, 1940, as part of the first mass deportation to Siberia, the entire family was deported to the Soviet Union. At first, they were sent to the Kuzhnya exile camp in Krasnoyarsk Krai, where they stayed until December 1941. Then – following an amnesty they were allowed to move around the Soviet Union, and they moved to the village of Tyubil. They stayed there for two months, and then in February 1942 they arrived at the Ovtsevod sovkhoz located by the Yenisei River. Their last place of stay was the Chulym sovkhoz. Their stay in exile lasted six years. The family returned to Poland in April 1946.
Mr. Marian captured his numerous traumatic experiences on sketches that document his life in exile. His memories, written in the book “On the Rivers of Siberia. The Diary of a Boy 1940-1946”, were nominated for the Historical Awards of the Polityka journal. For many years, Mr. Marian was an active member of the Wrocław Branch of the Association of Siberian Deportees. He died on November 28, 2024 in Wrocław and was buried in the Kiełczowski cemetery.
