{"id":42009,"date":"2025-10-23T13:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/?p=42009"},"modified":"2025-11-24T14:05:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T13:05:26","slug":"sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us\u201d \u2013 Author Event with Martyna M. Wojtkowska"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Sun Rises in New Zealand<\/em> tells the story of 733 children who, after their forced deportation from occupied Poland deep into the USSR, lost their loved ones and later found a home in New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They arrived in Pahiatua via Uzbekistan and Iran. From the orphanages in Isfahan \u2014 which were only a brief stop along the way \u2014 they carried with them a few belongings and the love of Polish culture instilled in them. In the Persian Gulf, they boarded a U.S. Army ship. On deck, they read Pharaoh, played cards, and enjoyed games with the sailors. Their stay in Pahiatua became a chance to regain the childhood they had lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The author first learned about the history of the New Zealand children while researching an article. During a conversation with an archivist at the Pilecki Institute, she heard that when the children arrived at the camp, a candy was waiting under each of their pillows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was the moment that drew me in! My story about the children of Pahiatua essentially started from the end \u2014 from the moment they arrived in New Zealand. But I felt the entire journey could be reconstructed, that it was possible to reach the protagonists and retrace their steps with them, from Poland to the USSR. There had to be fragments left behind, memories that could be pieced together,\u201d Martyna M. Wojtkowska said during the meeting at the Sybir Memorial Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the moment she began gathering materials for the book turned out to be exceptionally difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was February 2022 \u2014 Polish media were still reporting on the pandemic victims, and Russia had just attacked Ukraine. The idea of retracing the children\u2019s route was impossible to carry out. On top of that, New Zealand was still closed because of the pandemic, so it was clear I couldn\u2019t travel there \u2014 and only a few of the former children had ever returned to Poland. Fortunately, I managed to find contacts for two women,\u201d Martyna recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of them was Mrs. Aleksandra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe spent two days together in Bielsko-Bia\u0142a, and Mrs. Aleksandra recreated the story in such detail that one could almost write a book based solely on her account. She described her hometown, what she experienced in Kazakhstan, and she spoke of the dress she carried with her throughout the journey. Her memory of those events was extraordinary. But I also had a strong sense that this book needed many voices, many experiences. I was curious how others remembered that time, so as soon as New Zealand reopened its borders in June 2022, I set out on a journey to the other side of the world and spent six weeks there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For When the Sun Rises in New Zealand<\/em>, the author spent many hours in archives and conducted numerous interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe protagonists surprised me in many ways \u2014 in how they told their stories and at which moments strong emotions surfaced. I was also deeply impressed by the materials preserved in New Zealand archives \u2014 exceptionally detailed and allowing me to understand the story even more profoundly,\u201d Martyna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of 733 Polish children who \u2014 despite being exiled to Siberia \u2014 found hope and peace at what felt like the end of the world is not just a fragment of wartime history. It is also a story of the strength of memory, of survival, and of the truth that sometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest guest at the Sybir Memorial Museum was Martyna M. Wojtkowska, author of the book “When the Sun Rises in New Zealand: The Wartime Odyssey of Polish Children”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":41275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cSometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us\u201d \u2013 Author Event with Martyna M. Wojtkowska - Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cSometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us\u201d \u2013 Author Event with Martyna M. Wojtkowska - Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The latest guest at the Sybir Memorial Museum was Martyna M. Wojtkowska, author of the book "When the Sun Rises in New Zealand: The Wartime Odyssey of Polish Children".\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-23T11:40:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-24T13:05:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Polskie_dzieci_w_Nowej_Zelandii_spotkanie_z_autorka_10.2025_04-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"patrycja\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"patrycja\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cSometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us\u201d \u2013 Author Event with Martyna M. Wojtkowska - Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Polskie_dzieci_w_Nowej_Zelandii_spotkanie_z_autorka_10.2025_04-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-23T11:40:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-24T13:05:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/85b0358246e62a03dc3e65a0b9853539\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Polskie_dzieci_w_Nowej_Zelandii_spotkanie_z_autorka_10.2025_04-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Polskie_dzieci_w_Nowej_Zelandii_spotkanie_z_autorka_10.2025_04-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home page\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cSometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us\u201d \u2013 Author Event with Martyna M. Wojtkowska\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru\",\"description\":\"Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru jest po\u015bwi\u0119cone ludziom, kt\u00f3rzy od ko\u0144ca XVI a\u017c do po\u0142owy XX wieku byli niewoleni i zsy\u0142ani w g\u0142\u0105b Rosji, a p\u00f3\u017aniej Zwi\u0105zku Sowieckiego, jak te\u017c tym, kt\u00f3rzy pod\u0105\u017cali tam dobrowolnie.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/85b0358246e62a03dc3e65a0b9853539\",\"name\":\"patrycja\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e5c2d7fba244e02fc170bb150ec29b373eb7eb084a0dce224e66fc8b85c667c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e5c2d7fba244e02fc170bb150ec29b373eb7eb084a0dce224e66fc8b85c667c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"patrycja\"},\"sameAs\":[\"patrycja\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cSometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us\u201d \u2013 Author Event with Martyna M. Wojtkowska - Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cSometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us\u201d \u2013 Author Event with Martyna M. Wojtkowska - Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru","og_description":"The latest guest at the Sybir Memorial Museum was Martyna M. Wojtkowska, author of the book \"When the Sun Rises in New Zealand: The Wartime Odyssey of Polish Children\".","og_url":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/","og_site_name":"Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru","article_published_time":"2025-10-23T11:40:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-24T13:05:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Polskie_dzieci_w_Nowej_Zelandii_spotkanie_z_autorka_10.2025_04-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"patrycja","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"patrycja","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/","url":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/","name":"\u201cSometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us\u201d \u2013 Author Event with Martyna M. Wojtkowska - Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Polskie_dzieci_w_Nowej_Zelandii_spotkanie_z_autorka_10.2025_04-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-23T11:40:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-24T13:05:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/85b0358246e62a03dc3e65a0b9853539"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Polskie_dzieci_w_Nowej_Zelandii_spotkanie_z_autorka_10.2025_04-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Polskie_dzieci_w_Nowej_Zelandii_spotkanie_z_autorka_10.2025_04-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/sometimes-the-end-of-the-world-can-turn-out-to-be-the-best-thing-that-happens-to-us-author-event-with-martyna-m-wojtkowska\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home page","item":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cSometimes the end of the world can turn out to be the best thing that happens to us\u201d \u2013 Author Event with Martyna M. Wojtkowska"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/","name":"Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru","description":"Muzeum Pami\u0119ci Sybiru jest po\u015bwi\u0119cone ludziom, kt\u00f3rzy od ko\u0144ca XVI a\u017c do po\u0142owy XX wieku byli niewoleni i zsy\u0142ani w g\u0142\u0105b Rosji, a p\u00f3\u017aniej Zwi\u0105zku Sowieckiego, jak te\u017c tym, kt\u00f3rzy pod\u0105\u017cali tam dobrowolnie.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/85b0358246e62a03dc3e65a0b9853539","name":"patrycja","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e5c2d7fba244e02fc170bb150ec29b373eb7eb084a0dce224e66fc8b85c667c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e5c2d7fba244e02fc170bb150ec29b373eb7eb084a0dce224e66fc8b85c667c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"patrycja"},"sameAs":["patrycja"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42010,"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42009\/revisions\/42010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sybir.bialystok.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}